Integrity Does Not Conform to the World

Daniel 3:16-18

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.
17 "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
Dan 3:16-18 (NASB)

In the past we have looked at Integrity as it pertains to the follower of Christ. We learned that Integrity is NOT something we have inside us… or something that we can produce on our own!

But we came to learn that integrity for the believer is directly related to the willingness of the believer to submit in obedience to God’s commandments. Christian integrity is obedience to God.

We also learned that integrity for the believer does not simply happen. WE cannot sit back and believe that God is going to bless us with integrity, but that integrity for the believer comes from an active participation in God’s Will through our active obedience to His purpose and plan!

Today I want us to look at another aspect of integrity for the believer in that Integrity for the believer does not conform to the way of the world!

In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church’s integrity problem is in the misconception “that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior.” He goes on to say, “It is revival without … repentance.”

1. The World has its standard (v.1-15):
In these verses we find that King Nebuchadnezzar builds an image that he demands the people of his kingdom to worship. It is most likely an image of himself, since the kings of this period often believed themselves to be gods among men.

The image is built and the entire land bows down and worships except for Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. Now I do not know why Daniel is NOT mentioned in this passage…

Perhaps it is because Daniel had already proved his great worth to the King and he was going to allow Daniel some slack, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego had not to this point had any direct dealings with the King…

There is no direct evidence either way, but for whatever reason we find that Daniel is NOT mentioned here. But we do know that later in Daniel’s life, he faces and deals with the same type of situation.

Now there were those who were jealous of the standing and position that had been given to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and they ran to the king and told on the Hebrew men.

The king is furious and wants these men to give homage to him… homage that he believes he is due and so Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego are summoned to the King’s side…

It is obvious that the people of the kingdom felt that integrity meant doing what the King wanted. Just as the world today believes that integrity is doing what the world sees as right!

But the trouble with that (other than the fact it is NOT biblical) is that the world cannot come to a consensus on what they believe is the right thing. In fact many people in this world don’t think integrity is something worth worrying about…

Noted author and avowed atheist Bertrand Russell once said this about life…
“…Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim…”
Russell believed that there was NOTHING about this life that was salvageable and that happiness was an illusion and that God and religion were a hoax!

Like Russell, there are many who see life as a ‘dog-eat-dog’ world and that only those who think for and about themselves will come out on top in life! Integrity to the world is doing what OTHERS believe to be the right thing… but the world does not know what is the right thing?

We have people in this world who are very sincere in their belief that abortion is NOT murder but ABORTION is actually merciful and loving.
• They look at this world and all the evil in it and say, how can you bring a new life into the cesspool we call earth…?
• They say things like a baby would ruin this woman’s life at this time, and that is simply NOT fair.

To these people, anyone who has an abortion is seen as a procedure that enhances the life of the woman…

There are those in this world who believe that moving in with your girlfriend or your boyfriend and living together as a couple is a thing of integrity because you have committed to a relationship. They consider this a responsible act!

There are those in this world who believe that loving another human being in an intimate and sexual way, regardless of what gender they are… Many believe this is totally natural!

Our world has its own sense of what integrity is… In fact, we can look at Mark 10:17 and we find one story that shares what the world believes to be INTEGRITY!

The Rich Young Ruler comes to Jesus and asks what he has to do to inherit eternal life… Jesus reveals 5 of the 10 commandments of God to him and says that he must keep these commandments.

He tells Jesus… possibly with his chest poked out… that he has kept these commandments from his youth. Arrogantly this rich young ruler believed he had great integrity before God.

However, we find Jesus sharing with him to give all he has to the poor and come and follow Him. The rich young ruler was devastated and did not understand why he had to give up his wealth…

And what we must understand there is a principle being taught here and it is that we are NOT who we think we are. WE believe we are basically good and that our good deeds will get the attention of God. But what have to come to grips with is that we are all sinners who have fallen and failed God even from birth…

And that there is simply NO amount of human integrity that we bring to the table that will allow us to be part of God’s family or bring us any closer to God!

The world says to have integrity means that others will hold you up in esteem and the world will think highly of you… but God’s Word is clear in this matter as it says,

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Matt 16:26a (NASB)

We can have all the praise and adoration this world has to offer and still miss out on heaven because it is NOT what we can do. It is not worldly integrity…that is going to do us any good when it comes to eternity!

The world has ITS standard but it falls woefully short of heaven, but also this morning I want to point out that…

2. God has HIS standard (v.16-18):
Let’s look at what the response of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego was to the King. They basically said this to the king…
“Well we don’t feel like we need to give you a reason or an answer for our actions so do what you have to do because we are NOT going to bow down to the idol, and we trust that God is going to deliver us, but even if he chooses NOT to deliver us… we still refuse to bow to your image!”

We can see that there was absolutely NO conformity in these young Hebrew men. They knew what God expected of them and they were obedient to His commandments.

Commandment #1 states that you shall have NO other gods before Me, and these young men knew that if they were to bow to this idol… they would be placing it before God.

Nobody or no thing must come between our worship of God! When we come to Christ as believers and are saved from our sin and accepted into God’s family… we are then called to submit to the Lordship of Jesus in our life!

This means that when you accept Christ that your focus MUST be obedience to God’s commands and not allowing yourself to conform to something less that absolute submission to Jesus as Lord!

Paul states it very clearly in Rom 12:1-3 when he says,
“…1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice [submission], acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world [obedience], but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself [integrity] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith…” (NASB)

We must realize what ‘submission’ means when it comes to the Lordship of Christ in our lives. We are called out by God to live FOR Him, sacrificing our desires and submitting to His.

We are NOT to allow the world and the influences of the Evil One to CONFORM us to a worldly standard, but rather we are to allow God to transform us into a new creature… so God’s will is done!

We are NOT to elevate ourselves but we are to rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit as He leads our thoughts and actions in our walk with Christ!

Jesus taught the same thing in Mark 8:34-36,
“…34 If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? (NASB)

God’s standard for integrity is not conforming to the world, but allowing Christ to transform you into a new creature, allowing Christ to change you from the inside out!

We cannot clean up our act and come to God and expect Him to accept us… the Bible is clear that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God… it also shares that we like sheep have ALL gone astray… and finally it shares that there is NOT one good person in the world… NOT one single one!

And once we accept Christ as Savior we need to understand that God’s standard for integrity is total and complete submission to His Lordship in your life! These means that regardless of the circumstance or situation, you are faithful to Christ in obedience and we are submitting to His plan and purpose!.

Whether God chooses to deliver you FROM the trouble or be with you thru the trouble… you are called to fully and totally submit to HIS plan and HIS purpose!

I believe I need to make this point absolutely clear for all believers in this building today… and for all non-believers as well. The standard that God requires of any believer does not include conformity, but rather it firmly demands that we be transformed… but there is one final point I want to share this morning…

3. True Integrity is revealed thru God’s standard (v.19-30):

In this passage we can see that the true integrity of God was revealed thru the submission of these 3 Hebrew men to the commandments of God! God was glorified because they were willing to be obedient to His commands.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar that obedience to God was paramount in their lives and that God honors obedience to Him.

At that time we find King Nebuchadnezzar issuing a decree that the God of the Hebrews would be respected and exalted and they would not be persecuted because they worshipped Him.

When we live a life of obedience to Christ in all we say and do, then God’s integrity is revealed thru our lives and actions. Like I said earlier this morning, True Christian integrity is obedience to God!

I want you to know that the great Christian leader, John Wesley was so concerned about building a righteous fellowship that he devised a series of questions for his followers to ask each other every week.

There were some who found this rigorous system of inquiry too demanding and they left the fellowship! And in today’s church, the very idea of such a procedure would horrify many churchgoers.

Yet some believers see the wisdom in Wesley’s approach to living as we should and these believers wisely are willing to practice this accountability with fellow believers!

Chuck Swindoll, who I consider to be a modern day Wesley has come up with seven questions that he and a group of his fellow pastors use to challenge each other and keep each other accountable: Here they are…
• During this past week have you been with a woman anywhere that might be seen as compromising or as a stumbling block?
• Have any of your financial dealings lacked integrity?
• Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material?
• Have you spent adequate time in Bible study and prayer?
• Have you given priority time to your family?
• Have you fulfilled the mandates of your calling in Christ?
• Have you just lied to me?

When we are obedient to God, these questions will not be bothersome to us b/c we will have the right answers… God’s true integrity will shine forth in our lives through our submission to His will and obedience to His commands…



Conclusion:
Well preacher you keep harping on this obedience thing… I really wish you would move onto something else… well I am sorry but I cannot do that, obedience to Christ and His calling on your life is the most important thing you can do for the kingdom…

You may say to yourself, I may not obey right away, but eventually I relent and do what God has called me to do. What you are saying here is that God is to adjust to YOUR time schedule…

The great theologian Thomas A Kempis once said, “…Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace…”

In other words what he is saying lines up with 1 John 2:4 where the Bible is very clear in its message that if you are not willing to be obedient to God’s commandments… then you are NOT part of God’s family!

So often we say to ourselves, I am doing things for God, why can’t He just appreciate what I am doing instead of trying to get me to do what He wants!

What does He want me to do… at least I am busy doing SOMETHING for the kingdom…

When you have that attitude you are saying that performance is more important than obedience. Let me share with you a short list of things that disprove that theory very quickly…

What we fail to understand is that obedience is seeking God with your whole heart. Performance is having a quiet time because you’ll feel guilty if you don’t.

Obedience is finding ways to let the Word of God permeate your life and saturate your actions!
Performance is quickly scanning a passage so you can check it off your Bible reading plan.

Obedience is inviting guests to your home for dinner. Performance is feeling anxiety about whether every detail of the meal will be perfect.

Obedience is following God’s call for you to start a small group in your home.
Performance is reluctance to let anyone else lead the group because they might not do it as well as you would.

Obedience is saying yes to whatever God asks of you. Performance is saying yes to whatever people ask of you.

Obedience is following the promptings of God’s Spirit. Performance is following a list of man-made requirements.

Obedience springs from fear of God.
Performance springs from fear of failure.

Are you ‘performing’ for God… or are you being obedient to the calling in your life. The 3 Hebrew men were thrown into the fiery furnace because of their willingness to be faithful and obedient to God’s commandment!

They were NOT performing, but we find they were obeying! My friends if you are simply performing for God, I pray for you this morning!

I warn you to NOT try to impress God with your performance, but please God with your willingness to submit to His will thru your obedience to His commandments…

Come and allow Christ to cleanse your heart and forgive your sin and save you from an eternal hell that awaits all those who do not submit to His Lordship!

An Unchanging Message For An Ever Changing World

Galatians 1:6-10

“One of the most frequently used phrases in Christian circles is "the gospel." Amazingly few adults know what this term means. It could either refer to its literal translation, "good news;" or to the perspective that salvation is available only through the sacrificial death and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ and a person’s acceptance of Christ as their savior. Less than four out of ten adults (37%) knew this; 34% had other, inaccurate perceptions of the meaning of the term; three out of ten adults did not offer a guess. Even among born again Christians, only 60% correctly identified at least one meaning of this expression. (1994)… [From Barna Research Online – Beliefs: Salvation. www.barna.org]

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, (7) which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. (9) As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. (10) For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
In the past thirty years there has been a proliferation of “new gospels” in the United States. Some such as the “new age” belief system are rooted in eastern mysticism, such as Hinduism. Others are based more on pop-psychology than they are on the gospel. But whatever their origin they are misdirecting men and women away from the only truth that can save you from you sin.
The core of this letter is that the people at Galatia have been turned from the life changing truth of God’s word. Paul says in verse six, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel.”
The Greek word used here (thaumazou) is “to be astounded or bewildered.” Paul’s astonish-ment is not that false teachers exist, but that the church was following them. He had expected false teachers and in fact had warned the Ephesians elders (Acts 20:28-30) that false teachers would come. What he is so surprised about is that the church is so easily mislead.
In the four verses that we are going to consider today the apostle gives us four abiding principles concerning the word of God, the gospel.

First, The Gospel Needs No Additions
Note that these false teachers are not opening denying the gospel message. They only wanted to improve the gospel by adding to it; requirements, new ceremonies and new standards. It is as if they are saying, “We believe in Jesus Christ – but we have something wonderful to add to what you already believe!” What is at least implied is that the faith that these believers have is not sufficient, some -thing more is needed.
What they viewed as a different gospel was actually a distorted gospel. The word translated “distort” means to transform into something of an opposite character.
He goes on in verse seven to clarify that by saying, “which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” The New Living Translation renders these verses this way, “I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who in his love and mercy called you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ. You are already following a different way (7) that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who twist and change the truth concerning Christ”
Paul says that this new gospel or “good news,” is in reality not the gospel or “good news” at all. It is a counterfeit. In verses six and seven, Paul uses two different Greek words, to describes their spiritual defection to another [heterous – another of a different kind] gospel, which is not another [allos – another of the same kind].
Not Only Does The Gospel Not Need Any Additions but….

Secondly, Distorting the Gospel Is Serious Business
In verse eight Paul invokes a curse on anyone, himself included, who distorts the gospel, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. (9) As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”
Paul is saying that real problem of another gospel is not only that it is a bad idea, and not only that it lacks power because it is a fake, but that it is dangerous. In our sensitive English translation we lose some of the heat of this verse in the original language. He says in verse eight, “If anyone comes with another gospel let him be damned.” And in verse nine he continues the thought by saying, “And if you believe it you will be damned too!” Well if nothing else I probably just got your attention! This is not a curse word, it is using the word in its proper sense – that is these individuals will be damned, separated from God and eternally punished. Those who distort the gospel message are rejecting the authority of Christ and are therefore cursed (anathema). Paul is not talking about church discipline, his language is far too strong for that. He is invoking God’s final damnation and wrath on people who distort the gospel.
I fear that those who followed David Koresh in a compound in Waco, Texas to their fiery deaths in 1993; and the followers of Marshall Applewhite’s (Heaven’s Gate Cult) who in 1997 took their own lives in twisted attempt to connect with extra-terrestrial visitors who were hidden in the wake of the Hale-Bopp comet, will not find themselves excused because of their sincerity. And those who led them into that error will bear a greater judgment.
One modern distortion of the gospel is preached in order to fit Christianity in a materialistic society. The message of this gospel is which we can call “the gospel of success” or “the prosperity Gospel,” is based on the premise that God wants to bless you therefore you can only expect good things from him if you follow him. The problem with this gospel is that it ignores the fact that in Christian life there is sorrow, there is suffering, there is death. The key of the gospel of Jesus is not the avoidance of life events, but the possibility to overcome them.
Distorting the Gospel Is Serious Business because….

Third, Only the Gospel Saves
Back in verse four, Paul reminds the believer that was Christ “who gave Himself for our sins.” As Christian’s in America we believe in the freedom of religion. But Christian’s need to realize that does not make all religions equally true. While we defend the right of each individual in this country to worship as they choose, in so doing we not defending that all religions are also “the” truth. The words of Jesus grant this elusive claim only to faith in Him when he said in John 14:6,”I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The writer of Acts reiterated that thought when he said in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.”
Only the Gospel Saves and …

Finally, Only The Gospel Produce Real Life Change
“The strongest argument for the Gospel of Christ is the personal testimony of someone whose life has been changed by it. Charles Bradlaugh, an avowed infidel, once challenged the Rev. H. P. Hughes to a debate. The preacher, who was head of a rescue mission in London, England, accepted the challenge with the condition that he could bring with him 100 men and women who would tell what had happened in their lives since trusting Christ as their Savior. They would be people who once lived in deep sin, some having come from poverty-stricken homes caused by the vices of their parents. Hughes said they would not only tell of their conversion, but would submit to cross-examination by any who doubted their stories. Furthermore, the minister invited his opponent to bring a group of non-believers who could tell how they were helped by their lack of faith. When the appointed day arrived, the preacher came, accompanied by 100 transformed persons. But Bradlaugh never showed up. The result? The meeting turned into a testimony time and many sinners who had gathered to hear the scheduled debate were converted.” [Source unknown - www.bible.org/illus/g/g-65.htm ]
When we lose the gospel of Grace we lose the only message that has the power to heal. We witness the power of the gospel in the story of the demon possessed man in Luke 8 (26-39). The demon possessed man experienced many horrors at the hands of neighbors, family and even friends in their attempts to deliver him from the demons who possessed him. Luke 8:29 states that they had “had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles.” In spite of all their attempts to cure him, he was no better off. Multiple attempts had obviously been made at deliverance but had failed, but one encounter with Jesus brought deliverance and sanity. When the townspeople investigated what had had happened we are told in verse thirty-five that they, “found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind” There were no chains. He was no longer screaming and attempting to hurt himself. He was not sedated, he was “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.”
That is what we lose if we lose the gospel, the power to change lives.
In verse ten Paul tells the reader why he is saying these things. “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” Paul says that he is not trying to be sensational. He is not saying these things, as some preachers do, because he knows it is a good safe topic and he can count on some hearty Amen’s. He is saying them because there is only one truth and the gospel message that Jesus Christ came and died for men’s sins is the only real truth.

The Unchanging Message for an Ever Changing World is the Gospel!
• The Gospel Needs No Additions.
• Distorting The Gospel Is Serious Business.
• Only the Gospel Can Save Men From Their Sins.
• Only The Gospel Produces Changed Lives.

His Presence

Exodus 33:1-23

We have been created with a need of companionship and guidance. We find very early on in the Bible, in Genesis when God creates, He creates man and gives him all that he needs. But there is something missing in Adams life and God says that it is not good for man to be alone.

We see this in the children of Israel in chapter 32, they are so afraid. They think that Moses is lost or that something has happened to him because he had been gone for a very long time. We know that Moses is on top of Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God. But the children of Israel are a little disturbed. Their confidence level has waned in the time that he has been gone so they begin to create for themselves an idol, something that would demonstrate a God or a deity in their presence because they have seen those things happen in Egypt. They are not that far removed from Egypt yet. God is very displeased with their actions and what they are doing. In fact, God is so displeased in what is going on that He says ‘I’m not going to go with you to the Promised Land because I might do something bad to you’. Looking at Exodus 33 and reading the language in the very beginning, you can see that God is very disturbed with the children of Israel, “I’m not going with you, but I will fulfill my promise” God says. “I’m going to go with you but My presence is not going to be there.” Moses needed assurance. He needed to be sure that God would be there with them.

Moses goes into this tent of meeting, which is the little ‘t’ because it is different than the one in the tabernacle. This is the place that Moses goes to outside the camp to talk to God and he really needs to have a talk with God. Moses confronts God. In this confrontation we learn what Moses knows and how important the presence of God is in his life and how that can help us in our daily living.

The first thing we observe is that Moses understands God’s presence brings salvation. God saves us. Moses says, “we can’t do this without You”. Moses knows that God is the very being, the very person that has brought them to where they are right now. The song Moses sings reveals this truth (Exodus 15:2). This is how it goes “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him”. Moses knew that God was their salvation. He goes to God in the tent and he begs God to go with them because he knows that, without God, they’re lost. They are literally lost. From the profit Isaiah, he begins to sing another song to them about this servant who is going to come and bring them their salvation. “In his distress, meaning God’s distress, the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his mercy, he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old” (Isaiah 63:9). This prophet knew that God was salvation, just like Moses. We know that our salvation is, of course, from God because it was God who sent His Son to die on the cross for us. Jesus is our salvation. Without His presence in our lives there would be no salvation.
Remember when Joseph was having a difficult time with Mary and her situation, the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and begins to explain what is going on. The angel says to Joseph in Matthew 1:21, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins”. You see the name Jesus means salvation. Peter says this in Acts 4:12. “ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved”. So Jesus is our salvation. When God is present in our lives, when Jesus comes into our lives, we are saved! Of course there is a process to bring Jesus into your life. Jesus tells us that it takes faith, whoever believes is not condemned Mark 16:16), and so we come to Jesus by faith. In that faith, we give our heart to him. Jesus says, “Unless you repent you too will perish,” (Luke 13:3) so we repent. We turn to Him with all of our hearts. We also confess that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). He is the ruler. He is the one who can direct me and guide me. Not only that, we give our lives totally as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) when we are buried with him in baptism (Romans 6:1-4). Jesus brings salvation into our lives when we respond to him by faith, repentance, confession, and being baptized into Christ. There’s no other name in which we can be saved except by the name of Jesus.

In verses 14 and 15, Moses begins to display his anxiety about God not going with them. God responds to Moses and says, “My presence will go with you, and I will give your rest”. Moses knows that God and His presence can satisfy the needs of those that are His. God says “I will give you rest”. Moses realizes his reward. We get a broader view of this from the writer of Hebrews. He demonstrates who Moses was by faith in that great chapter of Hebrews 11:26, “He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward”. Moses knew that God could deliver. So he comes to God and he begs God, “we can’t go up without you”. God responds with “I will give you rest”. Jeremiah, in a time of great disturbance in the land of Israel because they had fallen away from God, delivers a message of doom. God was about to punish them. God was going to bring a pagan nation, the Babylonians, to take them into captivity. But there was also a message of hope, “Stand at the cross roads and look, ask for the ancient path, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find (get this) rest unto your soul” (Jeremiah 6:16).

God, even though there was going to be punishment to Israel, is saying ‘look and my presence will bring peace to you. There will be rest for your soul.’ In the book of Joshua we find God fulfilled the promise He had given Moses. Joshua 21:44-45 says, “The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. (45) Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”
What did God say to Moses in Exodus 33? “I will give you rest.”

When God is present in our lives, there is much we owe Him. Salvation comes through Him. Our needs are satisfied in Him. God says “I will give you rest. Is there trouble in your life? There may be turmoil in your life. But believe me, that with God walking with you, there can be peace. There will be a rest. I can’t explain all of it. I don’t understand all of it. I don’t have all of the answers. But I do know this thing, when God says I will give you rest, He will fulfill His promise. Psalm 16:11 “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” The psalmist knew God and His presence with him could bring the kind of joy that he needed. God can fulfill that promise for you. Jesus says, in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Remember that is the very thing that God said to Moses and God said to the children of Israel, even in their distress. Jesus walking with us and being with us, being present in our lives, He says, “Come to me. Bring all of your burdens to me. And I will give you rest”. What a great promise!

We also see in this dynamic story, with Moses and his confrontation with God, in verse 16, God also brings sanctification. He brings something into our lives, which separates us for the world. “How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?” Look at the question that Moses asked God. “How are they going to know? If you’re not with us, how are they going to know that we find favor in your eyes?” What else will distinguish me and your people from all of the other people on the face of the earth? Having God in your presence should separate you from the world. When Moses received the instructions on Mount Sinai, remember, in Exodus chapter 3, he saw the burning bush that really never burned up. It got his attention. He walks up the mountain and comes into the presence of God. What is it that God says to him? “Take off your sandals for you are on Holy ground.” The presence of God is holy. Moses understood this with his encounter with God on the mountain. He understood the holiness of God. God even said to His people in the commandments in Leviticus 11:44, “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy”. God is a holy God. And for God to come into our presence and for us to live in God means that we are His holy people. In the covenant language of God and Israel in Exodus 19:6, “You will be for me a kingdom of priest and a holy nation”. God not only required His people of that day to be holy, He also requires His people today to be holy. Peter says, 1 Peter 1:16, “For it is written: ‘Be holy for I am holy.” 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are his chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God”. There’s a reason for our holiness. There’s a reason for God to separate us from the world, because the world is in trouble. If you’re living the ways of the world, your life is in trouble. But by bringing God into your life, He takes care you. He separates you from the world’s wicked ways. Moses said, “Teach me your ways. Show me your ways”. Moses knew the importance of God being with him and his people. And being a holy people today, God separates us from this world. He sanctifies us. He makes us His people so that we live different. It goes on to say in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are his people because he has brought us up out for darkness into His wonderful light. God’s presence and His light in your life, changes you. It’s so important for God’s presence to be in our lives so that we can show the world God changes us. In his presence brings salvation, satisfaction, and separation from the world.

Do you sense there is something missing in your life? Maybe it is a sense of missing a relationship. People express so much of needing a relationship. I’m talking about a relationship with another human being. They are in need of a relationship because they have just come out of something that was so terrible. They are hurt and there is this void and need somebody to talk to. What would be your counsel? What would you say to that person? “You need to get out more. You need to go here. You need to go there and do those kinds of things.” That’s ok. But, let me suggest this. What about, for someone that has that void and is missing that kind of relationship, give them time to heal? Develop a relationship with God. Let God be their partner. Bringing Him into your presence will fill that void and heal you of your wounds. Bringing Him into your relationship will be wholesome and healthy. So, when that other person comes into your life guess what? You’ll be so much receptive because of what God has done in your life.” Sometimes we want to jump the gun. When there is something missing in our lives and know we are missing something, we look for it in events or in people, when we should be seeking God, a relationship with Him.

Moses knew God’s presence would bring salvation. “I’m not going if you’re not going” I’m not going if you’re not going because you’re our salvation. God, I know that there is not going to be rest if you are not there.” He knows that God can bring the kind of satisfaction they needed. And Moses knew that if God were present with them then people would know that He was present just because of who they were. It’s the same way with us.

There’s no other name but the name of Jesus that can bring salvation to us. There’s no other person that can bring rest into your life except Jesus. He says, “Bring it on. Bring your burdens to me.” There’s no other person except Jesus who can make us holy that can wash us and cleanse us and make us holy. We need His presence.

My Chains Fell Off

Matthew 18:21-35

At a convention with their wives, two businessmen who had been roommates in college crossed paths. They sat in the lobby all night talking. They knew they would be in trouble with their wives. The next day they happened to see each other. "What did your wife think?"

"I walked in the door and my wife got historical."

"Don’t you mean hysterical?”

"No, historical. She told me everything I ever did wrong."

Have you ever met those people, the ones who seem to rehash the past forever? The ones who seem to live in their memories more than in the present? The ones who can’t seem to get past some issue, some hang-up, some roadblock in their past? As if they are still chained to something years ago.

Today, as we continue through our series on the Apostles’ Creed, we will look at forgiveness. Now, forgiveness really exists on two main levels: forgiveness from God to us, and forgiveness from us to others. Most of us rejoice in the first and stumble on the second. We are glad that the Lord forgives us from our sins and failures. But we are troubled when we know that we need to forgive someone else.

But then again, maybe our trouble is not when we know we need to forgive; it’s when we think we don’t have to forgive. After all, this is one of those messages that you’re wishing someone else heard. It’s someone else’s problem, not yours. Someone else is bitter; someone else has a problem. But not you. You’re OK. You’re allowed to be bitter. You’re allowed to fester and stew. You’re allowed to hold a grudge because of what happened to you. And if I knew what had happened to you, I wouldn’t expect you to forgive anyone.

Well, it’s true that I don’t know what has happened to you. But I know Jesus does. And I know what He has said about forgiveness. So today’s message isn’t from the pastor; it’s from the Lord. Well, I hope every message I have is from the Lord, but know that this is not my opinion; it’s straight from God.

I mention forgiveness fairly often, for a few reasons. 1) Unforgiveness is more subtle than most sins. It’s sneaky. It crawls into your spirit so gently, so nobly, so innocently that you don’t know it’s there until it really has you.

2) It’s also more common than most sins. We all battle it from time to time. Even though we may not stumble over the “bigger” sins, the sins of the flesh, lack of forgiveness seems to affect more of us. And

3) it’s also more dangerous. It may not cause overdoses and car accidents, but it will divide churches, families, marriages, and nations. Unforgiveness has been called the cancer of the soul. Unchecked, it will eat us alive.

Turn with me to Matthew 18:21-35 for a story that describes how Jesus looks at forgiveness on the two levels: from God and for others. And Jesus also shows us what lack of forgiveness will do to us. He compares unforgiveness to a prison. (read scripture)

In this simple story, a man owes his employer thousands, even millions of dollars. He was about to be thrown into prison. The man pleads for mercy, and the boss gives it to him. The debt is erased, and the man can go free.

How the man ended up owing millions is beyond me. But it’s clear that the huge debt is like our own. Each of us accumulated a huge debt towards God. He created the world, He created us. He loved us, took care of us, fed us, clothed us. Yet at some point each of us wandered away. At some point we each said, “I don’t need all this. I can do it myself. I don’t need your love. I don’t need you.” And we ran up quite a bill before our Maker. And the prison we deserved is hell. Each of us deserves eternal punishment.

Yet, God says to us: Be sorry for what you did, for who you are. Be willing to do anything for me out of gratitude, out of thanks to me. And the debt gets erased. Just like that. It’s called grace. It’s called mercy. It’s called forgiveness. He offers it to each of us. But whether we accept it or not is up to us.

But the story doesn’t end there. The man had someone owe him money, a few bucks. He immediately walks out from his employer’s office and demands a payment. Understand: he doesn’t need it as the start of a re-payment plan. It was purely selfish reasons why he demanded this money back. Well, the employer heard about this and brought the first man back into his courts. He scolded him severely, then threw him into prison. And in this prison, the man would face torture.

Understand this: unforgiveness is a self-inflicted prison. It is self-induced torture. It is a ball-and-chain of your own making. No matter what anybody did to you first, forgiveness or unforgiveness is your own choice.

After all, if it weren’t a choice, would we be told so many times to do it? If we had no say in the matter, would a loving God tell us to forgive? If it were impossible to forgive, would we be told to do it?

- Colossians 3:13 - Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

- Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

- Luke 11:4 - Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ "

And some of Jesus’ own words are even more severe:
- Matthew 6:14-15 - For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

- Mark 11:25 - And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

These tie in with the final verse of our scripture today:
- Matthew 18:35 - "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Jesus and the other Bible writers seem to consider forgiveness fairly important. Luke 6:37-38 - "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven… For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Jesus seems to imply that the extent that you forgive others is how much God will forgive you.

Is that a scary thought? It sure looks as if God considers our forgiveness of others as important as His forgiveness of us. A man named General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley: “I never forgive and I never forget.” To which Wesley replied: “Then, sir, I hope that you never sin.”

Forgiveness of others is tied to forgiveness from God. Why are we to forgive? Why is it so important? Several reasons:
1) to be like our forgiving Father

2) to help us understand all that we’ve been forgiven of

3) because it’s better for our souls.

I believe that all of God’s commands are not to spoil our fun, but because they are good for us. Like telling your kids to eat broccoli or other veggies. Because it will help your body, your mind, your sleep, your appearance, your bones, your heart, etc. God’s commands are like that. Because following them is better for our spirits than not following them. Watch this, from two places in the scriptures.

1) Forgiveness brings freedom. Matt.18:27 – the master let him go. Being forgiven gives us freedom. It means we are not slaves to work ourselves debt-free before God. He just gives it to us. Before the master freed him from the debt, he was terrified. He was going to spend his whole life trying to repay, and he would never have been able to. But forgiveness of the debt set him free. And it sets us free, too. Free to love, to be thankful.

But what does unforgiveness do to someone? It puts you into prison. If you don’t take this parable and Jesus’ words literally, what is meant likely is that if you don’t forgive others, then you don’t feel forgiven by God. That’s true. Unforgiveness of others results in not feeling forgiven by God. Folks, if you don’t feel forgiven, if you don’t feel that God could forgive or has forgiven, it could be that you need to do some forgiving as well.

2) Forgiveness brings closure. Again from the story, the servant was able to just walk away from the debt. Would he forget? Likely not. We seem to think that if we have forgiven, then we will forget. That’s not true. We are humans with memories. Forgetting is not a substitute for forgiveness. In fact, on the road to forgiveness, we may have to remember all the horrible things that happened to us. But forgiveness closes the door on them. It says: I will not let the emotional baggage keep me down. And if I do remember, I will choose to forgive again.

Forgiveness is a choice, and you can choose to keep the emotion behind locked doors. You can walk away from it. Is it easy? No. Is it possible? Yes. Ask Him to help you. You already have all the Spirit you need. But ask for the courage to forgive. Ask for the freedom that comes. Ask God to show you how to move on.

3) Forgiveness brings life. Watch this verse. I had never seen it this way until this week. Colossians 2:13 – “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your (or our) sinful nature, God made you (or us) alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.” The writer Paul puts “giving life” and “forgiveness” in the same breath. We find life when we are forgiven. Joy, hope, peace, strength. And we give life when we forgive, to ourselves and to our victims of unforgiveness. Letting someone off your hook doesn’t let them off God’s, but it frees you.

In closing, I heard this thought a long time ago. Holding on offense against someone is like being a jailer, while the offending party is in the jail. You’re keeping them in there but good. You alone have the key to let them out, but you just won’t, because of what they did to you. The problem is, since you’re the jailer, you’re stuck there too. Oh, the person might be behind the bars, but you can’t go anywhere either. The only way to set yourself free is by letting them go, too. Will you let someone go free today? Will you turn the key? Will you forgive?

Remember, Remember

2 PETER 1:12-21

What is your memory like? Do you forget things very easily? Are you better with faces or with names? Although that seems a silly question with me, because if you don’t remember faces how what good is a name? Apparently we never actually forget, it is all stored in brains. We just do not know how to retrieve it. In the passage before us this morning Peter is at pains to remind the believers in Asia Minor to remember the basics of the Christian faith.

VERSES 12-15 THE NEED FOR REMINDERS.
How do you remember things? I usually write things down in my diary, but you have to remember to read your diary. When you were revising for exams how did you remember things? We learn rhymes as children to teach us things – for example you may have learnt a rhyme for the number of days each month has – repeat rhyme. Or you may have learnt ‘every good boy deserves football and face’ to remember the order of musical notes, see I did listen in music class. In Scripture the people of God are urged constantly to remember. God assists them in their remembrance by giving them physical signs to aid them. So you have the sign of the rainbow to remind Noah and his descendants of God’s covenant never again to destroy all life with a flood. You have the sign of circumcision to remind the people of Israel of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You have the Passover to remind them of the great deliverance from Egypt and we could go on. For us as Christians we have baptism and HC to remind us of our redemption in Christ.

Peter calls the believers to remember. Peter begins verse 12 with ‘So’ which connects what is to follow with what he has just written. He tells the believers he will make every effort to remind them of the virtues he has outlined even though he is well aware that not only do they know about them but they are in fact well established (or grounded) in them.

When Jack Nicklaus was the undisputed world number 1 in golf he was asked how he kept at the top. His answer was startling. At the end of every golf season he went back to his first coach who taught him the basics of the game all over again. Every season he went back and learnt the basic building blocks of a good golf swing. There wasn’t anything new to learn, just to be reminded again of the basics. Peter reminds the believers that there is no new revelation to be learnt, no new insight to be gained, no new technique which will make their Christian life different. He reminds them, and will continue to remind them of the truth which they are established in and about which they have a settled conviction.

Why is Peter so insistent about reminding them of this truth? Well in verses 13-14 he gives a personal reason – his death is near. Peter reveals to them that his time amongst them is short. Jesus has revealed to Peter that his death is near. Now let me ask you: if you knew your time here was coming to an end what would be your focus? What would you be concerned with? Peter’s concern is to promote the knowledge of the truth of the gospel amongst the believers. Peter devotes himself to this end because he knows the time is coming when he will leave this ‘tent’ (body) behind for a short while and go to be with Christ. He then reiterates his purpose in writing to them (verse 15) – READ. He wants them to remember the truth of the gospel in which they have become established – why? Because his fear is that if they forget the truth of the gospel they will fall asleep and fall (v9) from grace. He wants them to over learn. You know one of the most humbling experiences of my life was from an old man with alzheimers. Some of you will remember Mr Richardson, who was a chemist here in Carrickfergus. When I was curate in St Nicholas’ I regularly brought HC to him. He could not remember the name of his wife or children. He certainly did not know who I was and yet he could recite word perfect, without a book, every part of the HC service. Even at the very end when his speech was virtually non-existent he still made an effort to join in at the appropriate place. Why? Because he had learned it time and time again until it became part of the very fabric of his life. That is what Peter is talking about here to the believers. To remember so that the truth of the gospel becomes the very fabric of our lives. Would that were true for all of us.

Let me stop there for a moment and just make this a little more personal for all of us. When you fall into sin what at that moment have you forgotten? It is not that at that precise moment you don’t believe in God or that you don’t believe the Bible. Is it not that for a moment you have forgotten the truth of the gospel? Is it not a case that you have forgotten the consequences of sin and the cost of forgiveness of sin? When we fall from grace it is not that we have become unbelievers but that we have forgotten our need of grace, the cost of that grace and the eternal consequences of sin. Peter does not want the believers of Asia Minor to forget, nor should we.

Verses 16-18 attested by Divine Glory.
On what basis did Peter teach them the truth of the gospel? He is at great pains here to point out that it was not man-made stories, or hearsay that they shared with them but ‘eyewitness’ accounts. In these verses Peter speaks of the Transfiguration of Christ. Peter, James and John were eyewitnesses to the transfiguration of Christ and they each heard the voice of God speaking approval of Jesus Christ ( Matthew 17.1-9). Note he says ‘we’ – it was not Peter alone who could testify to what happened on the ‘sacred mountain.’ Please note the mountain only became sacred because of the presence of God and did not remain sacred when the Transfiguration was over. Peter, along with James and John, saw the glory and majesty of Christ when He was transfigured before their eyes. Peter says it was not clever myths that we taught you but the truth – of which we ourselves were witnesses. The Christian faith is based on historical facts and not fairy tales. Peter told them about Jesus who lived and died, not some mythical creation of man’s imagination. There was no mythology about what he shared with them – just historical facts of which he himself was one eyewitness. Nothing speculative. No stretching of the truth – eyewitness accounts. So the truth to which he is calling them back, to remember after he has gone, which will keep them from falling is attested to by God in the account of the Transfiguration.

You see first and foremost the truth of the gospel only becomes real to us when God applies it to our hearts. We will not be convinced, nor converted unless God’s Holy Spirit opens our eyes, our minds and our hearts to the truth. The gospel will remain mere words until attested to by divine majesty. It was so for Peter, James and John. It was so for the believers of Asia Minor and it will be so for us today. You can hear the most eloquent preacher preach. You can have all your intellectual questions answered but unless the divine majesty of God attests the truth of Christ in your heart you will never understand, never believe and never be saved. That is why I pray before every sermon – it is not a public little prayer to say we are about to begin that part of the service called the sermon, where you can sleep, only joking. It is asking God to take mere words and by His divine majesty to attest to the truth of Christ through them.

VERSES 19-21 ATTESTED TO BY SCRIPTURE.
Peter now goes on to speak of the witness of Scripture to the truth of Christ, to which he is calling them back, and to remember long after he is gone. Look at what he writes to them in these verses. Verse 19 – the Word of the prophets was fulfilled in the coming of Christ, the Messiah – it was made more certain by His coming. Therefore they should pay attention to it just as in a dark place you look to the light for guidance and direction – because there is another coming of Christ, the Second Coming and on that day the word spoken through the prophets will be vindicated and brought to completion. The ‘day dawns’ is speaking of the second coming. The ‘morning star’ is speaking of Christ as the Messiah – Numbers 24.17/Rev. 22.16. And when he writes ‘rising in your hearts’ he is not speaking about a subjective second coming but of the transformation that will take place in believers when Christ comes again.

Verses 20-21 He points out to them that the Scriptures are not merely the words of men but the Word of God. He also speaks a word of warning to them – namely that it is not about their own interpretation. They are not, nor are we, at liberty to interpret Scripture as we like. He begins by saying to them ‘above all’ or ‘knowing this first’ – Scripture is the Word of God and as such carries the meaning and purpose of God to its hearers. The prophets were not at liberty to write and interpret as they saw fit but to do so under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Now I want to say to you it was not that God bypassed their intellectual faculties and they were merely human typewriters – that is not what Peter means here. Stain Glass window illustration – the light remains light but is tinted by the colours of the glass. The personality of the writers is reflected in the writing but it remains the Word of God.

There is also a warning to the believers contained in these verses also. Peter wants them to understand that they are not at liberty to interpret the Scripture according to every whim and fancy of their own. Scripture has meaning and purpose and they must be diligent and disciplined in searching it out. They must also humble themselves and submit to its authority and they must seek the Spirit to aid them in this. Peter wants them to be established, grounded in the truth of the gospel, which they already know. For this to happen they must be disciplined in listening to Scripture and this requires that they search out its meaning – not apply their own meaning to it.

CONCLUSION
Peter’s purpose is to ground the believers in the truth of the gospel of Christ because his time amongst them is coming to an end. His concern is that after he is gone they will be enabled to stand firm because they know the truth, are established in the truth and are obedient to the truth – as attested to by God and the Scriptures. Peter establishes for them the pattern of being grounded in Scripture which bears eyewitness to the revelation of God in Christ. Being established in the truth of the Scriptures the believers will not fall asleep nor fall from grace (v9) because they will remember the truth of the gospel.

So what about you and I this morning? Are you established in the truth of the gospel? Have you grounded yourself in the truth of Christ Jesus as revealed in the Scriptures and by God’s Spirit in your heart? Maybe this morning you need to pray and ask God to reveal Himself to you? Maybe this morning it is not that you do not know the truth it is that you have forgotten it and you need to be re-established in the truth. For some of you this morning this passage is just a word of encouragement to keep on keeping on. God simply says to you this morning keep going, keep establishing yourself in the truth of my Word. Maybe for someone here this morning the challenge is to begin to establish yourself and your family in the truth. I think for all of you who are believers the challenge this morning is to remember again, and to remind ourselves again, that the gospel is no man made myth but the eternal truth of God and the revelation of salvation for us and for this world.

Faith

James 2:1-17

Maximilian Kolbe was a Catholic priest, who was put in a Nazi concentration camp for his faith.

On May 28, 1941, he was transferred to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. During his time there, he would share his meagre rations of food with those around him - who were hungry.

One day a man in Kolbe’s block escaped. All of the men from that block were brought out into the hot sun and made to stand there all day with no food or drink.

At the end of the day, the man that had escaped was not found and so Fritsch, the Nazi commandant told the prisoners that ten men would be selected to die - in the starvation cell - in place of the one that had escaped.

One of those ten selected was a polish sergeant (Francis Gajowniczek). He begged to be spared because he was worried that his family would not be able to survive without him.

As he was pleading with the commandant, Maximilian Kolbe silently stepped forward. The commandant turned to him and said asked,

"What does this Polish pig want?"

Kolbe pointed to the polish sergeant and said, "I am a Catholic priest from Poland; I would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children."

The commandant stood silent in disbelief for a moment. He then allowed the sergeant to go back to his place in the ranks and Kolbe took his place in the starvation bunker.

Each day the guards used to remove the bodies of those who had died. However instead being greeted by the usual sounds of screaming, all they would hear was the sounds of Kolbe and the others in the bunker singing hymns and praying.

When Kolbe could no longer speak due to
hunger and lack of energy, he would whisper
his prayers.

At the end of two weeks, the cell had to be cleared out for more prisoners. Only four prisoners were left alive and Kolbe was one of them.

The guards came in and gave each a lethal injection and on August 14, 1941, Kolbe paid the ultimate price for following his Master.

Kolbe showed his faith in Jesus by the way he lived and died.

He walked the walk – he didn’t just talk the talk!
And practical faith one of the main features of the book of James from which our first reading was taken.

But the book of James has had its critics.

The Great German Reformer Martin Luther called it a “book of straw” because he saw James as standing for justification by “Good Works” against Paul who proclaimed a Gospel of Faith rather than a Gospel of Works

But actually St Paul does speak of the importance of good works in the life of faith when he says (in Ephesians 2:8-10)

For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is God’s gift. It is not from works so that no one can boast: for we are his formation, created as we are in Christ Jesus for GOOD WORKS which God previously prepared for us to enjoy life in them (Eph 2:8-10 Berkley)

If you read James carefully you will see there is no dichotomy between James’ Gospel, and Paul’s Gospel.

Both are Gospels of faith.

James fleshes it out by saying that works result from your faith.

What do we know about the book of James?

Who wrote it?
To whom was it addressed?

1. Authorship

It is generally accepted in the Early Church that James was the brother of Jesus who became the leader of the Jerusalem Church before his martyrdom in AD 62.

It was the same James who gave the definitive judgement at the first Council of Jerusalem recorded in Acts 15.

The only other contender was James, one of the inner Three of the 12 apostles who was martyred in AD 44 and so really could not have been the author.

2. His readership

James in his epistle is speaking to Jewish believers.

You see this most clearly in Jas 2:1 where he says:

1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.

And you also see the Jewishness of both writer and audience in some of the phrases James uses for example in Jas 5:4 where he uses the Hebrew title Kyriou sabaoth (the Lord Almighty ort Lord of hosts) when referring to God

3. Jesus and James

There is also a strong link between James teaching and Jesus teaching, for instance James says

8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbour as yourself," you are doing right.

One can see echoes of Jesus words in Mt 22:36-40 where Jesus said . 39And the second (commandment) is like it: ’Love your neighbour as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

And Jesus himself spoke about our works bringing glory to our Father in heaven when he said

“Let you light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:16)

James’ emphasis in Chapter 2 is that Christians need to live a life that reflects their faith.

There must be no partiality between rich and poor.

Our faith causes us to act differently to the people of this world.

In this world, the rich are fawned upon. Not so says James with Christians. Treat everyone the same – the way you’d want to be treated yourself

James puts the matter very cogently, when speaking of practical faith: He says this

18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

For James, faith and works are inextricably linked.

As St Francis of Assisi once said:

Preach the Gospel at all times – and use words where necessary

Our lives are meant to be lives that show our faith.

Good works are the evidence of that faith.

Just as you can tell if you have an apple tree in the back garden – by its fruit!

If the tree produces lemons – it isn’t an apple tree.

James tells us that if we are Christians then the fruit that we produce is good works.

Note NOT VICE VERSA – we don’t do good works to become Christians.

We do good works BECAUSE we are Christians.

Quite a challenge!

What’s Lost When Sin is Committed

Psalms 51:1-17

Situations, circumstances, actions, and words sometime result in the lost of something. When you invest in a company that may not be doing so well; the result may be a lost of money. There may be days at work where you have several deadlines to meet, the school is on the line telling you that your child is sick and need to be picked up, your boss is standing in your office waiting for you to hang up, so that they can give you your next assignment, and your spouse is sending text messages asking what’s for dinner (notice I said spouse because we now live in a time where household responsibilities are shared that were traditionally done by mothers, some wife is saying “not in my house,” lol). But by the end of the day this type of situation will result in the lost of one’s mind.

If somebody were to stand in your face, call you names, talk about you and your mommy, and tell you that you’ll never amount to anything, then those words may result in the lost of your confidence, hope, and self-esteem. Young people when you think that you’re in love and break-up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, then you feel like you’ve lost the love of your life. And when you come home and play video games and watch television before doing your homework, those actions result in the lost of A’s & B’s, which also leads to the lost of your privileges to play video games, talk on the phone, and watch TV. So, we see that situations, circumstances, actions, and words can result in the lost of something physical, material, or mental.

This isn’t a new concept, since the beginning of time people have lost something as a result of their situations, actions, and words. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God said was off limits, they lost their fellowship with God. When Moses hit the rock instead of speaking to it to bring forth water as God had commanded, he lost the opportunity to cross over to the Promised Land. When Samson told the sweet talking Delilah where his strength lied, it resulted in the lost of his dignity. And when Peter walked on water and took his off of Jesus, he lost his faith.

We don’t live in a perfect world; sometimes we gain and at times we lose. In our text we find the author of this psalm, David, lose some physical, mental, and spiritual things because of his sins. I believe we’ve all experienced or will experience the mental anguish, physical pain, or spiritual disconnection because of the sins we’ve committed. A person of the world might not understand what’s going on, but children of God discover in the Word of God, that sin causes these types of feelings and emotions. And not only does sin affect us mentally and spiritually, but it can affect us physically as well. If you don’t believe me let’s see. Paul told the Corinthians to self-examine themselves and confess to Christ so that they wouldn’t sin against the spiritual presence of the Lord while taking communion. Because they were taking the Lord’s Supper unworthily, Paul said this is the reason many of you are weak and sickly, and why many have died.

But in our psalm we find David, a great man who served a great nation under a great God, dealing with the aftermath of his sins. David had committed many sins in his lifetime just as we have, but David wrote this psalm while dealing with specific sins at a particular time in his life. While King David was about fifty years of age, he committed a series of terrible sins that led to terrible consequences. Psalm 51 was written after the prophet Nathan came and revealed to David that God knew about his sins and wasn’t pleased with his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah.

If you’re not familiar with the story, one day David walked out on his balcony and from there he saw a woman bathing and the bible says she very beautiful, like my wife. This woman, Bathsheba, caught David’s attention to the point that he had to find out who she was. After enquiring about her, he sent his messengers to bring her to him and he laid with her. Now David wasn’t the only guilty party, because Bathsheba was bathing where she could be seen and we sin as well when we become a stumbling block to someone else, but that’s another message titled, “Watch Out, Before You Make Your Brother Fall.” But when Bathsheba became pregnant David tried to cover up his sin by having her husband sent home from battle, getting him drunk, and hoping that he would go home and sleep with his wife so that it could look like he was the baby daddy. When David’s plan didn’t work for two nights in a row, David sent Uriah back to the battlefield carrying his own death sentence in a letter that said to put Uriah in the heat of the battle, so that he could be killed.

Uriah was killed, and David took Bathsheba to be his wife. David kept his sins a secret as long as he could and when the prophet Nathan finally revealed to David through a parable that his sins weren’t as hidden as he thought, it led David to confession and repentance, and it led David to write this psalm which also described what he lost because of the sins he had committed.

What is lost when sins are committed? In verse 3 David says, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” The first thing we see is when sin is committed we lose a clear conscience. David recognized the wrong he had done; how he had rebelled against God and his sins were constantly staring him in the face, haunting him day and night. When David tried to think of something else, the sin he had done would pop up in his head and he would feel the mental anguish and remorse.

Have you ever watched a scary movie even though you know that you’re a scary person? And after the movie is over you find yourself constantly thinking about the scary parts and replaying scenes over in your mind. This is what David was going through and this is what we go through as well when we realize how bad we’ve messed up. We can barely get our assignments done at work and we really don’t feel like being bothered with anyone when our sin is constantly before us. We try to go through the day, but our sin is before us. We lay down at night thinking we will get a good night’s rest, but the sin we’ve committed is even in our dreams. Our ability to think straight is lost and our clear conscience is lost to the thoughts of our sin.

Not only do we lose a clear conscience when we sin, but when sin is committed our joy and gladness is lost as well. Look at verse 8, David says, “Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.” David didn’t only lose the joy within his heart, but nothing around David could give him joy either. When David realized he had sinned against God, his heart was saddened and nothing or nobody could make him glad. David lost the sound of joy and gladness. Nothing sounds good when we’re out of fellowship with God. David’s bones couldn’t even rejoice, in order words his soul was so deeply distressed by the sense of God’s displeasure that David cried out to God that his soul may rejoice.

Have you been here before because of a sin you’ve committed? Satan makes you feel as though all hope is gone, he makes you think that God wants nothing to do with you. Your lack of joy affects the way you respond to others and it can also affect the close relationships you have with people. You may be smiling on the outside, but on the inside your heart wears a frown. You may even appear to be standing tall, but on the inside the façade of your heart is tumbling down. Your favorite book or television show can’t give you joy, not even the dog wagging his tail whose so happy to see you when you come home. When we have committed sin we lose joy, gladness, and our feeling of excitement that causes us to rejoice.

As David continues to cry out to God we find that when sin is committed, we lose the purity of our inner man. Verse 10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” David realized that his heart wasn’t pure and that his spirit wasn’t firm or steadfast anymore. Sin had so corrupted the heart of David that a repair job wouldn’t do, he needed a new heart. He also lost the steadfastness of his spirit and wanted God to make it firm again.

We too lose the purity of our inner man when sin is committed. Our hearts become hard especially when sin is left unconfessed as long as David’s sin was. Our spirits began to waver and it doesn’t take much from the enemy to cause us to follow his ways. When our inner man is no longer pure it opens the door to so many other sins. So David saw that his sin caused him to become impure.

And as if all these things that David lost wasn’t enough, when sin is committed we also lose the joy of our salvation. In verse 12a, David said unto God, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” David once had the joy of God’s salvation, but lost it because of sin. David no longer had the zeal he once had when he first came to know God personally. The salvation of the Lord is something that should always bring joy to our hearts, but sin had harbored in the heart of David so long, that not even the thought of salvation brought him joy. This time in David’s life would have been a bad time for him to be a witness for God, because he wouldn’t have been able to share with others the joy of the Lord. If we lose the joy of our salvation, then how can we expect to win lost souls to Christ.

As children of God we have to understand that when sin steals the joy of our salvation, that salvation itself isn’t lost. We may lose many things when we sin just as David did, but one thing we can be assured of is that we’re still children of God. When we mess up and miss the mark, don’t allow satan to make you feel like you’re not saved anymore. If that were the case, then I would have lost my salvation the very next minute after being saved.

I know that you’re really enjoying this sermon and you want me to continue for twenty more minutes, but I’m getting ready to close, sit down and be happy all by myself. But let’s look at one more thing that’s lost when sin is committed, and that’s our passion and desire to worship and praise the Lord. Verses 14&15 say, “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.” David’s sin caused his mouth to be shut. When others praised God, David’s sin hindered his praise. When the choir was singing, David’s sin wouldn’t allow him to join in. David said if God forgave him, then he would sing aloud of His righteousness and praises to God would fall from his lips. David wasn’t bargaining with God, David wanted to freely worship and praise God but he was weighed down so much by his sin that it became impossible for him to do so. But if God were to remove the guilt and shame, then praises would continually flow from his mouth.

Has sin ever kept you from praising God? Have you felt like God doesn’t want to hear anything you have to say? Once again satan loves to make us feel as though we can’t praise God when we’ve messed up. He also likes to make us feel like we can’t even pray, when that’s exactly what we need to be doing. The bible says that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Well, if those who denied Christ will one day have to worship him, then why can’t a child of God send up praises regardless of what we’ve done. If God has forgiven us, then we should be able to praise His Holy and Wonderful name!

David suffered a great lost because of his sins, and because we’re made of flesh just as David was we too can identify with his lost and pain. But this sermon would not be of any help if I didn’t tell you the good news in this bad situation.

Throughout this psalm, which is David’s plea to God for mercy, forgiveness, cleansing, and restoration, when we read the scriptures we find that God did answer David’s prayer. Because of the sins David committed he lost his clear conscience, but God removed the guilt and shame. David lost his joy and gladness, but God opened his ears to hear joy and gladness and made his bones rejoice. David lost the purity of his inner man, but God created in him a clean heart and renewed his spirit. David lost the joy of his salvation, but God restored it as if it had never left. And David lost passion and desire to worship and praise the Lord, but God delivered him from bloodguiltiness and gave him a song in his heart.

If God did this for David, then he can do it for you. I’m a witness, because when I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, he heard my cry and because of his lovingkindness and the multitudes of his tender mercies, he had mercy upon me and blotted out my transgressions. He washed me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleansed my sins. I was purged and made clean, washed white as snow. He created in me a clean heart, and renewed a right spirit in me. He restored the joy of my salvation, and opened my mouth so that I can praise him...