The Mirror of the Heart: Authentic Faith in a Superficial Age

[00:07:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:07:26] Would everyone please rise for our presentation of the colors.
[00:07:35] Color Guard attention. Color Guard advance. Color Guard, post the colors.
[00:08:07] Would everyone please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Salute.
[00:08:22] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[00:08:34] Two. Color Guard, attention. Color Guard, dismiss. Everyone, you may be seated.

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:09:22] Good morning, everybody. Welcome to First Presbyterian Church of Morrisville. Our mission here is loving God, loving people, and making disciples. It's so good to be back in person on a Sunday morning. We've missed a couple Sundays due to all of this crazy weather, but it feels
[00:09:41] good to be back in the Lord's house with you all. If it is your first time with us, it is Scout Sunday and so we have the scouts here. We're appreciative for all of you guys and what you do
[00:09:52] for us here at the church and if it is your first time we also would like to invite you to stop by the parlor right over here to my left after the service at the welcome desk and we can give you
[00:10:01] some more information on all the things that are happening here in our church. With that being said would you join me now for our call to worship this morning from Psalm 1 in the bulletin.
[00:10:14] happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked nor lingered in the way of sinners nor sat in the seats of the scornful their delight is in the law of the Lord and on this law they
[00:10:34] meditate day and night they are like trees planted by streams of water bearing fruit in due season with leaves that do not wither, everything they do shall prosper. Would you join me in praying our invocation as well? Eternal God, in your loving wisdom, you set us beside the fountain
[00:10:58] of your life, like a tree planted by running streams. Fill us with the love of your wisdom that we may bear fruit in the beauty of holiness through Christ, the way, the truth, and the life.

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:11:14] Amen. You may stand as we sing a hymn. I ask you now to affirm your faith with me through

[00:13:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:13:59] the Apostles' Creed. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried he descended
[00:14:21] into hell the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead
[00:14:36] I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. You may be seated.

[00:16:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:16:27] I would like to invite Chris Taylor from the Scouts now to come up and share.

[00:21:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:21:07] Good morning, church family.
[00:21:09] First off, amazing job to the choir.
[00:21:13] That was an amazing anthem.
[00:21:14] It's a joy to be here as we celebrate Scout Sunday today.
[00:21:18] And it's a chance for us to reflect on the differences scouting makes in the lives of youth and to thank the church for the role that you play in that mission.
[00:21:28] Scouting is more than just camp outs, merit badges, scout skills.
[00:21:34] It's about helping young people grow into men and women with character, teaching leadership, encouraging service to others, and giving them a strong foundation of values that they can carry throughout their lives.
[00:21:49] To introduce, my name is Chris Taylor.
[00:21:50] I'm the committee chairman for Troop 166, and I'm here representing today PAC 166, Troop Troop 1166. And this year is especially meaningful as we celebrate 45 years of this church's steadfast and faithful support of the scouting program in Iredell County. Because of that
[00:22:11] long partnership, our unit is one of the longest continually chartered organizations in Iredell County. Each week we serve roughly 80 youth through our pack and troops. For some of these young people, this is the only time that they step foot in a church. So the foundations that we
[00:22:30] have, that we establish, and the church's support give them able to experience fellowship, mentorship, and a sense of belonging that truly matters. Over the past year, we've watched the Scouts grow in confidence and maturity. They've learned practical skills, taken leadership roles,
[00:22:48] and supported one another as a team. They've also given back through service to the community.
[00:22:54] Living out the values of both scouting and our faith calls us to practice.
[00:23:00] We're excited to share that our scouting program at First Presbyterian Church continues to grow every year.
[00:23:06] And this year is no different.
[00:23:07] And as of this past week, we have formally established and launched our co-ed venturing crew.
[00:23:13] This will give our older scouts opportunities for high adventure, leadership development and service, and continue the skills they've learned as a youth in scouting.
[00:23:22] this summer our venturing crew and many of the guys here in the front and ladies in the front are going to be attending Philmont Scout Reservation this would be the second time that our troop has participated in this and it's a great
[00:23:34] opportunity for the for the youth and the scouts to challenge themselves physically and spiritually and we're proud of the dedication they've shown in preparation for this event closer to home coming up here at the end of the
[00:23:47] month our pack has an exciting activity one of their favorite traditions and and events they hold is the pinewood derby if any of you have not seen a pinewood derby the scouts this gives them an opportunity for the scout youth elementary age to work closely
[00:24:05] with their parents and to build a car out of a block of plywood or a block of wood and they race it down a track and surprisingly they go extremely fast so i encourage you if
[00:24:17] you're able check the church calendar i saw it's on there for the towards the end of the month please attend that that's normally held in our fellowship hall in the main building we'd also like to invite everybody to come after the service I
[00:24:29] believe there's a congregational meeting directly following and after that come down to the fellowship hall to enjoy a spaghetti luncheon that the troop in the scouting program is putting on this is no cost to you it is cert to serve as a
[00:24:45] thank you for your continued support as a church community and as a church family of the scouting program. In closing, just Scout Sunday reminds us how closely scouting and faith are connected through the shared community service integrity and care for one
[00:24:59] another. We're deeply grateful for First Presbyterian Church and for the many ways that you guys support the youth in our community. Your partnership helps shape the next generation of leaders and gives them a strong community to grow within. Thank you. Thank you, Chris. We are so

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:25:24] grateful for all that you guys do and we believe in what you're doing. I'd like to invite Mark Ramsey up as well for a minute for mission. Good morning, everybody. I have some good news to

[00:25:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:25:49] report today. You remember last year, a group of us went up to Western North Carolina to help build a house that was wiped out during Hurricane Helene. And we went up, we worked all day,
[00:26:06] worked hard and we made a difference contributing to the overall effort of rebuilding Western North Carolina well I'm happy to report the house is now finished and come February 14th mr. Boone will hopefully be moved in that's
[00:26:28] the the the project aim however as you can imagine when your house gets washed away do the flooding and landslides everything inside of it gets washed away also and because of this SOS Group North Carolina is asking for our assistance
[00:26:52] and helping mr. Boone the gentleman who'd be moving into this house with a lending hand with some of the primary items one would need in moving into a new home so in order to accomplish this the way they're doing this is they've
[00:27:10] created a registry just like a wedding registry you go on the internet you check out what he needs and you can select one of the items to donate if you wish now when you're on there you'll notice that nothing is or barely nothing
[00:27:27] is more than thirty dollars most of it's somewhere between 10 and 30. however if the internet and doing something like that is not your forte you're more than welcome to send a check if that's easier
[00:27:43] or send a gift card now all these details to do all three of these options to give were listed in a email that came out this past friday from the church office so i ask you to please consider and then give and the whole mission team asks for your support
[00:28:07] so that mr boone when moving into his new home will have some of the basics needed I thank you in advance for your support if you have any questions please contact me if you don't have my contact
[00:28:22] information reach out to the church office and of course they have it and they'll be glad to share it with you I thank you again

[00:28:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:28:30] thank you Mark couple other announcements want to remind you as Chris was saying the scouts have graciously offered to provide everyone here with a free spaghetti lunch in the fellowship hall after the service and following the congregational
[00:28:55] meeting. So if you'd like to be a part of that, come and join us. It will be a good time of fellowship. And then there is a congregational meeting right after this service. And the purpose
[00:29:06] of that meeting is to present the approved operating budget. So you are welcome to stay and be a part of that Wednesday night together starts back up this Wednesday February 11th we will have dinner at 5 30 and then we'll break off for all the various classes and I believe
[00:29:26] that information is in the bulletin and yeah that's that's all I have for the announcements so would you join me now in prayer as we continue in worship Lord Jesus we look into your eyes right
[00:29:54] now your eyes of fire and your hair that is white like wool and your face that is shining like the sun and your voice that roars like the waters Lord and we are just in love with you God we love you
[00:30:18] so much Lord and we thank you for how deeply you love us we can't even comprehend the breadth the width, the height, and the depth of your love for us in Christ, Lord. We are so undeserving of your
[00:30:39] grace and mercy, your steadfast love and faithfulness, but you continue to show it to us, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. We are sorry for the ways that we have chosen to disobey you, to stray from the narrow path, to avoid the truth that is in your word, and to live lives
[00:31:06] in our flesh the way that we want to live, even though it kills us. And so, God, we take this moment now to just silently confess our sins to you. Lord, there is no one else that offers us
[00:31:36] the freedom that you offer. There is nothing else that saves us from the wages of sin, from the death it's only you Jesus you are the way the truth and the life and you have made a way for
[00:31:52] us to be reconciled to the father through dying on that cross and Lord we cling the promise in your word that says that when we confess our sins you're faithful and just and you will forgive us
[00:32:09] of them God and we receive that forgiveness right now in Jesus name there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We release all of the shame, and we ask that you fill us a fresh
[00:32:30] Holy Spirit, that we would no longer grieve you, but that you would empower us to be people of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, that you would empower us to be people who are your hands and feet, God. God, for the person in
[00:32:52] this room that just doesn't believe that you care about them and that you are really there and that you see all things and that you have always been there watching and you you heart with them in
[00:33:08] their pain Lord I ask Lord that you would open their eyes to where you are good shepherd and that they would see that you have not abandoned them or forsaken them Lord I think of that story
[00:33:23] right now of Lazarus. Your dear friend, it says you loved Lazarus, and when you found out that he was dying, you intentionally stayed where you were, Jesus, for two extra days, and you allowed him to
[00:33:40] pass and be dead for four days, and no one understood what you were doing, but then you showed up at that tomb, and the stone was rolled away, and you called out Lazarus by name, and he
[00:33:52] was resurrected he was raised to life and before you raised him to life Lord you wept with the family who had just lost their brother you hurt with them you had compassion on them and God I
[00:34:06] just pray that whoever needs to hear that this morning that you are a God who weeps with us that you are a God who cries with us in our hurting in our pain you're not this distance God but you're
[00:34:17] with us, Lord. I ask that you would help them, just help them understand that, God. And whatever resurrections we need in our life right now, may it be done according to your will, Lord.
[00:34:35] Those who are hurting, who need healing, physical healing, emotional healing, spiritual healing, would you touch them? Jehovah Rapha, you are a healing God. It's in your name. Lord, those who need provision, who don't know how they're going to make it through the rest of this month or this
[00:34:54] this year financially or in all sorts of needs I just ask Jehovah Jireh that you would provide for them God it's in your name it's who you are you are so good to us Lord you are so faithful
[00:35:12] to us and you have been so faithful to this church and we surrender this this church First Presbyterian Church of Mooresville to you again may you be glorified in this place God may you continue to use us to be a light to the world a light to the nations a light to mooresville
[00:35:34] god make us the salt of the earth may people look at us not while we're in this building but while we're out in the streets while we're working our jobs while we're being with our friends and family
[00:35:48] may they look at us and may they notice that there is something different about us lord may they see you Jesus in us and give us the boldness to then also testify to who you are
[00:36:02] with our words to not just stay silent and not just pray but also to speak out for the hope that we have God lead us as a church to all the places we're supposed to go to all the people we're
[00:36:25] supposed to reach and disciple we give Wednesday night together to you that's starting up again this week would you give all the leaders wisdom and discernment and would you send us the people we are just grateful lord we don't take any of this for granted thank you let me take this time
[00:36:53] now to pray out loud the prayer that you taught your disciples to pray jesus our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
[00:37:06] give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory

[00:37:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:37:22] forever and ever amen you may stand as we sing another hymn together you seated acknowledge all

[00:40:13] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:40:13] the scouts thank you for being here today and thank you for the leadership you've taken in the serve us this morning and for the lunch that you will provide us with so very uh want to express
[00:40:22] our gratitude as a church for you doing that and for our partnership and we're glad that we can share the the property and the facilities we're going to continue on in the book of james
[00:40:32] the sermon series theme is everyday faith james the brother of jesus gives very practical advice to how to live out our faith, and we'll be working on this between now and Easter.
[00:40:48] This morning is James chapter 1, verses 19 through 27, and I open by sharing with you, there's a repeated question I've received through the years. Being a father, I get this question in the house. Having been a youth leader at camps and retreats, I received the same question from
[00:41:10] you as adults, the question is asked. And it's this, how do I know, how do I know for sure that I'm saved, that I'm going to heaven, that the confession that I made has sunk in? And
[00:41:27] oftentimes when that question's being asked, something has prompted it, maybe a bad week, maybe someone's feeling shame and guilt and they just don't feel worthy of God's love. How do I know that I'm really saved? Or maybe it's someone who's had some disappointment in life. Maybe
[00:41:47] they're disappointed in someone they looked up to spiritually or something that took place in the church. Sometimes it's a trial that someone's experiencing. You know, how could a God of love allow this to happen to me? Or a student for the first time in college taking a religious course
[00:42:04] and suddenly their worldview just goes poof, you know, like, how do I really know that I'm saved?
[00:42:12] How will I know that I'll experience eternal life? That prompts me to go right back to John chapter 3. You know the passage? You know the religious man? He was a Pharisee. He was really
[00:42:30] basically drawn to Jesus, wanting that, he had that question in mind. He wanted security of his soul. He had these questions, and as he approached Jesus in the night, very quietly, what did Jesus tell him he needed to know that he had life eternal, to know that he would see eternal life
[00:42:52] in heaven? Jesus said, you must be born again. Remember the fellow's name? Nicodemus. Nicodemus, you must be born again.
[00:43:03] How did Nicodemus respond to that comment?
[00:43:08] He's like, well, he's a little confused.
[00:43:10] Jesus, can a human being crawl back into their mother's womb?
[00:43:14] He took Jesus quite literally.
[00:43:17] And Jesus is like, no, no, no, no.
[00:43:19] I'll read to you exactly what Jesus said to Nicodemus.
[00:43:23] He says, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit.
[00:43:31] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit.
[00:43:35] You should not be surprised at me saying you must be born again.
[00:43:42] What's Jesus saying here?
[00:43:46] He's saying faith is a heart thing.
[00:43:49] It's not physically being born again.
[00:43:52] Whether you're 60 years old or 16, if you give your heart to Jesus, you become a child, an infant.
[00:44:02] there's a rebirth. Ephesians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul understands the conversion experience, right? Saul from Tarsus on his way to persecute the church. He stopped in his tracks. He has this amazing testimony. And Ephesians 2, he shares with the church that he says, apart from Christ,
[00:44:25] you're dead. You're dead in your sins. And can a corpse revive itself? You don't have that ability.
[00:44:33] You can't perform any resuscitation to yourself.
[00:44:37] God initiates through his son, Jesus Christ.
[00:44:41] And Paul shares with the church, it's by grace that you've been saved through faith.
[00:44:54] The apostle Peter, go to Acts chapter two, the great day of Pentecost, and all this is taking place and people are a bit in awe, a bit perplexed at what's going on here on the day of Pentecost.
[00:45:10] And Peter preaches from the Old Testament about the fulfillment of the Messiah coming in the person of Jesus Christ, Jesus from Nazareth.
[00:45:18] He gives the gospel message, the good news of Jesus Christ, his life, his death, his resurrection.
[00:45:24] And then as he proclaimed the word of God and people received, what are we told takes place?
[00:45:35] Thousands of people, it says, were pierced to the heart.
[00:45:42] They said, Peter, what do we do?
[00:45:45] Peter says, confess your sins and be baptized.
[00:45:50] Confess your sins, turn to Jesus as Lord and Savior, and the baptism brings you into fellowship in the church.
[00:45:58] 3,000 people were saved that day.
[00:46:04] James 1, verse 18 is a key verse in the book of James.
[00:46:09] It's a key verse in identifying the need for a heart change.
[00:46:15] It says that God, it describes God as the father of lights, the source of every good and perfect gift.
[00:46:23] It says in verse 18 that God, in fulfillment of his own purpose, gave us birth by the word of truth.
[00:46:35] Gave us spiritual life.
[00:46:37] It's a second birth.
[00:46:40] It's a spiritual birth.
[00:46:44] How do you know for sure that you're a believer?
[00:46:47] How do you know that your soul is secure?
[00:46:51] Genuine faith is a heart thing that starts with a response to God's call.
[00:46:55] And authentic faith is also a heart that continuously is inclined to his word.
[00:47:03] When you receive faith, not only do you receive the Holy Spirit, but his word is implanted in you.
[00:47:09] And we continue in our faith.
[00:47:10] You and I, those of us who have proclaimed faith in Jesus Christ, we're told that you're justified.
[00:47:16] You can stand before the throne as perfect.
[00:47:18] Is anyone in this room perfect?
[00:47:20] We're all a work in progress, but we're perfect.
[00:47:26] Christ died on our behalf in Christ.
[00:47:30] And then the lifelong journey, we're all a work in progress, and we are to be inclined to his word.
[00:47:36] That's what's going to be fleshed out in our passage this morning.
[00:47:39] A big idea is this.
[00:47:40] authentic faith is thoroughly connected to the heart of a believer i'm going to say a prayer we'll read the passage together please join me heavenly father we do thank you for the gift of your word lord we pray through your holy spirit as we proclaim the word this morning
[00:48:01] as i proclaim the word that we can receive a deeper understanding by the power of your spirit and lord through that understanding may we not only know you better in head knowledge but may we draw closer to you.
[00:48:16] Lord, please bend our will towards yours in the way the word may apply to our lives and we give this time to you now.
[00:48:22] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:48:24] James 1, beginning with verse 19.
[00:48:27] You must understand this, my beloved.
[00:48:30] Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, for your anger does not produce God's righteousness.
[00:48:39] Therefore, rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls be doers of the word not merely hearers who deceive themselves for if you are
[00:48:54] hearers of the word and not doers they're like those who look at themselves in a mirror for they look at themselves and on going away immediately forget what they were like but those who look
[00:49:07] into the perfect law, the law of liberty and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act, they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure
[00:49:30] and undefiled before God the Father to keep one's self unstained by the world.
[00:49:40] This is the word of the Lord.
[00:49:44] Thanks be to God.
[00:49:49] Again, authentic faith is thoroughly connected to the heart of the believer.
[00:49:55] First insight I want to draw from Scripture will come from the first three verses, verses 19 through 21.
[00:50:02] The point I want to draw out is this.
[00:50:04] authentic faith is rooted in meekness. Authentic faith is rooted in meekness. This is addressing the posture of our heart. Faith is a heart thing, not just a head thing. This addresses the posture of the heart. A genuine believer displays humility. Look at verse 19. It says, be quick to listen,
[00:50:31] slow to speak slow to anger is talking about being attentive to the word of god would you say circumstances can sometimes get us riled up in life i don't know about you it can with me sometimes i my blood gets boiling and it's hard to approach god's word with humility i'm
[00:50:52] ready and god invites us to share our concerns and our trials and our struggles we're also told we need to have a heart that's meek to be receptive. Notice it says slow to anger. Does
[00:51:09] it tell us that we can't be angry? Believers are not allowed to be angry. No, there is such thing as righteous anger. Who's described in the New Testament as the most meek person ever to live
[00:51:21] in existence here on earth? Jesus. And meekness is not weakness. Meekness can be defined biblically as strength under control, and Jesus got angry. There were times when his blood boiled. There are times when in the name of justice, he expressed with intensity that anger.
[00:51:43] Think of the, you know, we often quote, you remember when he flipped the tables in the temple of the money changers? What was he upset about? Religious leaders were exploiting the poor.
[00:52:01] It was a day where people would come in and they would purchase animals for sacrifices to get right with God and they were exploiting the poor.
[00:52:08] It's like going to a football game and having to pay 20 bucks for a can of soda.
[00:52:13] You know, they come in and they're wanting and they're charging a pigeon that should maybe be $3 would be $300.
[00:52:20] This was upsetting to Jesus.
[00:52:23] And he let the people know, he let the leadership know.
[00:52:26] Now, Jesus in his righteous anger, you know, it says in Ephesians 4, 26, Be angry, but do not sin in your anger.
[00:52:33] When you and I are upset about injustice, does that mean that we can throw up the middle finger, belittle someone, name call?
[00:52:46] Do we question the motives?
[00:52:48] I think one of the things my wife and I are careful with our children, we try to focus on the behavior, not the motive.
[00:52:58] Is it about, you know, righteous anger is about justice, not revenge.
[00:53:09] Now, here in the passage, getting back to the context, you find an angry spirit is rarely an attentive spirit.
[00:53:17] Would you agree?
[00:53:20] So sometimes to really be attentive, you need to cool off.
[00:53:24] When I was a child, my parents, one practice of their discipline was they'd often send myself and my siblings to our room.
[00:53:32] Why do you think they did that?
[00:53:33] Before they disciplined.
[00:53:36] Either to let us cool off, because I'm not gonna listen very well if I'm all upset and shaking my fists or sometimes my parents needed to cool off because they didn't wanna say something in their anger
[00:53:49] that they would regret.
[00:53:51] My wife and I, we've been married now 30 years, just celebrated our 30th anniversary.
[00:53:57] We can both be a little strong-willed and we can both get intense and one thing we've learned as we've grown in our relationship, when there's a difficult conversation and our blood begins to boil, sometimes we have to back off for a little bit
[00:54:10] because we're not listening to each other.
[00:54:14] It takes discipline.
[00:54:16] That's meekness, strength under control.
[00:54:19] And my wife and I, we do it a lot better than we did 20 years ago.
[00:54:22] We're far from perfect, but we've grown in that area.
[00:54:26] Again, we're told here, the posture of a heart, a genuine believer displays humility.
[00:54:32] You're slow to anger, yet you're attentive to the word.
[00:54:35] It says actually in here that you attend to the soil.
[00:54:37] James speaks of the weeds of sin in our lives, He calls it rank growth of wickedness.
[00:54:44] You ever notice on a communion Sunday, every time we take communion, myself or Moses will give you opportunity to get your heart right with God before approaching the table?
[00:54:57] Why do we give you that opportunity?
[00:55:00] We serve a God of grace.
[00:55:03] And if you're hanging on to something, you've had a bad week, we allow you time to tend the soil, so to speak, and to get right.
[00:55:10] That's a great practice.
[00:55:11] It takes discipline.
[00:55:13] strength under control. When things are happening in life and you're frustrated, sometimes you have to slow down. You need to come to God's word. You need to humble yourself and yes, express yourself to God, but Lord, I need a good word. You need to listen.
[00:55:28] It takes humility. And when the soil is clean, now you're in a good position to hear.
[00:55:38] A clean heart, verse 21, welcomes with meekness, quote, the implanted word that has the power to save your souls did you catch that God's word has the power to save your souls it's imperishable the implanted word is our source of salvation let me read from first
[00:55:59] Peter chapter 1 verse 23 explains that believers are quote born again not of perishable seed but through the living and enduring word of God when you came to faith you received the gift of the holy spirit and his word is implanted it's not perishable it's imperishable do you incline
[00:56:21] your heart to his word as you seek to live out your faith colossians 3 16 says let the word of christ dwell in us richly a faith rooted in meekness does so by being attentive in spirit
[00:56:42] welcoming the gift of his implanted word to flourish in your heart he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion. Second insight I want to emphasize here. Now we're going
[00:56:55] to look at verses 22 through 25. What I want to draw from these verses is this. Authentic faith looks deeply into the mirror. I'm kind of going to go with the M's here from meekness to mirror.
[00:57:13] What's being said here? Not only do we need a posture with our heart for humility, but we need integrity of the heart that's what's being emphasized here integrity verse 22 but be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves for if they are here is the
[00:57:36] word and not doers they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror and forget what you look like forget what you saw does this mirror illustration make any sense let me flesh it out
[00:57:51] just a little bit more.
[00:57:54] Authentic faith.
[00:57:58] The mirror's about letting God's word shape us.
[00:58:03] So looking into the mirror's like looking into God's word and it gives a picture of who he intends us to be and as we look in that mirror, as we look into his word, sometimes it inspires us,
[00:58:13] sometimes it may point out our flaws and convict us.
[00:58:19] Authentic faith is demonstrated by obedience.
[00:58:25] Looking intently, deeply into the perfect law, allowing it to show us who we are, both positively and negatively, allowing it to inspire us, expose our flaws to convince us.
[00:58:36] I think it's Hebrews chapter four, verse 12, tells us God's word is active, right?
[00:58:44] God's word is active and alive.
[00:58:47] God's word understands you it can penetrate your heart my wife and I spent eight years in a church in New England with our family and it was a response to a call to do what they were calling renewal ministry
[00:59:06] on New England if you look at that corner of the United States they experience they have all of these little congregational churches sprinkled throughout the region and many of these churches experience both the first and second great awakenings
[00:59:21] revival that took hold of our country. A lot of that took place in New England. Jonathan Edwards, you know, the Wesley brothers spent time up there too. I know they were down here as well.
[00:59:35] They just celebrated in 2019 their 300th year anniversary. And one of their pastors was Lyman Beecher. The pulpit I preached from in that church was the same pulpit that he used in the early to mid-1800s.
[00:59:53] His daughter was Harriet Beecher Stowe.
[00:59:56] And my first Sunday going up in that pulpit, again, the emphasis in that region, my response, our seminary was wanting pastors to go into these little churches and help refocus the gospel that they had strayed from.
[01:00:13] A lot of New England was not doing global missions anymore.
[01:00:15] A lot of New England was not living out evangelism.
[01:00:20] So I responded to a call to just go into this little church and present the gospel in its fullness.
[01:00:26] My first Sunday up in the pulpit, I climb these high steps, I'm looking down, and I start to read God's word, and it's this big book.
[01:00:33] As I start to read God's word, the people in the congregation started clearing their throats, and I realized, okay, they're trying to tell me something.
[01:00:39] What am I missing? What am I doing wrong?
[01:00:41] And there were two lamps.
[01:00:44] Same pulpit Lyman Beecher had used in 1840.
[01:00:47] Two lamps that used to be oil was now electric.
[01:00:49] they said you need to flip those on so i flipped the one lamp flipped the other lamp everyone was fine read the passage gave the sermon about a month later i was at a deacon's
[01:01:01] meeting i said by the way uh what's the deal with the lamps why do we turn on the lamps and they said well we're not sure but we've been doing it since 1840 and it's just very important that you
[01:01:13] do that not not one there are 15 deacons not one could tell me why they flipped on those lamps so I did a little research and I found out in congregational churches in that region at that
[01:01:25] time a lot of churches had lamps you know what they were symbolic of represented the Holy Spirit the scripture was the highest point in the church building they called it the meeting house and when you flipped on the lamps it would shine it would represent the Holy Spirit
[01:01:44] illuminating God's word bringing it to life Sue do you remember were there lamps in your church She was in a little church in Connecticut as well.
[01:01:55] And I loved that.
[01:01:57] And I started researching all the little rituals and traditions.
[01:02:02] And doesn't that bring meaning to your experience?
[01:02:05] You can just go through the motions and say, oh, you gotta turn on the lamp or you can realize this represent God, his Holy Spirit bringing his living word to life and opening our hearts to that.
[01:02:19] Be honest with yourself.
[01:02:20] how intently do you look into the mirror how intently do you look into scripture superficial faith is simply glancing into a mirror it's like seeing a chocolate smudge on your face or maybe shaving cream on your ear walking away and forgetting what you looked at
[01:02:41] i sometimes do that my wife's like honey you know she wipes the shaving cream off my ear before i go out the door do you look in the mirror just to be vain or is there a purpose why do you look
[01:02:52] into God's word. You look intently. That term for looking intently was the same term used for Peter looking into the tomb and discovering, wow, Jesus is alive. How deeply do you look? And then what do
[01:03:06] you do with that? If you have integrity, you don't just look. If you have integrity, you receive and you seek to live it out. Now, I want to highlight two lies that we're sometimes prone
[01:03:22] to or sometimes guilty of. Maybe some in this room have been guilty of this. One lie that we tell ourselves is that the Bible is restrictive. You ever heard that? Oh, there's so many restrictions
[01:03:33] in the Bible. You know, don't do this, don't do that. Each year with the eighth graders, we go through the Ten Commandments, and I'll give them a challenge. Which of these ten, once we explain
[01:03:43] them and learn to understand them, the first four are towards God, the second six are towards others, loving God, loving others. What should not be here? Because you can look at the Ten Commandments as restrictions, or you can look at the Ten Commandments as actually giving you freedom.
[01:03:59] James describes the book of the law as the book of freedom. You know, I've told before, I'll briefly remind you, remember the story of the little schoolhouse in New England? And it was in a small
[01:04:14] town, but as the town grew, they had a, the school was still active, and during recess, the kids would go out and play in the playground but there was uh the roads were becoming more busy and it was
[01:04:25] becoming more dangerous to play in the playground and so there's this fear each and every day when it was lunchtime or recess and you'd have teachers that were patrolling and they would keep the children very close to the school building so as not to get hurt not to get hit by a car then one
[01:04:41] day the school board uh were discussing that issue and they voted to put an offense it was approved Now, a fence gives you a boundary.
[01:04:53] It can restrict things, right?
[01:04:54] And they built the fence, and when it was complete, what do you think happened when the first day that they had a fence and the children went out for recess, what do you think happened?
[01:05:03] Were they still clustered around the building?
[01:05:07] No, because there was freedom in the boundary.
[01:05:11] You know, God's law is for our benefit.
[01:05:14] Thou shalt not kill.
[01:05:16] That's not such a bad restriction, would you say?
[01:05:19] Thou shalt not commit adultery.
[01:05:21] Thou shalt not steal. Again, James describes the Bible as God's law of liberty, God's law of freedom. Sometimes people also say, well, they pick and choose from the Bible because they don't view the Bible as perfect. They say, you know, look in the Old Testament, there's polygamy. The
[01:05:42] Bible endorses polygamy. Does the Bible really endorse polygamy? That's taking it grossly out of context. Study any character that had more than one wife and look what it did to their life. It absolutely made a mess of things. The Bible says one man, one woman within the balance of marriage
[01:06:01] is for a benefit. When there's a breakdown of family, we find historically there's a breakdown within that culture. Some will say, well, the Bible endorses slavery. Really? Bible's about freedom and breaking free from chains. And yes, the reality of a broken world and slavery has
[01:06:20] existed. God's people have been in slavery and God has allowed for that to happen. And yet it's all about breaking free there's no male or female no jew or gentile no slave or free we're
[01:06:34] all one in christ jesus christ himself if you believe in jesus you do recognize that he came in his sermon on the mount he said i did not come to destroy the law but i came to fulfill it he
[01:06:51] says you've heard it said but he wanted us to have a better understanding of god's heart i tell you This is how you've taken it, but this is what it means.
[01:07:03] Any of us in this room wiser than Jesus?
[01:07:05] Jesus in his resurrected state was showing where he was prophesied in the Old Testament.
[01:07:10] He accepted it in its entirety.
[01:07:12] 2 Timothy 3.16 says, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching and instruction and rebuking and for pursuing righteousness.
[01:07:24] all scripture, that presented through the prophets and the apostles, the implanted word molds and shapes us. I want a last little thought on this. I think it's summed up beautifully.
[01:07:40] Tim Keller has a take on this. He compares God's word to an owner's manual. He says an owner's manual is not simply a set of restrictions. It tells you how to operate something. It tells you
[01:07:56] if you don't properly take care of the product, you'll destroy it.
[01:08:00] It gives you the right restrictions.
[01:08:03] Don't place electronics in a fish tank, right?
[01:08:09] What will it do?
[01:08:10] It'll destroy it.
[01:08:12] It's not what it's designed to do.
[01:08:13] No stealing, no adultery.
[01:08:15] When it comes to the Bible, it destroys relationships.
[01:08:17] It destroys marriage and families.
[01:08:20] And there's some positive things.
[01:08:21] Do forgive.
[01:08:23] The Bible says do forgive.
[01:08:25] What happens when you allow bitterness to take over?
[01:08:31] What does that do to you?
[01:08:33] Sometimes the person that you're holding it against, they've long, they're living life and you're holding on to something, you're becoming more and more bitter.
[01:08:42] And when you let go and let God be judge, when you let go, when you forgive, there's a freedom, the law of liberty frees you from that bitterness and that pain.
[01:08:55] You know, I've heard it said this way, with a fish, is perfect freedom to allow the fish to go on land?
[01:09:08] Well, why restrict them to the water?
[01:09:10] Because they have gills and fins, and if you throw a fish on land, they're going to suffocate, right?
[01:09:17] Perfect freedom is restricted to the water for a fish.
[01:09:21] You and I, we've been given God's word.
[01:09:25] We must have humble hearts.
[01:09:26] We must be meek.
[01:09:30] We must be receptive.
[01:09:31] of, you know, be people of confession. We must not be self-deceiving. Oh, I know more than God.
[01:09:38] I know more than Jesus. I'm wiser than that. We must incline our ear to his wisdom. He designed the owner's manual. He knows what's best for you and me. And one last word on that important
[01:09:56] aspect of looking in the mirror. The mirror also shows you your identity. Sometimes when you're beating yourself up, it takes time in God's word to realize, you know what? I'm not, yeah, I'm a sinner, but I'm also a child of God. There's so many things we try to define ourselves by, but
[01:10:14] when you look into the mirror, God shows you your true identity. You're forgiven. Through faith, you're a child of God. You're a new creation. You're his masterpiece. He loves you. And so as we relate to God through his word and through the spirit, we don't respond to his word. We don't
[01:10:33] obey based on fear, we've been saved through faith. We respond based on gratitude, right?
[01:10:41] Why? Because we're blessed when we trust, which leads to the third point. Authentic faith bears the marks of pure religion. Verses 26 and 27, we see now when it comes to the heart, a test of the heart. So we started with meekness, right? Inclining ourselves humbly to God's word.
[01:11:03] we move to the mirror, right? And that takes, you know, we have to be honest. We have to be not only meek and attentive to the word, but we must be honest with what we see, good and bad. And then
[01:11:18] if faith is truly genuine, you'll see the marks of that faith. Three are outlined here. I'm not going to go deep into them because it will go much more deeply into it as we work our way
[01:11:27] through James. Three marks. One is the bridling of the tongue. Two is care for the orphans and widows. And three, we see in these verses, a life unstained from the world. When it comes to the
[01:11:43] tongue, James says the heart's connected to the tongue. You have a bitter heart, it spills out.
[01:11:54] If you're growing in your faith, you're inclined to his word. Over time, you learn to control your tongue. We're not perfect, not in this life, but you learn to control the tongue. You know, you hear on the playground as a child, sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never
[01:12:07] hurt you. Let me tell you, there are a lot of people my age in therapy today because of words on the playground as a child or words that came from mom or dad. Yes, they do hurt. They do damage.
[01:12:19] They do destroy. As we grow in our faith, we need with God's help to learn. If it's a heart thing coming from, you learn to control your tongue. Later in the letter, James says, with our tongue,
[01:12:34] we praise our Lord and Father, and with the same tongue, we curse human beings. He goes, my brother and sisters, that should not be. That must not be. Another mark, the care for orphans and widows, it represents the vulnerable and the disenfranchised. James is just emphasizing a theme
[01:12:53] that's in the Old and New Testament. God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament And God would say, if you have a sacrifice in the altar and you are exploiting the poor,
[01:13:04] that gift is meaningless.
[01:13:06] That offering is meaningless.
[01:13:08] That's just external religion.
[01:13:10] If you're fasting and praying, you see in the New Testament, Jesus telling the Pharisees that you're just cleaning the cup on the outside, but your heart's in the wrong place if you're neglecting the orphans and the widows.
[01:13:26] Again, check the heart.
[01:13:28] If your heart's not growing for those.
[01:13:31] if you're agitated that we send people overseas for a global missions trip, if that agitates you, check the heart. If you're agitated that the soup kitchen's too close to your house because it might hurt your property value, check the heart. There are things that we have to really examine
[01:13:47] in our hearts. And then third, a life unstained from the world. Does your life reflect a heart that belongs to Jesus or to the world? I love how D.A. Carson puts it. He says, quote,
[01:13:58] A life unspotted from the world rejects the false measures of identity in favor of identity found in the cross. Again, remember, I can't say this enough. None of us are perfect, nor will anyone in this room attain perfection in this life. We're all a work in process.
[01:14:21] However, authentic faith reflects a heart whose primary devotion is to Jesus Christ, as well as a heart that is inclined to the perfect law, the law of freedom, inclined to that.
[01:14:39] It takes trust, it takes humility, but if the heart's transformed, eventually it will show by the fruit.
[01:14:50] Let's close this time in prayer.
[01:14:55] Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the gift of your word.
[01:15:00] Lord, I thank you that in your word, which is active and living, you not only convict us and correct us and sometimes that's very humbling but you also build us up and you remind us of our true identity
[01:15:15] and you express your love for us and Lord may we be motivated not out of fear or guilt anything that was said this morning but may the driving factor be your love planted within us.
[01:15:30] Lord thank you for your grace.
[01:15:33] Thank you for your patience.
[01:15:35] Thank you for modeling the things that you ask of us through your son, Jesus, who lived the perfect life.
[01:15:43] Lord, as we close out this service, we express our love for you and our gratitude and pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen.

[01:15:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:15:53] Before we leave, a reminder,

[01:17:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:17:32] there'll be a spaghetti lunch downstairs as we end the service.
[01:17:35] Scouts, you're free to head downstairs.
[01:17:37] We'll have a brief congregational meeting, at least I think it will be brief, and we'll present the budget that's been approved going into the new operating budget year.
[01:17:47] And an invitation, we give an invitation each and every week.
[01:17:52] I invite you to give space for Christ.
[01:17:57] You know, today is Super Bowl Sunday, right?
[01:17:59] And I took a course in college, said that Super Bowl Sunday is the greatest, the Super Bowl is the greatest religious event, the greatest religious event in our culture.
[01:18:12] That was 30 years ago.
[01:18:13] Would you say things have changed?
[01:18:15] What do we celebrate in life?
[01:18:17] What do we make idols of?
[01:18:18] Are there people that put more heart and devotion in tonight than they do on Sunday morning?
[01:18:23] You know, the Lord, I invite you to give space not only to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but give space to being humble and allowing his word to mold and shape you.
[01:18:37] Then you can approach the Super Bowl in its proper place.
[01:18:39] It's just a game, but it's fun.
[01:18:41] As we leave this place, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, may the love of God our Father, May the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with each and every one of you, now and forever.
[01:18:51] Amen.