2021/Make it Real (Sermon)_transcript.txt

[1.00 --> 8.50]  This morning we are going to start a new teaching series here through the letter of James.
[9.06 --> 13.34]  I'm going to encourage you to have a Bible with you so that we can read through that.
[13.60 --> 18.74]  You can spend time throughout the week reading through the letter, familiarizing yourself with it,
[18.76 --> 27.48]  that we can come into this, into our gathered worship on Sundays and dig deeply into what God has to say to us.
[27.48 --> 34.38]  I'm going to read from the first eight verses of James, so I invite you to find that.
[34.48 --> 35.90]  James is near the end of your Bible.
[36.88 --> 41.02]  If you open up to the back and then flip a few pages the other way, you will find James eventually.
[41.88 --> 44.66]  And it will also be on the screen there, as you can see.
[45.24 --> 47.82]  So, from James 1, let me read with you.
[49.28 --> 56.56]  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations,
[56.56 --> 57.68]  Greetings.
[59.38 --> 64.48]  Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
[64.80 --> 68.92]  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
[70.52 --> 76.86]  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
[76.86 --> 85.38]  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault,
[85.66 --> 86.94]  and it will be given to him.
[87.80 --> 90.34]  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt,
[90.62 --> 94.74]  because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind.
[95.38 --> 98.34]  That man should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.
[98.60 --> 102.70]  He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
[102.70 --> 104.54]  This is the word of the Lord.
[104.54 --> 114.32]  I want to begin this morning with a little, maybe it's a personal story,
[114.54 --> 119.08]  maybe it's too personal for you, and I apologize if that is the case,
[119.18 --> 122.36]  and I'm happy to receive your emails and phone calls as a result.
[122.86 --> 127.50]  But some of you have heard my faith story, or part of my faith story,
[127.58 --> 130.08]  some of you haven't heard part of that yet.
[130.08 --> 134.90]  And I'm going to change a little bit of that this morning, at least part of it.
[135.80 --> 145.12]  So when I was 18 or 19 in my early 20s, to be honest, I was not a Christian.
[146.56 --> 149.52]  And don't get me wrong, I went to church every Sunday.
[150.08 --> 151.66]  I knew all the right words.
[152.00 --> 156.62]  I could answer the pastors of my church appropriately whenever they asked me any questions.
[156.62 --> 164.72]  But more often than not, I was out getting high, was partying on the weekends,
[164.98 --> 171.42]  I was drinking and getting drunk and taking advantage of people and situations and circumstances,
[171.70 --> 178.12]  and generally not caring much about anything more than my own pursuit of hedonistic pleasure.
[178.12 --> 185.06]  Now to put it simply, in my life, I was a functional atheist.
[186.06 --> 186.66]  Right?
[186.70 --> 191.96]  I used the words of Christianity, and I might even say that I believed it,
[192.76 --> 196.00]  but it didn't change anything about the way I lived my life.
[196.68 --> 197.02]  Right?
[197.06 --> 201.48]  My functioning in the world was as if God didn't really exist,
[201.48 --> 205.40]  and that his redemption held no claim over me,
[205.52 --> 208.70]  and that his lordship didn't matter to any part of my life.
[210.40 --> 215.16]  And even when I engaged the claims of faith,
[215.82 --> 220.42]  it was from the perspective of how much can I get away with?
[221.52 --> 221.96]  Right?
[222.04 --> 225.72]  Or to put it another way, and you know, I know teenagers love to ask this question,
[225.88 --> 227.60]  but so do all of us as Christians.
[227.60 --> 230.74]  And I wondered, how far is too far?
[232.38 --> 232.84]  Right?
[232.86 --> 237.50]  And I had a soft moralism on those sort of big issues like abortion,
[238.10 --> 241.92]  but really, that was easy, because it didn't affect me personally.
[242.58 --> 242.80]  Right?
[242.82 --> 246.52]  And I wouldn't work on Sundays, but that wasn't about Sabbath rest.
[246.86 --> 249.40]  That was about me keeping my parents off my back,
[249.54 --> 252.44]  and having a day that I was guaranteed to not have to work.
[254.58 --> 257.22]  I went through the motions of faith.
[258.32 --> 258.48]  Right?
[258.60 --> 265.54]  Christian school, cadets, church, youth group, catechism, even profession of faith.
[265.90 --> 269.64]  And yeah, I'm sure that in my mind, at least at times,
[269.68 --> 272.74]  I really believed what I was saying, right, on an intellectual level.
[272.74 --> 275.42]  But my beliefs didn't change me.
[276.32 --> 280.82]  And it didn't change the way I lived, or the way I talked, or the way I acted.
[280.82 --> 288.94]  To paraphrase a really famous quote from Brennan Manning, right?
[288.94 --> 296.96]  I was the Christian who acknowledged Jesus with my lips, left, and denied him with my lifestyle.
[298.38 --> 299.76]  Have you heard that quote before?
[299.76 --> 307.42]  Actually, in the 90s, on a DC Talk album, it was part of one of the songs at the beginning.
[307.58 --> 309.36]  That was where I was first exposed to it.
[309.36 --> 314.60]  But it never hit me until years later, in my 20s.
[315.42 --> 316.80]  A quote from Brennan Manning says,
[316.80 --> 330.00]  And I get it now, right?
[330.00 --> 336.32]  I know enough about the Bible and about human condition, about the religious impulse, about epistemology and spirituality.
[337.20 --> 341.84]  I know enough about philosophy and non-contradictory logical statements
[341.84 --> 346.66]  to know that this statement from Brennan Manning isn't absolutely or comprehensively true.
[346.96 --> 351.58]  It's not an adequate explanation of sin and the realities of sin.
[351.72 --> 357.56]  I know that there's a difference between a causal link and saying where there really is only a correlation.
[357.56 --> 359.28]  I know all of that.
[360.32 --> 371.26]  But still, my heart breaks when I think about how I may have been a stumbling block.
[372.26 --> 379.78]  When I think about how my actions or inactions might have impacted the people that I knew back then in my life
[379.78 --> 383.14]  and led them away from experiencing Jesus.
[383.14 --> 397.14]  When I think about how the impact of my life and decisions may have influenced my brothers
[397.14 --> 406.76]  and how they encounter faith and the lack or the lack of their faith.
[406.76 --> 409.88]  And I wrestle with that.
[410.52 --> 411.48]  And I carry that.
[413.16 --> 414.10]  And that's hard.
[420.58 --> 432.22]  In 2011, there was a study that was done by a group of psychologists and sociologists in Canada
[432.22 --> 436.08]  of Canadian Christian young people.
[436.44 --> 439.40]  And that was published under the title of Hemorrhaging Faith.
[440.60 --> 444.52]  In 2018, there was a follow-up study to that that was done by the same people.
[444.58 --> 446.84]  And that was published under the title of Renegotiating Faith.
[447.80 --> 451.64]  In the U.S., for the last number of years, a couple decades even,
[451.90 --> 454.20]  the Barna Group has done a similar study.
[454.20 --> 461.14]  And David Kinnaman has published the results in a series of books called Un-Christian and You Lost Me and the like.
[461.92 --> 467.64]  And in all of those studies, there is a common theme that works its way right through.
[468.58 --> 471.66]  Now, these studies focus on youth and young people.
[471.82 --> 474.22]  And so it's given from their perspective.
[474.84 --> 477.00]  But I think we'll be able to see how much it matters.
[477.00 --> 484.62]  In the shifting of faith commitments and the realities of youth and young people leaving the church
[484.62 --> 486.40]  and the faith that they grew up in,
[486.54 --> 490.20]  there is a common theme that runs through all of the survey answers.
[490.94 --> 494.14]  For so many of these people, when they were interviewed and asked about it,
[494.34 --> 498.56]  when they looked at the faith, when they looked at church, right,
[498.56 --> 502.08]  and that is the experience of their parents and their peers,
[502.32 --> 504.84]  it didn't make a difference.
[507.00 --> 513.22]  Overwhelmingly, they would say their parents looked exactly the same as their non-Christian friends' parents.
[514.14 --> 514.56]  Right?
[514.60 --> 515.64]  They did the same things.
[515.76 --> 516.76]  They talked the same way.
[516.86 --> 518.36]  They complained about the same things.
[518.46 --> 521.88]  They worked and they lived and they pursued after the same things.
[522.72 --> 524.56]  And the thinking here is this, right?
[524.60 --> 528.42]  That if your faith doesn't really change anything about you,
[528.42 --> 532.08]  why should I change anything about me to say I have that faith?
[533.44 --> 534.72]  And let's be honest.
[534.98 --> 536.78]  That's a really good question.
[537.00 --> 543.70]  In fact, that kind of thinking, a few years ago,
[544.42 --> 549.78]  at the peak of the sort of new atheist movement that was sort of in vogue for a little while,
[550.48 --> 554.58]  one of the four horsemen of the new atheist movement, Christopher Hitchens,
[554.76 --> 556.86]  he wrote a book called God is Not Great,
[556.86 --> 561.86]  and it was an argument against religious belief generally and Christianity in particular.
[561.86 --> 572.58]  And his main argument over and over and over and over again throughout that book is anecdotal stories of people who call themselves Christian or people who call themselves religious,
[572.58 --> 575.06]  but brought hurt and pain into the world.
[575.06 --> 586.42]  If our faith doesn't change anything in our lives, why do we expect people to change anything in their lives to believe the same?
[587.62 --> 593.82]  And if your faith isn't making a difference beyond what you do on Sunday morning or what school you go to,
[593.82 --> 598.20]  is that really a compelling faith?
[599.90 --> 601.82]  Think about it with me.
[601.82 --> 605.82]  If your life looks the same as your neighbor who doesn't believe.
[607.22 --> 609.00]  Or let's get real focused for a moment.
[609.32 --> 615.30]  If you are more excited about the Super Bowl today than you've ever been about Jesus,
[615.30 --> 619.26]  what compelling reason are you giving for people to believe the same as you?
[621.22 --> 627.76]  And I know that some of us listening this morning are like me when I was 18 and 19 years old.
[627.86 --> 630.34]  We are functional atheists.
[631.32 --> 637.32]  And I know some of us are yet unconvicted by the gospel, and so we live uncompelling lives.
[637.48 --> 642.52]  And I know that some of us are just new to faith, or we're new to taking faith seriously,
[642.52 --> 645.78]  and so we're learning what maturity looks like, right?
[645.82 --> 651.46]  Some of us have never really been challenged to reflect on life and faith in this way.
[651.46 --> 661.74]  And some of us, probably most of us, have felt this niggling thing in the back of your mind or in the corner of your heart
[661.74 --> 664.66]  that is God whispering, saying, enough is enough.
[664.90 --> 666.30]  I want more for you.
[667.58 --> 669.74]  Make it real with me.
[669.74 --> 672.00]  Make it real.
[673.28 --> 677.28]  That's our goal in this series in the letter of James.
[678.00 --> 680.86]  That's James' goal in writing this letter, right?
[680.88 --> 685.48]  That the early believers would make their faith real,
[685.52 --> 689.68]  that it would be more than just a set of ideas or propositions that they would assent to.
[690.68 --> 694.46]  Now this morning, we're going to sort of do a quick introduction to this new series
[694.46 --> 696.90]  that we're going to spend our time in.
[696.90 --> 700.06]  Now, the letter begins,
[700.50 --> 704.26]  James, he identifies himself a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
[704.32 --> 705.98]  and then he tells us who he's writing to.
[706.28 --> 710.26]  And he's writing to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations.
[710.38 --> 711.84]  Now, without getting too deeply into it,
[711.86 --> 716.98]  there's a lot of discussion in biblical studies about who that might be.
[717.28 --> 720.16]  The general consensus is, and where I tend to agree,
[720.16 --> 725.86]  is that James is writing to a group of Jewish Christians
[725.86 --> 730.08]  who are scattered throughout the region outside of Palestine.
[731.02 --> 731.34]  Right?
[731.40 --> 732.62]  Their faith is young.
[732.84 --> 737.08]  And this letter is intended to be a circulating letter,
[737.14 --> 738.66]  or sometimes it's called a Catholic letter,
[738.72 --> 740.90]  that it goes out to a wide group of people
[740.90 --> 746.74]  to encourage them in their faith and in the living of life for Jesus.
[746.74 --> 749.46]  And so because their faith is young,
[750.10 --> 756.38]  they are facing pressure from fellow Jews to return to the old ways.
[756.72 --> 756.84]  Right?
[756.90 --> 762.42]  They're facing pressures from the Roman world to adapt and to compromise their beliefs.
[762.94 --> 763.04]  Right?
[763.04 --> 767.22]  And in that, facing pressure from the old ways
[767.22 --> 769.82]  and facing pressure in the Roman world,
[769.96 --> 773.66]  they're being ostracized or looked down upon
[773.66 --> 779.02]  or rejected or outcast from their communities,
[779.46 --> 781.68]  whether it's in the guilds that they work in
[781.68 --> 783.28]  or even from their families.
[784.74 --> 784.92]  Right?
[784.96 --> 788.52]  In some cases, they're even being violently persecuted,
[789.36 --> 790.18]  maybe even killed.
[790.18 --> 796.68]  We can summarize and say that the social pressures to conform are powerful.
[797.48 --> 802.96]  The religious pressures to compromise give an easy believism.
[803.68 --> 808.04]  And the culture is holding out a vision of life and happiness and blessing
[808.04 --> 813.16]  that is so tantalizing and so clearly visible right in front of their faces,
[813.16 --> 815.78]  it feels like they could actually grab hold of it.
[815.78 --> 819.50]  And when we put the context that way,
[820.44 --> 823.80]  it sounds remarkably like our time.
[824.98 --> 827.44]  Remarkably like what we face.
[828.68 --> 830.28]  Stop being intolerant.
[831.64 --> 832.90]  Don't be a prude.
[834.02 --> 835.66]  You have to try this.
[835.72 --> 837.30]  It's so good.
[837.30 --> 842.38]  And it's so easy to slip into that,
[842.46 --> 843.56]  to buy into that,
[843.62 --> 845.26]  to shift our priorities,
[845.46 --> 848.40]  to give ourselves over in that.
[848.64 --> 850.76]  And James is coming in this letter
[850.76 --> 853.00]  and throughout, hopefully, our teaching series,
[853.08 --> 853.80]  and he says,
[854.04 --> 854.86]  make it real.
[855.52 --> 859.14]  Jesus' voice is speaking to us in this moment,
[859.14 --> 859.92]  and he is saying,
[860.04 --> 862.66]  I have so much more for you.
[862.66 --> 866.80]  So here's the thing.
[868.72 --> 872.38]  The world holds out a promise to you,
[872.68 --> 878.24]  but it takes away with the left hand what it's giving with the right.
[879.20 --> 885.24]  The gospel holds out a better reality for us,
[885.24 --> 889.62]  a resurrection reality, a real reality.
[889.62 --> 895.76]  And that's where we need to find ourselves this morning.
[899.14 --> 903.58]  One scholar that I read this week put it this way,
[903.66 --> 907.62]  said that the letter of James ultimately has more to say
[907.62 --> 911.22]  about the problem of the world getting into the church.
[911.38 --> 912.94]  That James' concern is,
[912.96 --> 913.72]  and I'll quote him here,
[913.80 --> 914.02]  he says,
[914.02 --> 915.18]  his readers,
[916.28 --> 919.36]  James is concerned that his readers stop compromising
[919.36 --> 921.44]  with worldly values and behavior
[921.44 --> 924.96]  and give themselves wholly to the Lord.
[926.52 --> 929.42]  What James wants for us
[929.42 --> 933.48]  is a spiritual wholeness.
[934.50 --> 935.26]  And in many ways,
[935.26 --> 937.12]  in these first few verses,
[938.02 --> 939.44]  he outlines for us
[939.44 --> 942.30]  the path towards wholeness.
[942.30 --> 944.02]  And in that journey,
[944.02 --> 948.06]  says there will be hardships and trials along the way.
[948.36 --> 949.48]  If you have that in front of you,
[949.50 --> 950.22]  you can see it.
[951.32 --> 953.74]  Verses two through four
[953.74 --> 956.06]  kind of take us along this way.
[956.14 --> 958.96]  But you have this introduction or this word,
[959.12 --> 960.36]  consider it pure joy,
[960.44 --> 961.30]  my brothers and sisters,
[961.40 --> 964.14]  whenever you face trials of many kinds.
[964.18 --> 966.76]  And we've outlined what some of those might have been.
[966.82 --> 969.12]  Not just violence or persecution,
[969.12 --> 970.98]  but the way that they have been ostracized,
[971.06 --> 973.48]  the way that they have been rejected
[973.48 --> 975.96]  by their communities or families of origin,
[976.18 --> 978.22]  the way that they have been tempted
[978.22 --> 980.58]  to compromise their faith and belief
[980.58 --> 982.80]  in the culture that is around them.
[983.42 --> 985.70]  And that trials of many kinds
[985.70 --> 987.22]  is linked directly,
[987.22 --> 988.30]  in verse three,
[988.46 --> 991.76]  with the testing of your faith.
[992.14 --> 993.22]  And these are challenges
[993.22 --> 995.08]  to what you say you believe.
[995.08 --> 997.82]  What you say is really important.
[998.68 --> 999.90]  What you say really matters.
[1000.82 --> 1001.86]  And facing these trials,
[1002.04 --> 1003.68]  enduring these testing,
[1003.94 --> 1006.88]  is given so that you might persevere,
[1007.06 --> 1009.88]  so that you might develop perseverance.
[1010.78 --> 1012.90]  And just like when you're learning
[1012.90 --> 1014.46]  to be a long distance runner,
[1014.60 --> 1016.40]  you've got to push through the hardship,
[1016.60 --> 1017.98]  push through the trials.
[1018.14 --> 1020.46]  Just like when you're learning how to do anything,
[1020.60 --> 1021.72]  learning any new skill,
[1021.78 --> 1023.26]  you've got to push through the failures.
[1023.26 --> 1025.44]  You have to practice and practice and practice.
[1025.72 --> 1026.88]  And even when you fail,
[1026.94 --> 1029.14]  you have to get back up and try again.
[1029.76 --> 1033.08]  Your testing of your faith develops perseverance.
[1034.96 --> 1036.00]  And perseverance,
[1036.32 --> 1039.40]  when you push through to the end,
[1040.20 --> 1042.10]  must finish its work in you
[1042.10 --> 1046.14]  so that you may be mature and complete.
[1046.14 --> 1052.68]  This is a beautiful expression in the Greek here
[1052.68 --> 1057.28]  that is more than just maturity
[1057.28 --> 1059.92]  in the sense of growing old
[1059.92 --> 1063.18]  and becoming who you are.
[1063.42 --> 1064.30]  There's a sense,
[1064.44 --> 1066.80]  the word there actually is the same word
[1066.80 --> 1069.44]  from which we get the word telos or end.
[1069.90 --> 1073.28]  This is the purpose for which you have been created,
[1073.28 --> 1076.26]  the purpose for which you have been redeemed.
[1076.74 --> 1078.16]  And so you face these trials
[1078.16 --> 1080.60]  and you endure and persevere in testing
[1080.60 --> 1085.48]  so that you might find your very purpose for existence.
[1086.74 --> 1088.80]  And then you might be mature,
[1089.02 --> 1092.50]  have purpose and fullness and complete.
[1093.06 --> 1095.98]  And that word complete there is really about wholeness.
[1096.06 --> 1097.74]  It's about having the whole lot,
[1097.96 --> 1099.38]  literally in Greek.
[1099.38 --> 1103.46]  that God has all of this in store for you.
[1103.58 --> 1107.96]  This restoration to who you were designed and created to be,
[1108.08 --> 1111.38]  this restoration to who you are as a child of God,
[1111.48 --> 1113.24]  adopted as sons and daughters,
[1113.44 --> 1115.14]  heirs and co-heirs with Christ.
[1115.40 --> 1119.90]  This is God's will for you.
[1121.66 --> 1125.10]  And it's restored to perfect fellowship
[1125.10 --> 1127.84]  and relationship with him.
[1129.38 --> 1131.30]  This is who we are.
[1131.42 --> 1134.32]  This is what real faith looks like.
[1134.40 --> 1138.38]  And the challenge is to increase our capacities to live
[1138.38 --> 1140.18]  and to experience that.
[1140.34 --> 1140.92]  And yet,
[1141.68 --> 1144.84]  there are many trials,
[1145.92 --> 1148.92]  many tests along the way,
[1149.58 --> 1150.68]  and many temptations
[1150.68 --> 1152.28]  to compromise
[1152.28 --> 1154.08]  or to go a different way.
[1154.08 --> 1155.10]  In fact,
[1155.16 --> 1156.52]  that contrast comes out,
[1156.56 --> 1156.76]  right?
[1157.00 --> 1157.94]  In verse 8,
[1158.94 --> 1160.26]  James says,
[1161.14 --> 1161.74]  verse 7,
[1161.94 --> 1163.44]  should not think you will receive anything from the Lord.
[1163.52 --> 1166.20]  He is a double-minded man.
[1167.12 --> 1167.48]  Literally,
[1167.62 --> 1170.72]  that's a two-psyched person,
[1170.86 --> 1173.08]  the root of our modern word psychology,
[1173.26 --> 1173.36]  right?
[1173.38 --> 1175.16]  Having two psyches.
[1175.26 --> 1175.56]  And really,
[1175.76 --> 1178.90]  the way I see it is that you're pulled in two different directions.
[1178.90 --> 1181.66]  And that's what it means to be Christian,
[1181.82 --> 1182.72]  living in the world,
[1182.80 --> 1184.74]  is that we are pulled in the direction of the gospel
[1184.74 --> 1186.50]  and godliness and holiness,
[1186.68 --> 1189.72]  and we are pulled in the direction of the world
[1189.72 --> 1190.64]  and sin
[1190.64 --> 1193.40]  and anything else that might be fleeting
[1193.40 --> 1194.92]  or fleeing.
[1195.68 --> 1196.96]  And here we stand
[1196.96 --> 1198.66]  in the middle,
[1200.66 --> 1201.52]  pulled
[1201.52 --> 1203.14]  and asked to decide
[1203.14 --> 1204.52]  which way
[1204.52 --> 1205.40]  will you
[1205.40 --> 1206.30]  go.
[1208.08 --> 1209.36]  What really is
[1209.36 --> 1210.94]  that picture of wholeness
[1210.94 --> 1211.88]  and faithfulness
[1211.88 --> 1212.74]  that is compelling
[1212.74 --> 1214.56]  and that you will pursue after?
[1215.42 --> 1216.64]  Is it what God has?
[1217.92 --> 1219.40]  Or is it what the world offers?
[1221.62 --> 1223.98]  To make our faith real,
[1224.58 --> 1225.90]  according to James,
[1226.18 --> 1228.40]  is to be both hearers
[1228.40 --> 1229.96]  and doers
[1229.96 --> 1230.94]  of the word.
[1230.94 --> 1232.12]  And that's what this series is called,
[1232.24 --> 1233.70]  hearers and doers.
[1233.76 --> 1235.30]  And we will focus on that
[1235.30 --> 1237.10]  more closely later on,
[1237.14 --> 1237.94]  but that comes from
[1237.94 --> 1238.32]  verse
[1238.32 --> 1239.98]  22
[1239.98 --> 1241.30]  of chapter 1
[1241.30 --> 1241.76]  where it says,
[1241.88 --> 1243.40]  do not merely listen to the word
[1243.40 --> 1245.14]  and so deceive yourselves.
[1246.18 --> 1246.58]  Remember,
[1246.66 --> 1247.54]  I listened to the word,
[1247.60 --> 1248.20]  I knew the word,
[1248.26 --> 1249.52]  but I was a functional atheist.
[1250.62 --> 1252.44]  Do not merely listen to the word
[1252.44 --> 1253.56]  and so deceive yourselves.
[1254.02 --> 1254.92]  Do what
[1254.92 --> 1255.50]  it
[1255.50 --> 1256.34]  says.
[1257.86 --> 1258.86]  So how do you make it real?
[1258.86 --> 1259.42]  Well,
[1259.42 --> 1260.38]  you hear the word
[1260.38 --> 1261.50]  and you do it.
[1262.08 --> 1263.54]  You have the faith
[1263.54 --> 1264.98]  and you live it.
[1266.20 --> 1266.68]  And look,
[1266.70 --> 1268.70]  I know it's not easy.
[1269.54 --> 1270.30]  And in fact,
[1271.10 --> 1272.44]  to do this well
[1272.44 --> 1273.60]  and comprehensively,
[1273.66 --> 1274.60]  there will be times,
[1274.72 --> 1275.52]  there will be circumstances,
[1275.70 --> 1276.36]  there will be places,
[1276.36 --> 1277.34]  and there will be people
[1277.34 --> 1278.40]  in your life
[1278.40 --> 1279.54]  who think you are weird,
[1279.70 --> 1280.98]  who think you are strange,
[1281.10 --> 1281.88]  who think that you are
[1281.88 --> 1282.84]  the odd person out,
[1282.84 --> 1284.72]  and they will make fun of you
[1284.72 --> 1285.34]  for it.
[1285.38 --> 1286.56]  They will ostracize you
[1286.56 --> 1287.24]  for it.
[1287.28 --> 1288.28]  They may even
[1288.28 --> 1289.56]  persecute you
[1289.56 --> 1290.50]  for it.
[1292.84 --> 1294.44]  And I know that we like to think
[1294.44 --> 1296.48]  perhaps in different categories
[1296.48 --> 1297.76]  when we say things like
[1297.76 --> 1299.16]  how far is too far
[1299.16 --> 1300.78]  or when we try to think
[1300.78 --> 1302.32]  of our faith system
[1302.32 --> 1304.16]  strictly in these categories
[1304.16 --> 1305.44]  of morality.
[1305.44 --> 1308.20]  It was Tim Chester
[1308.20 --> 1308.88]  who said
[1308.88 --> 1310.32]  that one of our problems
[1310.32 --> 1311.12]  is that we think
[1311.12 --> 1311.72]  of holiness
[1311.72 --> 1312.94]  as giving up things
[1312.94 --> 1313.58]  we enjoy
[1313.58 --> 1314.68]  out of a vague sense
[1314.68 --> 1315.40]  of obligation.
[1316.24 --> 1316.94]  But he goes on,
[1317.00 --> 1317.62]  I am convinced
[1317.62 --> 1318.38]  that holiness
[1318.38 --> 1320.28]  is always good news.
[1321.42 --> 1322.18]  And so what does it mean
[1322.18 --> 1323.00]  to make it real?
[1323.22 --> 1323.38]  Well,
[1323.40 --> 1324.46]  it means to really believe
[1324.46 --> 1325.32]  and live
[1325.32 --> 1326.02]  that the life
[1326.02 --> 1327.14]  that God has designed
[1327.14 --> 1327.60]  for you,
[1327.68 --> 1328.44]  one of holiness
[1328.44 --> 1329.30]  and purity,
[1329.44 --> 1331.22]  is actually better
[1331.22 --> 1332.62]  than whatever else
[1332.62 --> 1333.54]  the world might have
[1333.54 --> 1334.50]  to offer you.
[1335.18 --> 1336.12]  And that's why
[1336.12 --> 1337.30]  James can say
[1337.30 --> 1339.02]  consider it pure joy
[1339.02 --> 1340.22]  my brothers and sisters
[1340.22 --> 1341.24]  whenever you face trials
[1341.24 --> 1341.86]  of many kinds.
[1341.90 --> 1343.46]  Because even in the facing
[1343.46 --> 1344.22]  of those trials,
[1344.38 --> 1345.34]  even in the challenges
[1345.34 --> 1346.98]  to the living out
[1346.98 --> 1347.54]  of our faith,
[1347.62 --> 1348.74]  to the making it real
[1348.74 --> 1349.74]  of our faith,
[1349.78 --> 1351.18]  it is joyful
[1351.18 --> 1353.70]  to be found
[1353.70 --> 1355.48]  in God
[1355.48 --> 1357.18]  and living in the way
[1357.18 --> 1358.66]  that he does
[1358.66 --> 1360.04]  and has designed
[1360.04 --> 1360.92]  for us.
[1361.82 --> 1362.36]  And James,
[1362.72 --> 1363.12]  then,
[1363.24 --> 1364.44]  will take this idea
[1364.44 --> 1365.60]  of making it real
[1365.60 --> 1366.82]  and he will apply it
[1366.82 --> 1367.92]  throughout the letter
[1367.92 --> 1368.52]  and this is where
[1368.52 --> 1369.58]  we'll spend our time
[1369.58 --> 1370.58]  for these next number
[1370.58 --> 1372.00]  of weeks and months
[1372.00 --> 1373.42]  looking at these
[1373.42 --> 1374.14]  different things.
[1374.28 --> 1375.72]  But making it real
[1375.72 --> 1377.38]  will cause you
[1377.38 --> 1378.68]  to re-evaluate
[1378.68 --> 1379.40]  how you think
[1379.40 --> 1380.14]  about wealth
[1380.14 --> 1381.08]  and riches,
[1381.28 --> 1381.70]  how you think
[1381.70 --> 1383.46]  about rich and poor.
[1383.60 --> 1384.32]  Making it real
[1384.32 --> 1385.30]  will cause us
[1385.30 --> 1386.36]  to be intentional
[1386.36 --> 1387.40]  about the language
[1387.40 --> 1388.24]  we use,
[1388.34 --> 1389.84]  the way that we speak
[1389.84 --> 1390.84]  to one another
[1390.84 --> 1393.78]  and to ourselves.
[1395.16 --> 1396.14]  Making it real
[1396.14 --> 1397.30]  will address
[1397.30 --> 1398.42]  what we think
[1398.42 --> 1399.90]  is wisdom
[1399.90 --> 1401.04]  and what is wise
[1401.04 --> 1402.40]  about what matters
[1402.40 --> 1403.50]  and how we do it.
[1404.18 --> 1404.98]  Making it real
[1404.98 --> 1406.30]  will put in front of us
[1406.30 --> 1407.32]  the question of humility
[1407.32 --> 1408.90]  in life or pride.
[1409.48 --> 1410.30]  Making it real
[1410.30 --> 1411.10]  will ask us
[1411.10 --> 1412.64]  to endure suffering.
[1413.04 --> 1413.76]  Making it real
[1413.76 --> 1415.20]  will call us
[1415.20 --> 1416.50]  to think about
[1416.50 --> 1417.62]  prayer
[1417.62 --> 1419.24]  and the work
[1419.24 --> 1419.56]  of God
[1419.56 --> 1420.04]  in the world.
[1421.88 --> 1422.56]  James is going
[1422.56 --> 1423.02]  to take us
[1423.02 --> 1423.68]  on this journey
[1423.68 --> 1424.78]  to see that
[1424.78 --> 1427.14]  God is real,
[1427.26 --> 1427.88]  that Jesus
[1427.88 --> 1429.50]  is real
[1429.50 --> 1430.40]  and that he
[1430.40 --> 1431.38]  changes
[1431.38 --> 1433.02]  everything
[1433.02 --> 1434.64]  about your life.
[1434.64 --> 1437.62]  I want to share
[1437.62 --> 1438.06]  with you
[1438.06 --> 1439.86]  some words
[1439.86 --> 1441.26]  from a young
[1441.26 --> 1441.68]  woman.
[1441.76 --> 1442.46]  Her name is
[1442.46 --> 1443.76]  Jaquel Crow.
[1444.76 --> 1445.04]  Now,
[1445.54 --> 1446.40]  these are going
[1446.40 --> 1447.10]  to be on the screen
[1447.10 --> 1447.62]  but maybe don't
[1447.62 --> 1448.08]  put them up
[1448.08 --> 1448.66]  quite yet.
[1450.32 --> 1451.14]  Just a little bit
[1451.14 --> 1451.76]  of an introduction.
[1452.90 --> 1453.50]  Jaquel Crow
[1453.50 --> 1454.18]  wrote a book
[1454.18 --> 1455.24]  a few years ago
[1455.24 --> 1455.54]  called
[1455.54 --> 1456.50]  This Changes
[1456.50 --> 1457.22]  Everything.
[1458.80 --> 1459.86]  Remember I said
[1459.86 --> 1460.36]  at the beginning
[1460.36 --> 1461.10]  I shared a little bit
[1461.10 --> 1461.72]  of my story.
[1461.86 --> 1463.12]  I was 18,
[1463.22 --> 1464.24]  19 years old
[1464.24 --> 1465.14]  in that time
[1465.14 --> 1465.76]  of my life.
[1466.84 --> 1467.80]  Jaquel Crow
[1467.80 --> 1468.92]  wrote what I'm
[1468.92 --> 1469.48]  about to read
[1469.48 --> 1469.86]  to you
[1469.86 --> 1470.54]  when she
[1470.54 --> 1471.98]  was 18 years old.
[1473.22 --> 1474.74]  She is 18 years old
[1474.74 --> 1475.30]  and she
[1475.30 --> 1477.68]  in this paragraph
[1477.68 --> 1478.52]  gets it
[1478.52 --> 1479.40]  more than
[1479.40 --> 1481.10]  most
[1481.10 --> 1482.42]  so-called
[1482.42 --> 1482.84]  mature
[1482.84 --> 1483.78]  Christian adults
[1483.78 --> 1484.80]  that I have
[1484.80 --> 1485.62]  interacted with.
[1486.62 --> 1487.78]  And I am
[1487.78 --> 1489.60]  so encouraged
[1489.60 --> 1491.76]  by young people
[1491.76 --> 1493.12]  who are
[1493.12 --> 1493.98]  thinking and
[1493.98 --> 1494.34]  believing
[1494.34 --> 1495.46]  this way.
[1495.78 --> 1496.40]  So let me read
[1496.40 --> 1497.24]  these words
[1497.24 --> 1498.06]  to you.
[1498.14 --> 1498.64]  This is from
[1498.64 --> 1499.78]  Jaquel Crow.
[1499.94 --> 1500.40]  She writes,
[1500.88 --> 1502.02]  Jesus changes
[1502.02 --> 1503.00]  everything
[1503.00 --> 1504.30]  about a person's
[1504.30 --> 1504.72]  life.
[1505.10 --> 1506.04]  From the obvious
[1506.04 --> 1507.02]  to the unseen.
[1507.02 --> 1508.00]  He shatters
[1508.00 --> 1509.04]  black and white
[1509.04 --> 1510.02]  into brilliant
[1510.02 --> 1510.58]  color
[1510.58 --> 1512.68]  and sacks
[1512.68 --> 1513.42]  the sleep
[1513.42 --> 1514.20]  until they
[1514.20 --> 1515.00]  are wide
[1515.00 --> 1515.66]  awake.
[1516.34 --> 1516.66]  Jesus'
[1517.08 --> 1517.38]  followers
[1517.38 --> 1518.12]  don't live
[1518.12 --> 1518.72]  like they did
[1518.72 --> 1519.20]  before.
[1519.20 --> 1520.24]  following him.
[1520.34 --> 1520.96]  We don't talk
[1520.96 --> 1521.52]  about the same
[1521.52 --> 1522.28]  things or read
[1522.28 --> 1522.92]  the same books.
[1523.04 --> 1524.28]  We no longer
[1524.28 --> 1525.22]  dress or act
[1525.22 --> 1525.88]  or think the
[1525.88 --> 1526.38]  same way.
[1526.70 --> 1527.42]  Jesus makes
[1527.42 --> 1529.04]  people 100%
[1529.04 --> 1529.58]  new.
[1529.72 --> 1530.38]  He takes the
[1530.38 --> 1531.28]  spiritually dead
[1531.28 --> 1532.00]  and makes us
[1532.00 --> 1532.68]  thrillingly,
[1532.98 --> 1533.44]  beautifully,
[1533.70 --> 1534.62]  and abundantly
[1534.62 --> 1535.70]  alive.
[1538.34 --> 1539.12]  That's what I
[1539.12 --> 1539.70]  want for you.
[1541.14 --> 1541.90]  That's what it
[1541.90 --> 1542.56]  means to make
[1542.56 --> 1543.84]  it real.
[1544.70 --> 1545.42]  And I am
[1545.42 --> 1546.72]  so blessed
[1546.72 --> 1547.70]  when we hear
[1547.70 --> 1548.40]  stories
[1548.40 --> 1550.30]  like that.
[1552.36 --> 1552.94]  I don't know
[1552.94 --> 1553.32]  how many of you
[1553.32 --> 1553.82]  had a chance
[1553.82 --> 1555.02]  to check out
[1555.02 --> 1555.88]  the real talk
[1555.88 --> 1556.70]  thing that
[1556.70 --> 1557.28]  Pastor Kevin
[1557.28 --> 1557.68]  did.
[1557.68 --> 1559.78]  And there
[1559.78 --> 1560.38]  we heard
[1560.38 --> 1561.06]  from two young
[1561.06 --> 1561.78]  people in our
[1561.78 --> 1562.14]  church
[1562.14 --> 1563.04]  who I would
[1563.04 --> 1563.56]  put in this
[1563.56 --> 1564.06]  category.
[1565.06 --> 1565.92]  People who are
[1565.92 --> 1566.98]  asking the hard
[1566.98 --> 1567.74]  questions and who
[1567.74 --> 1568.96]  are making it
[1568.96 --> 1569.64]  real.
[1569.64 --> 1577.40]  just like I
[1577.40 --> 1578.72]  was and
[1578.72 --> 1579.34]  continue to
[1579.34 --> 1579.82]  wrestle with
[1579.82 --> 1580.30]  what did it
[1580.30 --> 1581.44]  mean that I
[1581.44 --> 1582.10]  lived my life
[1582.10 --> 1583.56]  that way and
[1583.56 --> 1584.26]  it wasn't real
[1584.26 --> 1585.14]  and the impact
[1585.14 --> 1585.54]  that that may
[1585.54 --> 1585.96]  have had on
[1585.96 --> 1586.28]  the people
[1586.28 --> 1586.92]  around me.
[1589.76 --> 1590.40]  Continue to
[1590.40 --> 1590.78]  ask that
[1590.78 --> 1591.18]  question.
[1592.30 --> 1592.98]  What does it
[1592.98 --> 1593.48]  mean to live
[1593.48 --> 1594.14]  my life the
[1594.14 --> 1594.58]  way that I
[1594.58 --> 1595.26]  do now and
[1595.26 --> 1595.86]  what impact
[1595.86 --> 1596.52]  will it have
[1596.52 --> 1597.38]  on the people
[1597.38 --> 1598.00]  around me?
[1598.00 --> 1600.30]  I think
[1600.30 --> 1600.68]  about my
[1600.68 --> 1601.00]  kids.
[1602.20 --> 1602.90]  My daughter
[1602.90 --> 1603.50]  who is eight
[1603.50 --> 1604.02]  years old
[1604.02 --> 1605.60]  who I hope
[1605.60 --> 1606.46]  will one day
[1606.46 --> 1607.42]  sit and have
[1607.42 --> 1608.06]  the conviction
[1608.06 --> 1608.92]  that Ruth did
[1608.92 --> 1609.54]  when she talked
[1609.54 --> 1610.22]  to Pastor Kevin
[1610.22 --> 1610.92]  about reading
[1610.92 --> 1611.26]  the Bible
[1611.26 --> 1611.62]  with her
[1611.62 --> 1612.12]  friends and
[1612.12 --> 1612.62]  about wrestling
[1612.62 --> 1613.04]  with what it
[1613.04 --> 1613.44]  means to be
[1613.44 --> 1613.82]  a follower
[1613.82 --> 1614.30]  of Jesus.
[1617.06 --> 1617.62]  But that
[1617.62 --> 1618.12]  starts with
[1618.12 --> 1618.38]  me.
[1619.48 --> 1619.94]  And that
[1619.94 --> 1620.32]  starts with
[1620.32 --> 1620.98]  how I live.
[1622.60 --> 1622.88]  And it
[1622.88 --> 1623.28]  starts with
[1623.28 --> 1624.48]  how I am
[1624.48 --> 1625.72]  convicted and
[1625.72 --> 1627.60]  changed and
[1627.60 --> 1627.84]  live a
[1627.84 --> 1628.18]  compelling
[1628.18 --> 1628.62]  life.
[1629.88 --> 1630.46]  And it
[1630.46 --> 1630.84]  starts with
[1630.84 --> 1631.02]  you.
[1632.34 --> 1632.96]  And how
[1632.96 --> 1633.46]  you live.
[1634.46 --> 1634.96]  Because the
[1634.96 --> 1636.14]  reality is that
[1636.14 --> 1637.20]  Jesus came and
[1637.20 --> 1637.98]  lived the life
[1637.98 --> 1638.74]  that I should
[1638.74 --> 1639.14]  have lived.
[1639.20 --> 1639.56]  And Jesus
[1639.56 --> 1640.40]  died the death
[1640.40 --> 1640.72]  that I
[1640.72 --> 1641.02]  deserved.
[1641.10 --> 1641.84]  And in his
[1641.84 --> 1642.92]  resurrection he
[1642.92 --> 1643.84]  has won victory
[1643.84 --> 1644.74]  over sin and
[1644.74 --> 1644.94]  death.
[1645.20 --> 1645.78]  And now by
[1645.78 --> 1646.60]  grace through
[1646.60 --> 1647.38]  faith he
[1647.38 --> 1648.16]  grants to
[1648.16 --> 1649.24]  you all that
[1649.24 --> 1651.78]  you need to
[1651.78 --> 1653.38]  be adopted as
[1653.38 --> 1653.76]  a son or
[1653.76 --> 1654.18]  daughter of
[1654.18 --> 1654.42]  God.
[1654.64 --> 1655.22]  He gives
[1655.22 --> 1656.00]  you perfect
[1656.00 --> 1656.42]  righteousness.
[1656.42 --> 1657.32]  He declares
[1657.32 --> 1658.58]  you holy.
[1659.86 --> 1660.30]  He's taken
[1660.30 --> 1661.04]  from you the
[1661.04 --> 1661.64]  punishment for
[1661.64 --> 1662.42]  sin and this
[1662.42 --> 1663.76]  is the reality
[1663.76 --> 1665.00]  in which we
[1665.00 --> 1666.16]  now live.
[1666.26 --> 1666.94]  And so make
[1666.94 --> 1667.54]  it real.
[1669.40 --> 1670.28]  Live such
[1670.28 --> 1671.90]  compelling lives
[1671.90 --> 1672.72]  in the world
[1672.72 --> 1673.34]  that though they
[1673.34 --> 1673.98]  might accuse you
[1673.98 --> 1674.56]  of doing wrong,
[1674.64 --> 1675.06]  that though they
[1675.06 --> 1675.86]  might think you
[1675.86 --> 1676.52]  are weird and
[1676.52 --> 1676.98]  strange, that
[1676.98 --> 1677.42]  though you might
[1677.42 --> 1678.06]  be ostracized,
[1678.14 --> 1678.54]  that though maybe
[1678.54 --> 1679.10]  you will lose
[1679.10 --> 1679.76]  your job, maybe
[1679.76 --> 1680.26]  you will lose
[1680.26 --> 1680.68]  your friends,
[1680.94 --> 1681.54]  live such
[1681.54 --> 1682.98]  compelling lives
[1682.98 --> 1683.60]  in the world
[1683.60 --> 1684.22]  that though they
[1684.22 --> 1684.88]  accuse you of
[1684.88 --> 1685.78]  doing wrong, they
[1685.78 --> 1686.48]  will see your
[1686.48 --> 1687.58]  good deeds and
[1687.58 --> 1689.12]  glorify God on
[1689.12 --> 1690.18]  the day he
[1690.18 --> 1691.04]  visits.
[1691.66 --> 1693.54]  Make it real.
[1696.34 --> 1697.24]  And see what
[1697.24 --> 1699.50]  God does in
[1699.50 --> 1701.68]  your life and
[1701.68 --> 1702.16]  with you.
[1703.20 --> 1703.50]  Amen?
[1704.62 --> 1705.32]  Let's pray
[1705.32 --> 1705.60]  together.
[1705.60 --> 1712.18]  Lord Jesus, may
[1712.18 --> 1714.40]  our faith be
[1714.40 --> 1715.28]  real.
[1715.42 --> 1716.50]  May our love be
[1716.50 --> 1717.86]  more than words.
[1718.56 --> 1719.20]  May what we
[1719.20 --> 1721.20]  profess with our
[1721.20 --> 1723.12]  mouth match how
[1723.12 --> 1724.94]  we live in our
[1724.94 --> 1725.78]  lifestyles.
[1728.48 --> 1731.10]  May our lives be
[1731.10 --> 1732.56]  so compelling,
[1732.56 --> 1735.36]  so beautiful,
[1736.36 --> 1737.54]  that the majesty
[1737.54 --> 1738.90]  of your gospel,
[1739.12 --> 1740.06]  the beauty of
[1740.06 --> 1741.02]  your face, Lord
[1741.02 --> 1742.36]  Jesus, is made
[1742.36 --> 1743.76]  so abundantly
[1743.76 --> 1744.88]  clear in all
[1744.88 --> 1745.82]  that we do and
[1745.82 --> 1746.38]  in all that we
[1746.38 --> 1749.84]  say, that people
[1749.84 --> 1751.42]  will be drawn to
[1751.42 --> 1753.88]  you through us.
[1755.54 --> 1756.68]  That our kids
[1756.68 --> 1757.68]  will be drawn to
[1757.68 --> 1759.42]  you through us.
[1759.58 --> 1760.42]  That our neighbors
[1760.42 --> 1761.66]  will be drawn to
[1761.66 --> 1762.72]  you through us.
[1762.80 --> 1763.58]  That our friends
[1763.58 --> 1764.88]  will be drawn to
[1764.88 --> 1765.84]  you through us.
[1765.94 --> 1766.62]  That our brothers
[1766.62 --> 1769.28]  and sisters will
[1769.28 --> 1770.10]  be drawn to you
[1770.10 --> 1771.38]  through us such
[1771.38 --> 1772.44]  that each and
[1772.44 --> 1773.84]  every one may
[1773.84 --> 1775.08]  become for us
[1775.08 --> 1776.20]  brothers and
[1776.20 --> 1778.38]  sisters in your
[1778.38 --> 1779.44]  name.
[1781.44 --> 1782.80]  In your name
[1782.80 --> 1783.56]  we pray.
[1785.04 --> 1785.42]  Amen.
[1785.42 --> 1785.54]  Amen.
[1787.06 --> 1787.82]  Amen.