Family Matters // Judah Smith

James chapter 5 here we go 20 verses now remember remember how direct James is okay Warren one the person you brought today okay it's like super direct and the reason for this is he's writing to the twelve tribes he's writing to believing Jews and he's speaking like a father or like a dad now if you had the privilege of having a dad or father figure in your life and you ever had one of those dad talks basically the whole book of James is a dad talk and dads when dads have dad talks like when I talk to my kids I don't like make apologies I don't mince words like I am just direct and James is gonna be so direct and today's no exception okay so just everyone just here we go you are love to remember you are loved and this will end well verse 1 come now you rich weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you but welcome to church home verse 2 your riches have rotted and your garments are moth eaten praise God your gold and silver have corroded and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire you have laid up treasure in the last days behold the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields which you kept back by fraud are crying out against you and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts you have lived on the earth in luxury and self-indulgence you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter you have condemned and murdered the righteous person and he does not resist you okay now we get a bit of a transition here you ready breathe a little bit I love this transition by James this out it makes me laugh be patient therefore brothers like okay wow the tone changed really fast there you have fattened your hearts be patient therefore brothers until the coming of the Lord see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth being patient about it until he receives the early and the late rains you also be patient establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand do not grumble against one another brothers so that you may not be judged behold the judge is standing at the door it has an example of suffering impatience brothers take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord behold we consider those a blessed to remain steadfast and of course you have the steadfastness of or you've heard of the steadfast ISM of job and you've seen the purpose of the Lord how the Lord is compassionate and merciful but above all my brothers and sisters do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath but let your yes be yes and your no be no how many grew up in a family where this was quoted young man let your yes be yes and your no be no I did so that you may not fall under condemnation is anyone among you in church home suffering let him pray is anyone in church home cheerful let him sing praise is anyone among you sick let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed sins he will be forgiven therefore I love this verse confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that that you may be healed the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working Elijah was a man with a nature like ours he prayed fervently that it might not rain him for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth that he prayed again and heaven gave rain in the earth bore its fruit my brothers and sisters if anyone among you wanders from the truth here is the climactic conclusion to the entire book from the half-brother of Jesus James he says this isn't this interesting this is how he ends my brothers if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins isn't that beautiful contrary to popular opinion the book of James is not mean it's actually full of grace and the love of Jesus and it ends with that we can cover a multitude of each other's sins by rescuing one another loving one another and caring for one another I am so excited to share this passage with you for the next two and a half hours we are going to so dig right in my dreams and my dreams will you join me in prayer Jesus thank you so much for the day the really the moments we get to share thank you for community I thank you for relationship and friendship but I do pray for anyone here today who has a heavy heart anyone here today who is hurting or struggling anyone here today who feels alone god I ask that by your story and your word that you would heal hearts and restore people strengthen people today Lord we we we want to be so aware of one another today and care for one another today lord I pray even as the service and we we tell your story and we sing some songs if if there's someone in this room that we need to care for and someone that you want us to consider and reach out I pray you'd speak to us even while we're sitting here we want to live love and look like you Jesus thank you for all the offseason moves the Hawks are making to set us up for this incredible Super Bowl run we're gonna go on give coach all the coaches wisdom at the combine in Jesus name and everybody said man tell me prayer works do you um do you struggle getting to the point do you ever struggle getting to the point if you're like me getting to the point it's just really imperative when you're a preacher can sometimes be a challenge for me and if some of you if you knew my dad who started the church and pastored here for twenty years my dad needed to contextualize everything he always wanted to give context in fact dad was known for like when he was in a series of sermons he would do review from the week before and half of his sermon would be a review from the week before and you'd be looking at the clock like dad like you got to get going here man this was were all still on last week and so I inherited that blessing and I love to give context I love to and so as a result Chelsea and I fight but the point is like we'll be in meetings together right gelsin I both get to serve here at church home and so we'll be at meetings together and I'll be like building like my my case you know if you will like building in and I'll be sitting with like our elders I'll be sitting with Leon or sitting with Troy and and I'll be like hey and Chelsea just she knows where I'm going and eventually just like so anyways we need to we need to help the volunteers I'll be like babe not yet I want to go back to 92 and my dad's heart for people you know like it might take the elders on a journey she's like babe the meeting cannot be this long so alright so I struggle okay sue me I struggle with getting to the point so much so and Troy's here we recently in a meeting and we were doing an exercise this really happened Marc Marc will verify and in this meeting we were kind of sharing like how each other helps the team and then how each other hurts the team trying to like get candid and honest and so I was going around the room and one of the leaders I was like okay hey I was gonna talk to him about I feel like in meetings you need to get to the point faster like I'm the biggest hypocrite who does this this is this is this is the problem with your pastor you're like you're not my pastor I'm just a guest okay but the point is so I start talking to one of the leaders and I go hey I just man I love you I think you know I affirm you I appreciate you honor you but in meetings like it just takes so long for you to get to the point like for instance that and and and so I'm 15 minutes in to telling this leader he needs to get to the point more in meetings true story Troy will stand by this Troy finally drops his head on the desk laughing and I learned I know excuse me Troy what are you laughing about he's like bro it's been like 15 minutes you're telling so and so to get to the point and you can't even get to the point and I'm like Troy you're fired so Troy's here today as a volunteer kidding relax relax oh man can you imagine like if we've gone through the book of James so far and you're kind of like whoa man like it's a lot like I just need James to get to the point now he is very direct but I understand like we've we've gone now four chapters we've gone five weeks gone through a lot of verses a lot of content a lot of metaphor a lot of example it's been amazing but if you've gotta come to this point like man I just kind of need like what's that like in a nutshell like what is James saying the last chapter is gonna serve you very very well because in essence James is going to bottom-line it and we've got 20 verses I see probably four different sections here we'll do our best to kind of touch every verse but for sake of time so we're not here for two and a half hours won't get to all of the nitty gritty of James chapter 5 but in essence it is James going all right I'm on a bottom-line it so much so the last two verses that may not feel like a climactic conclusion actually are a climactic conclusion and I cannot wait to get to verses 19 and 20 but of course we've got to approach one of father James dad James James who speaks to us like a dad one of his favorite points if you haven't picked up in the five chapters he likes to talk to rich people have you noticed this like he really wants to make a point to rich people and of course if historically you go back and do some research you discover that there were wealthy people in these early churches these early communities spread around the known world again he's speaking to the twelve tribes dispersed in the known world and historically we see records of very wealthy people that were a part of these communities one record that I read shows that there was you know the communion which is a practice that believers have been doing for thousands of years where we get together and share wine and bread and remember the sacrifice and victory of the Lord Jesus Christ his defeat of death his resurrection it's a beautiful thing we share communion here at church home and one record records that in these communion celebrations which were more like a potluck anybody remember potlucks right as you grow up in church going to pot Luck's yeah oh my word there was always like a couple of families you were you were so happy that they were gonna bring food to the potluck and there was always a couple of families like can we give them like the week off for the potluck is you know and mom would make you like eat everyone's food to honor every family and you went home with a stomachache but the point is like these communion feasts are kind of like a potluck and it was more than just like a little wafer and some juice it was like a a proper feast but one of the writings records that there were wealthy people showing up with bottles of wine tons of food and there were very poor people part of the same community showing up with barely any food to contribute and the wealthy people were gorging themselves on wine and food why the poor people if you will on the other end of the table barely had anything to eat and some of the writings we receive in the New Testament are to this fact like what is going on you call yourself a family but you are gorging yourself on your food at the feast of Communion while people down the table have nothing to eat basically what is wrong with you are we family or not for instance I'm a dad of three kids there has never been a meal where I'm like today only Zion will eat Eliott grace you will watch and be hungry and be grateful no as a father I feed all my children so God is a father and he loves all of his children no matter your bank account status and he wants all his children to participate and be blessed and be filled and be warmed and be clothed and be provided for and so James once again wants to challenge the attitude please listen now there is nowhere in here that James says money is bad no no money's not the problem our heart is the problem and our attitude is the problem and I think more than anything in these opening six verses that are basically a warning for those with money or for those who desire money I think we can learn a lot about what James is saying for instance I think one of the points he's saying whether you have money or you're desirous of money and probably somewhere in there we all kind of fit and by the way be careful what you wish for right like sometimes you get all the money you want and biggie is right Mo Money mo problems right and so and so then sometimes you have no money but you are happy and content and you're living this adventure with Jesus so money is never the point money is never the goal we don't serve money we serve God and as we serve God our money is gonna have a mission and a purpose and our money is gonna serve God so we don't work for money we don't live for money we work for God and live for God right so he's making that point and he's also saying hate to whom much is given much is required if you have resource in community if God has blessed you financially then in community we ought to if you have resource take care of one another we ought to be considerate of those in need within our own community we ought to we ought to find someone who's like you know maybe they're they're in a tough spot tough Jam things or difficult times are tight maybe they've lost their job and we ought to bless them take them to lunch ask them how they're doing what else can we bless you with and do for you that's the kind of community we want to be can I hear an amen I think one of the one of the observations that I make I think James is saying here is do we trust God or do we trust money where's our trust and I wanted to remind all of us today as James wants to remind us that no we trust God money is not our trust notice what he says he says you lay up treasures in the last days that is ironic think about what he's saying you are laying up treasure like Scrooge McDuck you gather your gold coins and you swim in them and Jesus is coming back tomorrow that's foolish you see what he's saying you're laying up treasure in the last days which is to say life is a vapor remember what he said to the rich earlier in the book he's like you like the grass you're like a flower that fades here today gone tomorrow but you know what that's true of all of us life is a vapor life is short there is nothing more fulfilling to do with your money than be a blessing and we believe that you are blessed if you're here today and you're blessed and you said you too how do you define blessed you have more than enough you have $1 more than what your bills require I consider you blessed and you know what that extra dollar is so that you can be a blessing you can be a blessing to people around you what a privilege if we understand that we can be blessed to be a blessing I think one of the other points he's making to those of us with resource and financing and money and and frankly that's pretty much most of us we're very blessed our country has a lot of challenges and difficulties but we are blessed in this country and frankly so many of us in this room are are blessed and so this passage would probably speak to most of us that hey are we caring about our money more than people do we care about our bank account and our savings and our checking and retirement more than people and he's saying that's wrong he's saying to the wealthy people in community now remember these are believers I know he's talking very you know strong but he never says you're you're not believers God doesn't love you he just says hey the way you're treating your money seems to tell us that you trust your money more than God and you love your money more than people know we love people we love God nothing's more important than God and people the true treasure is relationship the true treasure is friendship what does it profit a man to gain the whole world financially but in the process lose his soul and have no friends no we exist as a community to have relationship and friendship and so the challenge is there and I'll leave you to read again those six verses and they are challenging but I think incredibly applicable to our lives we all probably could use an afternoon where we go hey I'll think about kind of how I think about my finances and resources do I hold it up as a trophy or do I simply see resources and finances as a means to provide for my family and be a blessing to my community family what if we lived as a community open-handed all the time we were the kind of where we would give all the time now what you may not know pastor Marlene Ostrom is sitting here on the front row and her and Grandpa dawn my truest grandfather had a huge impact in this church all the way back in 1992 and Grandpa Don used to do something called the Holy Ghost handshake now I grew up you remember this aunt Marlene I grew up in church in a church before we started this one where a handshake was just a handshake and then pastor dawn showed up at City Church now church home and almost every Sunday that I can remember first of all I looked for grandpa dawn because I was really hoping for a Holy Ghost handshake because his Holy Ghost handshake I really felt the love of Jesus because in that handshake was a hundred dollar bill every single time and so man Sunday would come around I'd be like anybody seeing grandpa Don because I need to give him a handshake whew feel Jesus and I'm not proposing that we all you know get hundos in our hands and it probably wouldn't hurt us and give it away but the point is it taught me something is a 13 year old young man that would have thrilled like what you could take a hundred and I don't know get a shirt you know take a hundred and get a pair of jeans or you can take a hundred dollars and experience the thrill of blessing people spontaneously blessing people and I believe that's still a part of who we are as a community we are a spontaneously generous community and I pray that will always be true I was taught as a young man when people compliment what you're wearing you say hey do you want it you can have it and that's the way my dad was you know because you say oh I love your tie and dad would say what here you can have it and that's just the kind of person he was and I just believe that's the kind of community what we want to be now you know keep your pants on but you know we we ought to be the kind of community that you know once that wants to bless one another and you imagine if we all are a blessing to one another we will all be provided for and we'll all be blessed can I hear an amen now the transition happens and it's it's as I said it's pretty sudden but he goes on in verse seven he says now beep patient therefore brothers until the coming of the Lord be patient that's not a popular word be patient see how the farmer waits establish your hearts waiting and patience interesting of all the things James could talk about at the conclusion of his letter he wants to warn us about our money and how we relate to it and then he wants to say hey brothers and sisters now remember the the gruff warning he's now telling the same people to be patient and by the way he's calling them brothers and sisters so if you feel bad about the the money section and the partners like really intense hey he still calls even though struggling with how they relate to their money in the next verse he says hey brothers and you're still brothers and sisters and he says you're going to need patience following Jesus I wish we talked about this more bob was talking about it last night I wish we were honest with each other more that following Jesus requires a lot of patience oh it is exhilarating it's incredible there's no other life apart from Jesus but you are going to need patience I just figured we'd wait for a second just to drive home the point you know we're gonna we're gonna need patience I don't think anyone has labeled this jet this generation or this age this era this is the patient age I don't think that's how we named it I think that's word that would like the microwave age we're the Siri age right I was with my friend the other day and I'm like hey who won the Super Bowl I can't remember he's like if only we had a device we could talk to that would give us the answer instantaneously only if only and I'm like I get the point hey Siri who won the Super Bowl and eighty said you know like it is the barest but the point is it's 85 X's but the point is we have a generation and all of us have been affected now where things just happen really fast and James how ironic is this how relevant is this right now in 2018 he says you're going to need to be patient and he gives us three examples the farmer the prophets and unfortunately he gives us job as an example wah wah but notice he says see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth see how the farmer waits now let's talk about this just for a couple minutes how does the farmer wait well I'll tell you what the farmer doesn't do the farmer doesn't get a chair and look at his fields and say ok god when you want this puppy to grow I'll be here how does the farmer wait he cultivates the soil he plants a seed and then he expects the seasons to deliver the rain necessary for fruition and for growth so how does the farmer wait and this is where we've got the wrong idea of patience and waiting we see waiting as a stagnant practice but waiting is absolutely something that is active something that you're involved with which is to say could we say this I don't know let's try it that sometimes following Jesus is kind of broken into three seasons there's a cultivating season there's a sowing season and then there is a expecting ie waiting season and you know what I think they just repeat over and over you cultivate you break up challenging difficult ground you cultivate and then you sow seeds how they know we're not a savior but we are a sower right our job is to sow seeds of love and care and compassion and understanding and we sow those seeds and then you know what we expect God to do what only he can do and you know what that farmer waits with full expectation that if he planted a seed the rains will come because that's how God has set the seasons in motion and when the rains come the fruit is going to be there waiting on God is not wishing on a star waiting on God is not like well sure hope you do something there and in the meantime I'm just gonna be down here kind of feeling sorry for myself because you bless the Joneses but you never blessed my family so here I am oh yeah you haven't come yet figures yep I figured that would be the case you don't love me as much know that that's not it's it's I know God is gonna deliver I know God is gonna provide I know it's this active expectation and hope as sure as the farmer knows the rains will come and by the way if the rains if the rain is late the farmer still what other choices the farmer has he still believes that the rain will come at the early rain doesn't come he's gonna expect the latter rain to come if the latter rain is delayed he's gonna still expect there's going to be rain do you still expect from God that he is faithful and true you know it's amazing because I think sometimes as believers and we don't talk enough about the meanwhile in that funny have you seen that in the Bible it's just meanwhile meanwhile right the meanwhile or the meantime it's actually like a big part of the story of God there is a lot of waiting periods in the Bible have you seen them some of them are hundreds of years unfortunately some of them are thousands of years and then some are a few months praise God but but there is a lot of lead time if you will there's a lot of lag time there's a lot of in-between time and I was thinking about that the other day I'm like why would God do it like that you know mean like when you want to get from here to there you know I'd be like you know God it would be nice if you just like you want to get there BAM and like twice in your life that happens you know mean and just appreciate when God does do that but most the time is like you want to get there okay the next five years I want you to trust me and you're like Lord I can do that and what does that tell us about God that actually not getting getting there has never been the point and God God thinks it's so cool that you're believing for that new house or you know you asked for a new car or you know you believe him for the new job man God is with you he loves you he's for you but let's not forget that actually on your way there might be more the point of life than getting there you know why because God wants you to want him more than you want that job he wants you to realize that the job will come and go but he is forever and it's amazing how when we like the farmer wait and expect for good things boy we'll meet God and if you're like me guess where I've met God in the most real times lag times like when you finally arrive you got so much to do it's like lord I love you let's do this come on but man when you're in those one of those extended waiting seasons you know where you have to use your patience and not just talk about it at coffee with a fellow believer but you actually have to use your patience it's amazing how you'll connect with God and let's not wish those seasons away those seasons are precious those seasons when you're like Lord what am i doing where am i what's going on I've been praying forever or I want to get remarried hopefully you're not currently married when you pray that but I mean but maybe you've lost a loved one or maybe you know and you have a desire to to marry again it's like it's like Lord I want it what's going on and I believe I believe with you we'll pray that you know you'll find the love of your life again it'll be amazing but in the meantime you have an opportunity to exercise patience and connect with God he says because instead of the farmer consider the profits consider child:ah have you read Ezekiel or Jeremiah it is so bizarre right and these guys basically the prophets what they did and of course the the Jewish recipients of this letter would know the story of Jeremiah Ezekiel they would receive these these words from God and stand in front of Nations and be like God says he's going to bring rain soon and you got to be careful when you say soon because God soon is not like our soon at all right a day is like a thousand years to God so when God says soon take it with a grain of salt right and so they'd be like gods he's gonna bring rain ah and nothing would happen for decades and what would happen to Ezekiel what would happen to Jeremiah their own people would be like you are such a phony you're such a fake you're not even a real prophet in Ezekiel and Jeremiah would go back to God and say are you hearing this can you can you do what you said you're gonna do and God like yeah I am I am when soon [Music] and and James says remember the prophets because they they took some heat for saying that God is true and God is big and God deliver and God will say have you ever taken heat as a believer God's faithful he's faithful you've lost your job you lost your spouse God's faithful he yeah he is your life's a wreck God's faithful yeah he's faithful I don't think he is I think god helps those who help themselves my science teachers favorite verse in the Bible by the way in high school didn't have the heart to tell him it's not in there but and that leads us to job and jobs experience right job ended well by the way but in the meantime he went through hell and guess what his friends did job you did something bad to deserve this jobs like I don't I don't think I did I don't think I did and job instead of complaining to his friends you know where he went a job complained but he complained to the right person do you know who he complained to God a lot like David like you ever read some of David's Psalms you're like this is bad David you shouldn't you're not allowed to say like break the teeth of my enemy eat them with worms you're like I don't know this is the man after God's own heart I don't know man but it was directed to who God and God can handle it job did the same thing are you up there are you serious right now this is what you do to me and God like come on job let's get into it I like it I love you and those patient times the goal is not just you know put on a smile and just pretend oh no it's great everything's awesome I love it oh no I things are just terrible I lost my job that's great no you you you take your complaints to God and say God this isn't fair work it out with God look what job says that joke actually is quoted saying this though he slayed me I will hope in him semicolon yet I will argue my ways to his face James says do that be like job God can handle it but you know what we do we don't talk to God but we go talk and the other people don't we well you know what I actually think and then and it in and that's why this is what we do look what it's verse 9 says um do not grumble against one another you know why we do that right you know why it's the context of waiting because when you're waiting and then all of a sudden all of a sudden the Joneses aren't waiting anymore like they're clearly out of there waiting season and they need no patience because they have total opulence and abundance and the blessings of God have come down like a torrential downpour and you are still living in a barren desert like the servant job guess what we tend to do in community we don't tend to walk around and go aren't the Joneses a blessing I just love them I find them to be so kind and encouraging I am so happy they have a job I'm so happy their marriage is bliss I'm so happy their children are healthy I am so in fact I would much rather than be blessed in me I love the Joneses no we don't do that we find sister so-and-so and brother so-and-so and go have you so you know about the Joneses yeah I don't I don't I don't think they pay their taxes to be honest I don't think they do yeah I got concerns I honestly have a check in my spirit if you grew up in church you know what I'm talking about I got a check in my spirit about the Joneses I just you know I know I heard they they're given a lot to the church in fact I heard they were handed out hundred all the bills they are flaunting their money now I think that's inappropriate yeah they're given they're given teenagers this Holy Ghost handshake and I think it's inappropriate you know that's we start to grumble don't we why because we feel less because someone else has more he says don't do that in fact if you want to talk about the Joneses go to God and talk about the Joneses you have total license to do so fact you're encouraged to do so so so go to God hey God I think the Joneses are thieves I don't like him at all take it to God but let's not spread the toxicity let's not spread the grumbling and complaining well it's so awesome is you can take your grumbling and complaining it turns into a connection point with your God with Jesus isn't that amazing moving on because you tell me I have to end soon like I blame you you know Burt verse 12 look look at verse 12 he says but above all brothers listen to that but above all that's interesting but above all like so like this seems to be more important than the previous passages above all okay do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath but let your yes be yes and your no be no so that you may not fall under condemnation no this is so interesting and it proves that our words have so much power particularly within community he's saying hey do what you say that's what he's saying here in other words has what you say and what you do are they ships passing in the night or do they hold hands you say you're gonna be somewhere and you don't do it now if you're like me I read this this particular passage and I'm like let's skim over this one because I suffer from what a lot of people my age suffer from and a lot of people younger than me suffer from and that is if I've scheduled something but something cooler or more fun becomes available I'm gonna reschedule my previous engagement absolutely every time right it's just like oh they'll understand and I'm totally that guy oh my god I will reschedule they're the best you know meanwhile they're at Starbucks waiting for the meeting and I'm like hey can we reschedule I know it's 11:05 and I supposed to be there five minutes ago but I got a chance to play golf you know like that and he says don't do that don't do that he says as a result because we do that we don't do what we say we have to say so I promise on the Bible I swear we have to overextend ourselves because why we are plagued by not doing what we say he's saying for church community we ought to be the difference we ought to be the people who just do what they say I'll be there and we're there and of course I think what he's alluding to is what we're involved with is a matter of life and death what we're involved with is serving one another life is short we're all out there are people in here suffering there is there's life and death situations that are diagnosis in here there are marriages on the verge there are people struggling with emotional challenges and difficulties there are things you're meeting with doctors about and lawyers about and there's a lot going on in this room and if we don't do what we say people's lives will not be cared for loved they'll be missed and all the sudden we fail to be the family of God so I say just do what you say show up for the meeting be there and that is so challenging for me because if you're like me you think of yourselves it's just a dude and see like I can tell it's not a big deal it is a big deal you know why because you represent Jesus I represent Jesus and so when I don't follow through especially new believers or those who are seeking they start to wonder is Jesus like that is Jesus wishy-washy does Jesus not follow through does Jesus not keep his word and aren't we Christians which literally means little Jesus and so when little Jesus doesn't show up people start to wonder about big Jesus that's all and so it's like hey if if that's how you claim to follow Jesus but you don't deliver on what you say ya know that's why we can't just talk about prejudice and racism and marginalization in our country or any country we can't just talk about it we're gonna do what we say we got to share the dinner table with one another we got to share our lives with one another we got to get our kids together and we've got to understand one another we can't just talk about it we got to do what we say or the world will start to wonder about big Jesus this big Jesus not deliver on what he says so he says all this rhetoric if I promise I promise I give you my word no let's sign a contract he's like come on we're supposed to be the difference we're supposed to be the people that say yes and it is and sure is done because we agreed no we'll follow through yes we'll follow through he started to think about that and dream about it and we're all I think we're all guilty as charged I know I am and boy you start to get a little excited about what a church could do if their yes was yes and their no was no how we could represent big Jesus to this city and to our communities if we just did what we said you know I just would suggest if you don't want to do it just don't say it that's why I tell preachers all the time I said if you don't live it just don't preach it just don't ever preach on that subject like if you don't pray don't teach on prayer cuz we'll all tell that you're just teaching but you're not living so let's not let's not live what we preach let's just preach what we live let's be those kind of people and then and then he he goes on and I'm coming to a close that's why the piano or these boxes crazy this is insane yeah but there's a door you can get out so it's good I love you this young man by the way has been playing piano the entire weekend Friday Saturday Sunday love you and then in him in conclusion your like conclusion Judah you have like 10 more verses I love this part is anyone is anyone among you suffering let him talk to God about it is anyone cheerful let him sing praises do you see the communal dynamic here he's saying he's saying hey if you're really happy turn into a song so we can all sing together he says this he says if anyone among you sick now when he says anyone among you sick let him call the elders of the church it's so early on in the church when we say elders you think of like a board we have a board but the eldership here I look at the original language the best thing you could say is kind of just leaders in the church so it's not like you know people think elders world an ordained elder that that's not really what James is saying although that's fine too I'm a board member and an elder and I'd love to pray for you but he's actually just talking about leaders just just people who are leading and serving in community he says if anyone's sick call the leaders of the church and they will come pray over him now that to you seems like oh that's really sweet that's a lotta that's nice pastoral care but but it but in these days this is socially radical why because sick people were quarantined in ancient times sickness was way more serious if I could say I don't mean to be crude or insensitive but there were so many diseases very simple diseases we care now that would obviously destroy people's lives and kill them and so sit when someone got sick it was a wool and they would be quarantined in fact by law that have to be removed from the church gathering but notice the church gathering comes to them the world at the time moved away from sick people the church at the time moved towards sick people do we still do that by the word I love by the way I looked up sick it doesn't just mean physically sick it means emotionally means mentally it means spiritually anyone who's wearied one of the words means weary or worn down call for leaders in the church to come to your home and surround you and say we love and we're gonna pray for you this is the future of the church it's always been a bit supposed to be a part of the church but I'm telling you where the church is going and I appreciate our big buildings and I appreciate the the amount of people that are here but we are always gonna be a small Church with a lot of people and what I mean the future of the church I'm telling you Church the future of the church is there is good that we are gonna have more tactile relationship and one-on-one ministry than we've ever had before we are gonna care for one another in a real authentic genuine way it is the Bible if there is anyone sick get people from the church to your home and they will pray over you that is the future of church home we're gonna care for people we're gonna extend ourselves we're gonna disrupt our schedules to care for one another and what the culture the the people the culture moves away from Church home is gonna move towards because that is part of our legacy and I know horrible things have been done in the name of Jesus in the past I'm aware of some of those things it's despicable but we must also remember that there were days and times one of our historical legacies is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ if you go back to ancient times and you look at plagues plagues that destroyed whole villages and towns there are records that tell us that the whole town would move to the hills because of the plague but guess who stayed the only people that stayed in these towns to care for people dying of plagues were who Christians little old ladies who would say I believe were the hands and feet of Jesus so everyone runs for the hills we will run towards the sickness we will run towards the darkness we will run towards the brokenness and we will show the love of Jesus and you know what we do we outlast all the division we outlast all the marginalize that we outlast all the insensitivity we outlast all the dismissive attitudes we're just going to be here and we're just gonna care for people and we're gonna love people and you may never listen to our sermons you don't need to because see our lives we're gonna care for you we're gonna outlast you we're just gonna care we're gonna keep caring and you're gonna say you hate us and we're gonna say we care about you and we love you which leads me and I'm denim I'm so done when I look at this way of caring for people if they're sick and therefore confess and then verse 16 confess your sins to one another pray for one another you may be healed by the way that's not confessing all your details sin it's just getting together at coffee for instance and saying I need Jesus so much he's saved my life I love him so much let's pray together and you pray together and you grow and God heals us and God heals us and God heals us that healing yes it's physical healing but more specifically it's emotional healing it's relational healing it's social healing and God wants to heal us but we got to get together and share tables of food and fellowship and share our pain and share maybe traditions that we've been taught that are wrong and not right and share them and get them on the table so that we can forgive each other and heal each other and live together and we could demonstrate the family of God and it was dr. King who said to our most bitter opponents we say we shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering you want to talk about loving your enemies haha we shall meet your physical force with soul force do to us what you will and we shall continue to love you we cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws because non-cooperation with evil is as much as moral obligation as is cooperation with good throw us in jail and we shall still love you send your herd of hooded perpetrators of violence into our community at the midnight hour and beat us and leave us half dead and we shall still love you but be assured that you will wear down by our capacity we will wear you down by our capacity to suffer one day we shall win freedom but not only for ourselves we shall so appeal to your heart and conscience that we shall win you in the process and our victory will be a double victory we as the church will continue to outlast the evil the division the hate and we choose to love and to care and be concerned about everyone we will not retaliate hate with more 8 for that in itself is hate we will not do that but for those who do not understand our God and dude understand our ways for those who have come and those who have wandered away from the faith for those who say I don't believe that I don't want that I feel uncomfortable I don't like that we will not write you off for if you have wandered if you have chosen not to follow Jesus you are still welcome here and we still love you and so we're gonna show up at the community center we're gonna show up at the job we're gonna love you even if you don't love us we're gonna keep carried we're gonna keep listening we're gonna keep loving we're gonna keep prayed and we're gonna outlast it all that's what we're going to do why because we're church home and we're there's a home there's a family and we're gonna be a family that's what we're going to do we will wear you down I hate you I love you get out of here I can't I love you too much I'm here hahaha yeah that's the kind of church we're gonna be I love that James ends and I'm ending isn't that great James ends and I'm ending he says if somebody wanders from the faith he says go after him don't write him off go after and I know why James is doing this like I get it now and I know I'm kind of jumping a bunch of verses here at the conclusion just for time and I'm trying to navigate so just bear with me and God will connect the dots for you but um I know why he's saying if somebody wanders go get them because I think one of the most challenging things to do with our faith is to exercise faith and love towards people who have hurt us the most in church and one of the most hurtful things in church is when you were close to somebody and you love somebody and they then only do they leave your life they leave the community and they say I'm because I'm done with you and I'm done with this place those if you've ever done life for an extended period of time in community those are the most hurtful days it feels like a tearing it feels like almost I don't mean to be insensitive but it's like there's a there's a divorce of sorts and you've lost somebody you love and now they're wondering even away and notice that they're still called brothers and sisters by the way James makes a case that they're still gonna go to heaven but they're wandering and we're all prone to wander he says you listen to me churches he said don't write them off don't harbor unforgiveness go see them go find them and this is before Google and this is before Facebook now we definitely confine them you know remain like reach out hey praying for you love you leave me alone you're weird I know I just think about you a lot think you're great no you don't know I I really do what if we were just that kind of church hurt us walk away turn your back on us and we'll Facebook you it will like drive to where you live because we can look it up and just be like ed just brought over a picnic I know it's raining but you want to give it a go what if we were just that kind of community we when people wander we got with them hey you okay yeah just leave me alone all right well I'll just I'll just be here leave me alone no I'm just gonna be here like if you need me I'll just be here what are you doing I'm just hanging you know all right so you're gonna okay well while you use the bathroom I'll be right out here what if what if we just loved like that it's actually not complicated and the reason it's not is because it's what Jesus did for us the more we wandered the more he perceived God what are you doing here I just love you we'll just give me some space nah well I just want to do my own thing right now okay I'll just be here watching you do your own thing no that makes it hard to do my own thing just leave me alone ah that's what God did for us and so now James wants to conclude his letter by saying love like that live like that go after wandering people and show him and he says when you do that you will I love this conclusion you'll cover a multitude of sins what if we could be a church that covers not exposes covers we don't need to talk about that we love you you're good no nobody needs to know what expose we love you you're forgiven we don't gotta tell everybody in the church we cover here I got you I got you hey what's going on with the Joneses they're good they're good that's all you need to know come on let's sing a song together yeah they're good they're good we don't spread gossip we just we cover each other yeah accused me of you know describing utopia I don't know sue me you know like I do too this is ridiculous is it it's just in the book man it's in the Bible and I dream of a church like this and I believe we're well on our way but we got more to grow and more to do and more to live out to more to love let's be church home that's why we change your name because God told us to let's be a home and where there is a home there will be a family a family that will love one another ridiculously amen will you pray with me Jesus thank you so much for what you're saying I thank you for the book I thank you for your story you are you are absolutely astounding then we love you so much Jesus I can't even I can't even describe even with it with with a word who you are our hearts are overwhelmed and filled today that you have given us the privilege to be in your family and be your representatives Oh God we want to love like you we want to live like you for outside of you there is no life you are life and life more abundantly if you're here today you said Judah it's my time I'd like to follow Jesus I'd like to make a decision to follow Jesus if that's you on the count of three I'm gonna ask you to lift up your hand and put it right back down you know who you are and the reason I ask people to lift their hands I believe when you respond on the outside to what's happening on the inside it becomes all the more real to you so you know who you are today is your day if you'd like to receive the free gift of forgiveness that only Jesus offers on the count of three you lift up your hand put it right back down one two three that you should have your hand all over there is amazing that's amazing that's amazing anybody else I receive and I believe in Jesus and His forgiveness God thank you for the forgiveness that flows freely in this room thank you that every single hand represents an eternal soul that is now forgiven forever without end now god help us to live out the love of Jesus we dedicate again this community to you church home does not belong to a bored church home does not belong to a leader or a pastor it belongs to you Lord Jesus we are your family we are your children we are your sons and your daughters and we want to represent our Father well in the streets of this city and every city you have put us in thanks be to God who causes us to triumph you are the victor you are the champion we will not be overwhelmed at the odds we will not be overwhelmed at the division and the pain and the wars and rumors of wars father you have called us to live every day a part of the solution and we thank you for confidence and we thank you for courage and we thank you for strength and we thank you for faith as we conclude the book of Jay God we asked lore what happened to the half-brother of Jesus James what happened to us we want more encounters with the reality of Jesus we want to grow in our faith and living out our faith we declare that we pray that we ask that in Jesus name in Jesus name if you believe that would you say Amen hey if you're willing and able would you stand with us and let's sing out these lyrics these truths about our God come on hey we hope you loved it we hope you had a good time there's more for you if you want to subscribe grace what do they do and if you want to see more videos click right over here perfect we love you goodbye

Channel: Churchome

Views: 15,274

Rating: 4.9120879 out of 5

Keywords: Churchome, Judah, Judah smith, church, message, anxiety, depression, how to, elevation, Steven, Hillsong, oceans, sermon, the city church, church home, Chelsea smith, bobby Houston, td jakes, pastor, pastor preaching, carl lentz, Jesus, conference, guest speaker, sermon jam, worship, Justin Bieber, la Hillsong, Selena, preaching, Judah message, performance

Id: 0rH26xiQTsg

Length: 54min 36sec (3276 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 03 2018