1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:01,880 All right, good morning, church family. 2 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:03,680 Let me invite you all to find your seats. 3 00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:08,119 And as you find your seats, if you would open your Bibles or 4 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,040 type in your devices. The book of James, chapter 1, 5 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:15,520 we're going to be in the last verse of chapter one, verse 27, 6 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:20,240 and then we will go into chapter 2 up till verse 5. 7 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:26,760 S James 127 to chapter 2, verse five, title of the sermon this 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,880 morning Is this. Christianity produces holiness 9 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,120 and compassion. Christianity produces holiness 10 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,400 and compassion. So let's read the text, open us 11 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,800 in a word of prayer and we'll jump to the sermon this morning. 12 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:49,400 James one beginning in verse 27. Religion that is pure and 13 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:55,160 undefiled before God the Father is this to visit orphans and 14 00:00:55,160 --> 00:01:02,080 widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from 15 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,560 the world. My brothers, show no partiality 16 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,480 as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of 17 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,600 glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring 18 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,760 and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man 19 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,080 and shabby clothing also comes in. 20 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,120 And if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing 21 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:28,200 and say you sit here in a good place, while you say to the poor 22 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:34,840 man, you stand over there or sit down at my feet, have you not 23 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:37,320 then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges 24 00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:42,120 with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has 25 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:45,760 not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in 26 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,200 faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he has promised to those 27 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,040 who love him? And we'll stop right there. 28 00:01:54,760 --> 00:02:01,560 Let's pray. Lord, I pray that this morning 29 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:08,680 you would give us a vision for your heart, God, your heart for 30 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:13,480 those in need, your heart for the helpless, Lord, for widows, 31 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,800 orphans, the poor, and even beyond this. 32 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:23,680 Lord God, would you give us not only a vision of your heart, but 33 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,600 then would you help us, as we learned last week, to be doers 34 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,760 of the word and to and not merely hearers only? 35 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:37,240 That we would not hear the, the command to, to care for those in 36 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:42,320 affliction, but that we would go and actually do it, find ways to 37 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,000 care for those who need help, Lord, and whatever capacity we 38 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,360 can, whatever ways that we are able to. 39 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Lord, would you give us your heart, Lord, for them that it 40 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:00,360 would move us to action and move us to, to, to do whatever we 41 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,000 can, Lord, in whatever capacity we have. 42 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,240 I pray this in the name of Jesus, Amen. 43 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:16,520 One of the biggest political divides that exist in this time 44 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:21,320 of our age is how we should think about the needy. 45 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,640 You know, there's there's a lot of debate over things like 46 00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:32,120 immigration and immigrants and, and refugees or the poor and, 47 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,000 and how much, you know, should we care for the poor or for 48 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:39,480 women or, you know, all kinds of categories. 49 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:46,280 And I will not wade into those Muddy Waters this morning at 50 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:51,080 all. But what I will say is this, 51 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:56,520 regardless of where we come down politically or from government 52 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:02,520 or from any of that sense, what we cannot debate on, what we 53 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:08,520 should not debate on is that as Christians we are called to 54 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:13,360 care. We are called to show compassion 55 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,800 to those in need, whoever is in need. 56 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:27,040 We are called to show care and compassion and we are called to 57 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:31,960 be holy while doing it. That's what the sermon is about 58 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,320 this morning is that Christianity produces holiness 59 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:40,400 and compassion. So let's look at our text. 60 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:42,960 I'm going to give us expedition of the text where I try to 61 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:47,400 explain it and to break open the meaning of it as we work it 62 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,920 through it verse by verse, and then I'll give us application. 63 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,000 I think I have 7 points of application this morning, maybe 64 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:53,800 6. I can't remember. 65 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:55,640 I think it's seven points of application this morning. 66 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,120 So let's start looking at verse 27. 67 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:06,560 A James writes religion that is pure and undefiled before God 68 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,160 the Father is this. Let me stop right there. 69 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,560 Last week we looked at the statement by James in verse 26. 70 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,840 Look at it with me, he says if anyone thinks he is religious 71 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,440 and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this 72 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:27,760 person's religion is worthless. We looked at that last week. 73 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:34,680 Now James wants to contrast worthless religion with pure 74 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,520 religion. He wants to draw a contrast 75 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,080 between this is what worthless religion is. 76 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:44,000 Now I wanted to show you what pure religion is. 77 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:48,200 James here describes religion that is pure and undefiled 78 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,360 before God the Father. Now we began looking at this 79 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,160 word religion last week or religious last week. 80 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:59,360 The Greek word is Thracekaya. Thracekaya It means expression 81 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:04,240 of devotion to transcended beings as it expresses itself in 82 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,440 cultic rites or worship. Brace Kaya is actually not a 83 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,200 Christian term necessarily. It can be used in the Pagan 84 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:16,400 world as well. James Contrast worthless 85 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:20,080 religion that we looked at last week with two terms that are 86 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:25,120 rooted in the Old Testament. Here are the 2 terms #1 pure 87 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:27,760 religion. That is pure James. 88 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:30,520 What does that mean? James is using that term pure 89 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:35,720 there in a ritually clean sense of like a ritually clean sense. 90 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:40,000 It's the same way that Jesus uses it when he is talking to 91 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,280 the disciples at when he washed their feet and he said and you 92 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:48,280 are clean, but not everyone of you is referring to Judas. 93 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,480 He says when you are clean, he doesn't mean that I, because 94 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:53,000 I've washed your feet, you are clean. 95 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,560 That's not what he means. He means you are ritually clean. 96 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,080 The Lord has made, I have made you clean. 97 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,240 That's the sense that James is using it here #2 religion that 98 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,840 is pure and unfiled. What does that mean? 99 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,720 Undefiled means pertaining to not being ritually defiled with 100 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,760 implications of a company moral defilement. 101 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:20,320 And so notice James says that religion that is pure, meaning 102 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:27,000 ritually clean and undefiled, being richly undefiled before 103 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:32,200 God the Father, before meaning not in the eyes of man. 104 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,800 This is not that the eyes of man are defining what religion 105 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,560 should look like. This is the eyes of God the 106 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,280 Father. I think James God, I mean, this 107 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:44,440 is not a normal way that he's refers to God. 108 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:47,080 And I think the reason he calls him God the Father here is in 109 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,280 light of the exhortation that he's about to give. 110 00:07:51,440 --> 00:08:00,360 Look at 27-B, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. 111 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:04,240 So religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father 112 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:08,640 is this to visit orphans and widows in their affliction. 113 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,800 So James now is going to give 2 practical, 2 tangible 114 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:18,640 descriptions of this type of religion #1 it's to visit 115 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,320 orphans and widows in their affliction. 116 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:23,640 Now, what does that mean to visit orphans and widows in 117 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,560 their affliction? The word for orphans is the 118 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:29,080 Greek word orphanos. It's where we get the word 119 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:30,760 orphan from. We get it from the Greek. 120 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:33,400 It means pertaining to being deprived of parents. 121 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,159 Widows is simply a woman whose husband has died. 122 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:37,720 It's very simple. Woman whose husband has died. 123 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,480 James writes that these two categories, orphans and widows 124 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:46,040 to visit them. Now that word for visit I don't 125 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:47,960 think is necessarily the best translation. 126 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,440 It can mean to either go see a person with helpful intent. 127 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:56,280 Like if I paid Fred a visit right and I went and saw him. 128 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:00,080 It can mean that it can also mean to exercise oversight and 129 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,840 behalf of to look after or to make an appearance to help. 130 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:11,040 This is the same word used by Jesus when he said I was naked 131 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:18,080 and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me. 132 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,200 Same word. Matthew 2536. 133 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,160 So it it doesn't mean to simply pay a visit where you know, you 134 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:27,240 just go pay a visit to them and then you're like, OK, see you 135 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,480 later and then you go home, right? 136 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,680 That's not what it means. It carries the idea of look 137 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,920 after to care for. Well, I'll give you one example 138 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:38,960 in Acts 6. You remember in Acts 6, there 139 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,680 were widows. There was there was some Greek 140 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:44,440 speaking widows and then there were Hebrew speaking widows and 141 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:46,640 the Greek speaking widows were getting neglected because they 142 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:49,440 didn't speak the language and they couldn't defend themselves 143 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:51,320 because, you know, how do you speak up? 144 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:52,560 They don't I don't know what you're saying. 145 00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:54,200 Right. And so these widows were not 146 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:55,880 getting the daily food distribution. 147 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:00,520 And then the church stood, you know, took action and said we 148 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,120 need to do something about this. Appoints seven men, if I 149 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:08,240 remember, six or seven men who will care for these widows to 150 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,480 make sure they get the daily food distribution. 151 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:12,600 That's a practical example of this. 152 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,840 Paul gives instructions for how widows should be cared for in 153 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,680 First Timothy 5, which we won't get into today, but you can read 154 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:22,440 that in your own time. Where he gives instructions is 155 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:23,640 how the church should care for them. 156 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:28,120 Now, why orphans and widows? Why? 157 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,160 Or I mean, and James is just giving these two examples. 158 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,800 He could have given other examples, but he's just giving 2 159 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:35,120 examples. Why does he give these two 160 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,160 examples? Well, look at how he describes 161 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,120 them. Widow, orphans and widows in 162 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,800 their affliction. That word for affliction, it's a 163 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,480 broad term in the Greek. It can refer to tribulation, 164 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,080 suffering, anguish, trouble, burdens. 165 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:53,720 Why are they afflicted? Keep in mind, this is a time 166 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:58,240 when there are no orphanages. There are no orphanages at this 167 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,920 time. There are no government programs 168 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:04,440 to provide housing or food or medical care to care for 169 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,640 orphans. There is no foster care. 170 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:12,240 There is no adoption services. It doesn't exist. 171 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:18,440 These are all more modern ideas. This is also a time when there's 172 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:21,840 no Social Security. There's no Social Security for 173 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,240 widows. And it's also during a time when 174 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:26,680 people did not save up for retirement the way we do today. 175 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:31,080 Retirement is a pretty new idea. Historically, people did not 176 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,400 save up for retirement back then like that, like we all do today. 177 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,960 And so if a woman became a widow in these days, especially in her 178 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:43,080 old age, she would often become quite poor unless she had 179 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:45,800 someone to care for her. Remember the widow in the 180 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:52,480 Gospels at the temple? Jesus said she had two small 181 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:57,880 copper coins to live on. That was all she had to. 182 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:02,720 Her name was 2 coins and she gave them away. 183 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:10,040 Look at verse 27. C and to keep oneself unstained 184 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,920 from the world. The second thing that James says 185 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:16,880 of religion that's pure in the file is to keep oneself 186 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:19,960 unstained from the world. This is quite different from the 187 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:24,680 first one, isn't it? Notice we are to keep ourselves. 188 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:27,640 We have a personal responsibility here to keep 189 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,720 ourselves unstained. This is another Old Testament 190 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:32,880 idea. It means pertaining to being of 191 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:36,680 untainted character, pure, without fault of inward 192 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:39,320 condition. The idea here is blemish free. 193 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,000 The idea is that we are to keep ourselves blemish free, 194 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:47,840 unstained from what he says, unstained from the world. 195 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:52,200 This is actually the first time that James uses the word world. 196 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:54,320 This clearly refers to the lost world. 197 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,320 James says we are to be blemish free on staying from the world. 198 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,880 Now James is not suggesting that as Christians we should become 199 00:13:02,040 --> 00:13:05,440 hermits. He's suggesting that we should 200 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,640 become holy. Look at chapter 2 verse one. 201 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:15,840 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our 202 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:19,600 Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 203 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:24,120 So James now exhorts the church with another practical command 204 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,920 for how to live out our faith. And this time he doesn't exhort 205 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:31,600 the church with what we should do, but with what we shouldn't 206 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:33,560 do. The first one was what we should 207 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:34,720 do. Now he tells us what we 208 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,840 shouldn't do. He says, my brothers, show no 209 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:39,920 partiality. Well, what is that? 210 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:43,200 What is partiality? We don't really use that word in 211 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,400 our modern vernacular. Partiality, the Greek word, is 212 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,640 defined as this, and it's an idiom. 213 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:53,280 Actually, in the Greek, it's literally to accept a face, to 214 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:57,320 accept a face, to make unjust distinctions between people by 215 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,920 treating one person better than another, or to show favoritism. 216 00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:05,320 Like we have a phrase to save face. 217 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:09,960 The the Jews had a phrase to accept a face. 218 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:14,440 It's an idiom. It means the idea is that I will 219 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,920 show favor upon you based on how you look. 220 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,480 If I like your face and your face is just a autonomy for all 221 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:23,840 of you, right? I'll look at you. 222 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:25,680 I'm going to use a Fred here. I'll look at Fred. 223 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:30,560 I will size him up and I will decide whether I am going to 224 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,400 favor him or I'm not. And it's this could be purely 225 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:36,880 based on this. That's it. 226 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:42,480 That's the idea here. So James's point is that as we 227 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:49,480 live out our faith, show no favoritism. 228 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,120 And then James is going to give an example of where that may 229 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:55,200 very well have been happening in the church. 230 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,040 He's going to give an example of where it may have been 231 00:14:57,040 --> 00:14:58,200 happening. Look at verse 2 to 4. 232 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:02,320 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into 233 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:06,120 your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 234 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,160 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing 235 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:12,880 and say you sit here in a good place, why you say the poor man 236 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:15,360 you stand over there or sit down at my feet? 237 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:18,440 Have you not been made distinctions among yourselves 238 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,120 and become judges with evil thoughts? 239 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:27,120 So James gives this example that very well may be real or it 240 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:28,760 could be hypothetical. It's not clear, right? 241 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,400 It's not clear if it's a real hypothetical, but it involves 2 242 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,520 men who come into the assembly. The Greek word there for 243 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:38,680 assembly is synagogue. It's that's what it is. 244 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,240 Now that was where they went to, to worship for us to be the 245 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,160 church, right? Our assembly is the church. 246 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,120 So these two men come into their local assembly. 247 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:53,680 One of them is rich. And this is evidenced by the 248 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:55,840 fact that he's wearing a gold ring. 249 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,160 Again, remember, this is at a time where like, I mean, many of 250 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,720 us have gold necklaces or earrings or this is a time where 251 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:04,840 like the average person does not have gold. 252 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,000 It just doesn't, right? This person is wearing a gold 253 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,560 ring and is wearing fine clothing. 254 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:14,440 Again, there are not malls. And you know where we, we go 255 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:16,720 out, we buy new clothes all the time. 256 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,760 This is at a time where you have like 1 outfit, maybe 2, and you 257 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:22,480 wear it over and over and over again. 258 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:24,080 It gets dirty. It's not a time where you know, 259 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,080 we got like 47 different outfits to wear. 260 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:29,960 This person has fine clothing, literally bright clothing, 261 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,480 applying clean, It's clean. Again, no washer and dryers. 262 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:35,920 They don't, they don't wash their clothes the way we wash 263 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,280 our clothes. That's one man. 264 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:41,840 The second man is is poor. He's a poor man. 265 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,280 And this is evidenced by the fact that he has shabby 266 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:47,280 clothing. Shabby clothing, literally dirty 267 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:48,200 clothing. That's how it literally 268 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:50,120 translates dirty or soiled clothing. 269 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,240 He has dirty clothing. And the reason is probably dirty 270 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,200 is because that's probably the only clothes he has, and he's 271 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:56,760 wearing it over and over and over again. 272 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:02,040 He doesn't have access to Oxiclean and and Tide, right? 273 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:07,400 And as these two men come into the assembly, there are two 274 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:12,640 responses by the Christians in the synagogue. 2 men, 2 275 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:19,839 responses #1 For the rich man, the text says you pay attention 276 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:23,960 to him, that what that means is that you shall respect him. 277 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:27,359 That's what, how it translates or what it means that you shall 278 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:29,920 respect him. And, and, and how do they do 279 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:33,720 this? They tell him, you sit, you sit 280 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,480 here, right, For our church to be the back row, that that's the 281 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:44,000 privileged place, no offense. Back rowers, you sit here, 282 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,880 right? You tell them you take the, the 283 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:52,560 place of honor, right? But for the poor man, they say 284 00:17:53,080 --> 00:18:01,080 you stand over there or sit down at my feet, which probably more 285 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:03,440 accurately means you sit on the floor. 286 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:09,320 You sit here in this privileged place and you you could sit on 287 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:12,200 the floor. That's that's what James is 288 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,920 saying. And James says that if you do 289 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:21,200 this, have you not been made distinctions among yourselves, 290 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:25,400 IE have you not concluded that there is a difference between 291 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:31,520 these two men and consequently you have become judges with evil 292 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,960 thoughts. James says that when you make a 293 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:40,680 distinction between people based on and standards, not only are 294 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,920 you making a judgement, but you are making this judgement as a 295 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:48,680 self appointed judge. You have made a judgement that 296 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:53,720 this rich man is worthy to sit here and this poor man is not. 297 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,560 The poor man is only worthy to sit on the floor. 298 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,560 And look at how James describes Christians who makes this kind 299 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:04,800 of judgement. He says you are judges with evil 300 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,280 thoughts. Look at verse 5. 301 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,040 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are 302 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,520 poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom 303 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,080 which he has promised to those who love Him? 304 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,760 James writes. Listen, listen. 305 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,200 Just as James earlier told him to be quick to listen, he now 306 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,960 exhorts them to be a doer of the Word by listening. 307 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:34,480 Kind of ironic. Be a doer of the Word by 308 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:39,680 listening. Listen, my beloved brothers, 309 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:42,520 this is not the third and final time that James refers to them 310 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:44,680 as beloved brothers. It's a reminder. 311 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,040 He is not rebuking them as lost people. 312 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,600 He is exhorting them as beloved brothers. 313 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,680 James is going to make an argument to them for why they 314 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,000 shouldn't show favoritism. He's making an argument why you 315 00:19:58,000 --> 00:19:59,480 shouldn't. There are two parts of this 316 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:01,440 argument. We'll look at the first part 317 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:03,920 this morning, and we'll look at the second part next week. 318 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:07,120 Here's the first part. The first argument he's going to 319 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:11,160 make as to why we shouldn't show favoritism, has not God chosen 320 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:15,560 those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of 321 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,640 the Kingdom? Now, we must be very careful 322 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,600 here with this type of verse to not lapse into what is known as 323 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,480 poverty theology or liberation theology. 324 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,480 These are very real theologies, Poverty theology or liberation 325 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:30,840 theology. What is that? 326 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:35,080 This is a theology that teaches that God actually favors those 327 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:40,760 who are monetarily poor. God actually favors those who 328 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,760 are monetarily poor. We know this can't be true for 329 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:47,880 two reasons. Number one, it would contradict 330 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:53,840 what James just said. God would be showing favoritism 331 00:20:54,400 --> 00:21:02,320 to monetarily poor people, which James just said don't do #2 then 332 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:09,680 Abraham, Job, Zacchaeus, Joseph, Arimathea, the Apostle Paul, and 333 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:12,360 probably most everybody in this room would never be saved 334 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:17,480 because we're all rich. I know some of you may think 335 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:22,920 that you're not you, you are. If you're here in Seattle, 336 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:27,920 you're at UW or you live, you're rich, you are. 337 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:36,920 But here we are saved. James writes that God has 338 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:39,200 chosen. Chosen. 339 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:41,560 This is a word that's often used in connection with election. 340 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:45,120 It it, it, it has the same idea that God has elected them. 341 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:49,240 God chose those who are poor in the world. 342 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:53,240 But here's the question, if they are not necessarily monetarily 343 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:55,600 poor and what sense are they poor? 344 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:02,760 They are poor in spirit has not got chosen those who are poor in 345 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:04,880 spirit. James is using this term the 346 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:09,240 same way that Jesus used it when he said blessed are the poor in 347 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:12,680 spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 348 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,280 Matthew 53 James writes that God chose them. 349 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:20,960 Chose chooses those poor in spirit for a purpose 2 purposes, 350 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,480 to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the Kingdom. 351 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,360 So not rich in money, but rich in faith. 352 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,680 Not heirs of a company, but heirs of a Kingdom. 353 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:38,560 And he gives this heap to those. He promises this to those who 354 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:43,000 love him. This is not the second time that 355 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:49,280 James has used this phrase. God promises a crown and a 356 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:55,320 Kingdom to those who love Him. We'll stop there with exposition 357 00:22:55,880 --> 00:23:01,200 application. I have 7 exhortations #1 358 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:09,280 Christianity is not only being unstained with the sin of the 359 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:14,040 world, but also stained with the blood of Christ. 360 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:21,440 Christianity is not only being unstained with the sin of the 361 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:27,280 world, but also stained with the blood of Christ. 362 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,320 What keeps us from becoming modern day Pharisees? 363 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:42,280 Religious people who are pious, holy, moral, law abiding, 364 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:48,160 knowledgeable, doctrinal, but who do not help the helpless? 365 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,000 What keeps us from becoming like them? 366 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:58,680 What keeps us from becoming like the people that Jesus described? 367 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,600 For I was hungry, and you gave me no food. 368 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,440 I was thirsty and you gave me no drink. 369 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,720 I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me naked, and you 370 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:13,880 did not clothe me sick and in prison, and you did not visit 371 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:18,920 me. What keeps us from becoming like 372 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:23,560 them? Passages like this. 373 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:33,200 Passages like this. What makes verse 27 remarkable? 374 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:35,920 James 127. What makes that remarkable is 375 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:41,400 that James doesn't write religion that is pure and 376 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:46,280 undefiled before God the Father. Is this to keep oneself 377 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,680 unstained from the world? That would make sense. 378 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:55,120 If you want to be pure and undefiled before God, do this, 379 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,200 keep yourself unstained from the world. 380 00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,080 That would make sense. But that's not that all, James 381 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:04,400 writes. James first writes, visit or 382 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:08,920 care for orphans and widows and their affliction. 383 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:13,000 And what does that mean? It means this Christianity is 384 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,640 not only being unstained with the sin of the world, but also 385 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:20,480 stained with the blood of Christ. 386 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:27,960 With the heart of Christ, our goal is not only to wear white 387 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,840 and to show the world look how clean we are. 388 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:38,280 Our goal is also to have those white garments stained red with 389 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:45,520 the blood of Christ to show the world that Christ heart is for 390 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,600 the helpless and his heart is my heart. 391 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:57,520 Crisis called us to care for those who are in affliction. 392 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:07,400 This includes orphans, widows, the poor, the hungry, elderly, 393 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:13,520 people with disabilities, refugees, victims and violence, 394 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,040 the sick, those with mental illness, those who are 395 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:22,840 persecuted, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. 396 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:29,000 And James gives two of these categories as examples. 397 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,040 Now he just lists 2, but I just listed several. 398 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:33,040 But let's look at the two that he listens. 399 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:39,480 These are the two that he lists #2 be a father to the fatherless 400 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:45,640 or a mother to the motherless. Be a father to the fatherless or 401 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:49,640 a mother to the motherless. One of the practical ways that 402 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:54,600 James writes that we can show our true faith is to visit 403 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,000 orphans, literally to care for them. 404 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:01,680 Now, 2000 years has passed and much has changed, right? 405 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:04,600 We're reading the text that's 2000 years old. 2000 years have 406 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,400 passed and a lot has changed. Most of the care for orphans 407 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,960 today is done at the government level or the nonprofit level. 408 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:17,080 Things like foster care, adoption services handle most of 409 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,880 this ministry now, right? Whereas it didn't exist then, it 410 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,800 does now. That's how most of it is handled 411 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:25,120 now. But that doesn't mean there 412 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,800 aren't ways for Christians to get involved. 413 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:32,480 Let's start with the practical. There are is there is a 414 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:34,760 spiritual involvement. There is a practical 415 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:36,920 involvement. Let's start with the practical 416 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,800 involvement. How can we care for orphans now, 417 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:45,960 practically of us five ways really quickly #1 adoption, 418 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,080 adoption. When couples go through 419 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:56,120 premarital counseling, I always tell them my second session of 420 00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:57,800 premarital counseling is on family life. 421 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:02,680 And I tell every single couple, do not assume that you will be 422 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:08,320 able to have kids. Don't assume that even when 423 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:09,480 couples say yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. 424 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:11,320 No, no, no, no, no. You say that and you're like, 425 00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:17,560 but we will. Do not assume that you will be 426 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,120 able to have kids. About one out of every seven 427 00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:23,440 couples cannot get pregnant. Statistically about one out of 428 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:27,440 every 7. And I always tell them the same 429 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,480 thing. If God ordains that you are not 430 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:37,160 able to have biological children, let me highly, highly 431 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:44,200 encourage you to adopt. Even if you are able to have 432 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,520 biological children, adoption is still a wonderful option. 433 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:53,360 I have known couples who have chosen to adopt one or two kids 434 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:55,840 before they had their own biological kids. 435 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,080 I had a professor at seminary. He adopted, they adopted two 436 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:00,480 kids. I always thought they couldn't 437 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:01,880 have kids. And then one day he's like, what 438 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:03,120 are you talking about? We can have kids. 439 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:09,320 I was like, OK. And they did. 440 00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:10,560 They ended up having biological children. 441 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,080 After that, they said we wanted to adopt two kids first. 442 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,960 I've known couples who after having their own biological 443 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:22,720 children, they stopped and they said we'll now adopt after this. 444 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:29,240 That's one way #2 foster care. If you are not ready or you're 445 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:32,320 not able to adopt, foster care is also a wonderful option, 446 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,040 whether that's done at the government level, whether it's 447 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,840 done at the nonprofit level, or even if it's just family or 448 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,880 friends who need help. You may have family or friends 449 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:46,440 who mom or dad can't help out right now and and you can become 450 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:51,520 a foster family temporarily for them #3 there's local mentoring 451 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:53,880 or advocacy. There are often opportunities to 452 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:58,920 be a tutor or a mentor for giving. 453 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:03,200 One of the things that most of us, if not all of us can do is 454 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,720 to give. I remember reading this passage 455 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,080 several years ago. I, I was reading My Quiet Time 456 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,000 and I realized I was like, I'm not doing any of this. 457 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:16,520 I don't care for widows. I don't care for orphans. 458 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,880 I, I don't even, I mean, I, I don't even know if I care for 459 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:25,280 the poor. And I remember being convicted 460 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:29,200 to do something. I actually called up several 461 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:35,320 local orphanages in Seattle. I called them up and I said can 462 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:37,240 I volunteer and I mostly hit roadblocks. 463 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:38,520 I think they thought it was weirdo or something. 464 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,640 But why? Why is this 35 year old random 465 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:43,240 dude calling us saying can I volunteer? 466 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:48,520 I was like, OK, I hit Roblox, but I was like, I'm not 467 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:52,640 satisfied with doing nothing. So I decided at the very least, 468 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:56,320 let's start with giving. We now give to a Christian 469 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,120 organization called Antioch adoptions. 470 00:30:58,120 --> 00:30:59,200 You may have heard of them before. 471 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:01,040 They're locally based here in Washington. 472 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:04,120 They provide free adoptions for families here. 473 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,200 So if you want to adopt they it's free. 474 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:10,880 I mean, and, and, and it's made free by donors. 475 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,600 So we give to them. In fact, if God leads you to 476 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:18,080 give to them, October is actually double impact month. 477 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,920 All donations are doubled. I don't like secretly work for 478 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,200 them or anything. Just you're like you. 479 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:28,960 And every year our church participates in Operation 480 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,200 Christmas Child. Now, not all of those children 481 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:32,480 are orphans, but some of them are. 482 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:37,320 And we, we do that every year. We, we send them shoe boxes to 483 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:39,680 help provide to them so they have something to look forward 484 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:45,480 to during Christmas time. One last 15 mission trips, we 485 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:49,080 have had at least two members, maybe more, who have taken 486 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:53,440 mission trips to both Africa and Mexico, and some of the trips 487 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:59,320 were to work with orphanages. Those are 5 practical ways that 488 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:04,080 you can actually do this Now on a spiritual level. 489 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:10,040 Not every Christian or new believer or seeker in the faith 490 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:12,840 has a spiritual father or mother. 491 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:16,760 You could consider taking up this role. 492 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:22,840 Not every person in the church grew up with a father and 493 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:26,680 mother. Or maybe they did, but their 494 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:30,120 father and mother were so emotionally distant that they 495 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:33,480 actually never knew the love of a father or mother. 496 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:39,360 I have met many. I've been at this church for 14 497 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,400 years and many of you have had a physical mother and father, but 498 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:45,000 you have actually never known a father and mother. 499 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:55,040 You've never known their love. You could consider taking up 500 00:32:55,040 --> 00:33:01,240 this role. Paul was a spiritual father to 501 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:06,120 Timothy and Titus. Even the Apostle Paul wrote this 502 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:12,720 Greet Rufus chosen and the Lord also his mother who has been a 503 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:23,640 mother to me as well. 3 point #3 honour widows who are truly 504 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:26,400 widows. The second category that James 505 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:29,960 gives is widows. Now again, our society is quite 506 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:31,600 different than it was 2000 years ago. 507 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,600 Today we have things like Social Security, we have Medicare, we 508 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,880 have retirement savings, we have retirement homes, we have life 509 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,560 insurance payouts. And even many widows can still 510 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:43,520 work today. If if their husband dies, they 511 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:44,440 can still work. Now. 512 00:33:44,440 --> 00:33:47,160 None of this was a reality 2000 years ago. 513 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:50,200 None of this was a reality. So what does it look like to 514 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:54,840 care for widows today? Well, let's start with the most 515 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:59,400 basic. Let's start with your mom or 516 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:05,160 possibly your dad as a widower. Not everybody has retirement 517 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,560 savings. Not everybody has life 518 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:11,719 insurance. Not everybody can work. 519 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:16,040 And Social Security, Who knows if it'll be around? 520 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,400 It's even if it is, it's barely enough to pay for groceries and 521 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:22,400 utilities. It's not much. 522 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:27,880 Paul writes in First Timothy 5. Three honor widows who are truly 523 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:30,800 widows. But if a widow has children or 524 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,960 grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their 525 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,800 own household and to make some return to their parents. 526 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,159 For this is pleasing in the sight of God. 527 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:43,719 Paul's point is that the church is not plan A, it's Plan B. 528 00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:48,880 The family is plan A. If there is no plan A, then the 529 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:52,159 church becomes Plan B. But the family is plan A. 530 00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:56,120 When God gave the commandment honor your father and mother, a 531 00:34:56,120 --> 00:35:00,360 large part of that command was to care for them in their old 532 00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:05,160 age, both financially and even physically, if possible. 533 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:08,120 Not always possible, but if possible. 534 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,560 But he says if a widow has no children, if a widow has no 535 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:15,760 grandchildren who can care for them or provide for them, then 536 00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:18,640 he says the church is to step in and is to help. 537 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:24,880 Now, even if you don't have any family or don't have family, 538 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:27,960 your mom or your dad is not a widow or widower, there are 539 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:30,240 still ways that we can follow this command. 540 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:33,040 There's still ways we do it. One way, as I mentioned earlier, 541 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:37,200 is you can give again, several years back when I was reading 542 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:39,600 this passage, I wasn't just convicted about the orphans 543 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:40,880 piece. I was also convicted about the 544 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:44,040 widow's piece and I thought, what can I do with this? 545 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:47,280 So I got online. I was like, how can I give to 546 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:50,320 support widows? And I found a ministry of the 547 00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,880 Southern Baptist Convention called Mission Dignity. 548 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,160 Mission Dignity. Here's what their website says. 549 00:35:56,320 --> 00:36:01,440 Since 1918, Guidestone has been on a mission to provide dignity 550 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:06,120 to retirement age Southern Baptist ministers, workers and 551 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:09,160 their widows. We serve around 2800 individuals 552 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:12,240 each year by providing needed financial assistance to help pay 553 00:36:12,240 --> 00:36:14,880 for housing, food and medical costs. 554 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,520 Because of this, these servants of the Lord continue to live 555 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:21,040 with dignity, independence, and often the ability to continue 556 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:22,280 serving. End Quote. 557 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:29,480 The average Southern Baptist minister in America makes very 558 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:34,120 little. You guys pay me well. 559 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:38,760 I want to be clear on that. You guys pay me way more. 560 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:41,720 The average Southern Baptist minister in places like Arkansas 561 00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:46,560 or Missouri or North Dakota, they make very little. 562 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:51,920 And when they pass, their wives often have very little to live 563 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,160 on. This is a practice. 564 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:57,000 This is just one. There are other organizations. 565 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,720 This is just one way to practically care for widows. 566 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,600 Another way is to literally visit. 567 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:10,040 You could literally visit whether that is a nursing home, 568 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:14,920 a retirement home and assisted living home or someone at their 569 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:19,320 home. Just visiting and playing 570 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:23,400 checkers or talking about the weather or bringing a care 571 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:27,560 package is a tangible way to show the love of Christ to 572 00:37:27,560 --> 00:37:38,480 widows and or widowers #4 The gospel produces more than do 573 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:42,360 gooders, it produces holy do gooders. 574 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:49,760 The gospel produces more than do gooders, it produces holy do 575 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:52,040 gooders. I asked the question earlier, 576 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,440 how do we keep from becoming modern day Pharisees? 577 00:37:56,520 --> 00:38:00,680 Let me ask another question. How do we keep the church from 578 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:07,160 becoming nothing more than a humanitarian nonprofit, right? 579 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:10,040 I mean, there, up to this point, the sermon, there are some 580 00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:11,800 people not probably in this church, but like if I was 581 00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:13,920 preaching this in the South somewhere, somebody be like, oh, 582 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:17,880 here we go, we're going woke. I feel it. 583 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:21,560 Up to this point, the sermon, this is wow. 584 00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:24,240 Many churches would take what I just said. 585 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:29,240 How do we keep the church from becoming nothing more than a 586 00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:32,720 humanitarian nonprofit? What separates the church from 587 00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:36,240 the Red Cross or UNICEF or the World Food Program? 588 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:40,400 What makes us different passages like these? 589 00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:46,320 James writes that religion that is pure and undefilable for God 590 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:50,960 not only cares for widows and orphans in their afflictions, 591 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:56,040 but also keeps oneself unstained from the world. 592 00:38:57,200 --> 00:39:01,520 Or another way to word this is the Gospel produces more than do 593 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:05,120 gooders, it produces holy do gooders. 594 00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:12,760 It is not uncommon to come across churches, especially in 595 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:18,840 King County, who are actively involved in homeless ministry, 596 00:39:19,720 --> 00:39:24,840 drug recovery, helping the poor, counseling services for women, 597 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:30,600 and yet they affirm homosexuality, transgender 598 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:36,640 abortion rights, and on and on. That is not uncommon. 599 00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:43,120 It is not uncommon to hear about para churches or even churches 600 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:46,520 where they're raising funds for the poor or raising funds for 601 00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:50,160 orphanages overseas and it turns out they're embezzling those 602 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:57,120 funds. The Gospel produces more than 603 00:39:57,120 --> 00:40:03,240 people who do good. It produces holy people who do 604 00:40:03,240 --> 00:40:07,600 good even on an individual level. 605 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:09,160 Let's just not let's talk about individually. 606 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:12,760 Even on an individual level. James's point is that doing good 607 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:16,720 doesn't atone for our sins. In the words, it's not a 0 sum 608 00:40:16,720 --> 00:40:20,480 game where if I commit 5 sins today I need to go help 5 609 00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:23,680 orphans. If I commit $0.05 tomorrow I 610 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:26,240 need to go help 5 widows. That's not how it works. 611 00:40:28,360 --> 00:40:35,360 It does US0 good to hand out a cup of cold water if it's not 612 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:42,320 handed out with holy hands in Jesus name, eternally speaking, 613 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:51,160 it does a 0 good five. We are to show no partiality 614 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:57,840 because God shows no partiality. We are to show no partiality 615 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:02,040 because God shows no partiality, James writes. 616 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:06,680 My brothers show no partiality mean no favoritism. 617 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,160 And then he gives an example of where this may be happening. 618 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:11,680 Now, it could be real, It could be hypothetical. 619 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:15,320 It's not clear, but before we look at that, before we look at 620 00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:18,520 that example, I want to point out the reason that we are to 621 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:20,640 show no partiality. Now James doesn't make that 622 00:41:20,640 --> 00:41:24,160 reason here, but I want to point out the reason because this is 623 00:41:24,160 --> 00:41:26,760 the main reason that we are to show no partiality. 624 00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:31,480 And the reason is this because God shows no partiality. 625 00:41:32,720 --> 00:41:37,720 Deuteronomy 10/17 For the Lord your God is not partial, and 626 00:41:37,720 --> 00:41:40,840 takes no bribes. Second Chronicles 19, seven For 627 00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:44,320 there was no injustice with the Lord of God, or partiality, or 628 00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:48,240 taking bribes. Job 3419 would who shows no 629 00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:51,800 partiality to Princess, nor regards the rich more than the 630 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:55,400 poor, for they are all the work of his hands. 631 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:58,760 Romans 211 For God shows no partiality. 632 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:03,240 Ephesians 69 and there is no partiality with him. 633 00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:07,400 Can you imagine if God was partial? 634 00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:11,880 Like, can you even wrap your mind around that? 635 00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:18,600 Imagine if God was partial. Like what if God favored men 636 00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:21,520 over women? Or women over men? 637 00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:32,440 Sorry ladies, sorry men. What if he favored the rich over 638 00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:35,520 the poor? Or the poor over the rich? 639 00:42:37,440 --> 00:42:39,120 What if he favoured white people? 640 00:42:40,040 --> 00:42:43,040 Or black people? Or Latinos? 641 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:49,080 Or Asians? What if he favoured moral people 642 00:42:49,080 --> 00:42:54,120 over immoral people? What if he favoured immoral over 643 00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:55,960 moral? Is that me? 644 00:42:56,040 --> 00:43:01,400 You know, commit crimes? What if he favoured intelligent 645 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:02,760 people over unintelligent people? 646 00:43:04,320 --> 00:43:06,240 What if he favored people who grew up in the church over 647 00:43:06,240 --> 00:43:07,680 people who didn't grow up in the church? 648 00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:13,800 Aren't you so glad that our God is not partial? 649 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:21,840 The clearest evidence of this is in the life of Jesus. 650 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:25,440 Just look at the life of Jesus and you will see a God who is 651 00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:28,640 impartial. He eats with tax collectors and 652 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:31,080 sinners. He welcomes prostitutes. 653 00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:35,240 He does not ignore the bleeding woman when he is on the way to 654 00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:37,320 the ruler of the synagogue's house. 655 00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:41,600 He does not ignore Zacchaeus, a man who was despised by all the 656 00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:44,320 Jews. He does not choose any Pharisee 657 00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:47,480 to be his disciple, but he chooses fisherman and tax 658 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:49,840 collectors. And he does not avoid the leper 659 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:52,560 and the demon possessed, but he runs to them. 660 00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:59,040 Brother and sister, the reason that you and I will be in heaven 661 00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:02,840 is because our God is not partial. 662 00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:18,120 He shows no partiality. 6 Favoritism is not a personality 663 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:23,560 flaw, it is an evil flaw. It is not a part of our culture. 664 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:30,480 It is a part of our flesh. Whenever we do see favoritism or 665 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:33,360 partiality in the church, often it gets defended in one of two 666 00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:35,840 ways. It's either a personality flaw. 667 00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:44,400 Well, you know, I've always been partial to da, da, da, da, or 668 00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:46,600 it's a part, or it gets defended by it's a part of our culture. 669 00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:49,960 That's just a part of our culture, right? 670 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:51,600 It usually gets defended one of those two ways. 671 00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:57,760 Growing up in the South, it was not uncommon for a church to be 672 00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:02,480 predominantly white, and if another ethnicity stepped into 673 00:45:02,480 --> 00:45:06,960 that church, they were often ignored or sometimes comments 674 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:12,200 were made to them. Now I'm not saying that because 675 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:15,320 I got it from Facebook. I'm saying it because I lived 676 00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:17,560 it. Not I did it. 677 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:23,200 I I, I saw it. This is not just true for white 678 00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:27,520 culture, though. This exists in every ethnicity 679 00:45:27,520 --> 00:45:33,320 in some shape, form or fashion. I was talking to somebody the 680 00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:34,880 other day and they were telling me they were they were Korean. 681 00:45:34,880 --> 00:45:36,240 They were like, they don't like me because I'm Korean. 682 00:45:36,240 --> 00:45:37,400 They were talking about Chinese people. 683 00:45:48,050 --> 00:45:50,890 Even in this example in James, where a rich person comes in the 684 00:45:50,890 --> 00:45:55,810 assembly and they are favored, they say, come sit over here in 685 00:45:55,810 --> 00:45:58,890 this esteemed place. But then a poor person comes in. 686 00:45:58,890 --> 00:46:00,490 They're told you can sit on the floor. 687 00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:05,120 Now, this very well may have been a hypothetical example, 688 00:46:05,800 --> 00:46:06,720 right? Very well made. 689 00:46:06,880 --> 00:46:09,840 But we certainly have either witnessed this before, or maybe 690 00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,960 we've heard stories of it, or maybe we didn't be an recipient 691 00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:17,160 of it. Favoritism can creep into the 692 00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:19,720 church in all kinds of ways, right? 693 00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:23,120 We can favor extroverts over introverts. 694 00:46:24,880 --> 00:46:27,520 We can favor attractive people over unattractive people. 695 00:46:31,040 --> 00:46:32,840 You ever see a group of girls together? 696 00:46:32,840 --> 00:46:35,000 Why is it that everybody in that group is attractive? 697 00:46:42,740 --> 00:46:44,540 We can favorite leaders over followers. 698 00:46:46,580 --> 00:46:48,340 We can favorite families over singles. 699 00:46:50,420 --> 00:46:53,860 We can favorite educated over uneducated white collar over 700 00:46:53,860 --> 00:46:55,580 blue collar. It also goes in reverse. 701 00:46:55,580 --> 00:46:58,260 There's also a reverse discrimination where people look 702 00:46:58,260 --> 00:47:01,380 down upon white collars because they grew up blue collar. 703 00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:08,600 We can favor members over visitors, able body over 704 00:47:08,600 --> 00:47:13,760 disabled, one ethnicity over another, men over women or women 705 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:17,240 over men, seniors over young people, or young people over 706 00:47:17,240 --> 00:47:22,040 seniors. And when this happens in the 707 00:47:22,040 --> 00:47:26,160 church, James writes, Have you not been made distinctions among 708 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:30,600 yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 709 00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:38,360 Favoritism is not a personality flaw. 710 00:47:38,440 --> 00:47:43,360 It is an evil flaw. It is not a part of our culture. 711 00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:51,160 It is a part of our flesh #7 last point. 712 00:47:52,720 --> 00:47:58,120 God does show a righteous favoritism to the poor in 713 00:47:58,120 --> 00:48:03,160 spirit. God does show a righteous 714 00:48:03,160 --> 00:48:06,240 favoritism to the poor and spirit. 715 00:48:06,520 --> 00:48:10,320 James is making the point that God does show favoritism in one 716 00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:14,320 sense, but it's not based on outward metrics, it's based on 717 00:48:14,320 --> 00:48:20,080 the heart, he writes. Has God not chosen those who are 718 00:48:20,280 --> 00:48:23,600 poor in the world, meaning poor and spirit? 719 00:48:24,320 --> 00:48:28,720 James is using this example to exhort the church to not make 720 00:48:28,720 --> 00:48:32,240 the same mistake that Samuel and Jesse did. 721 00:48:32,440 --> 00:48:36,040 Remember when Samuel went to go visit Jesse and Jesse paraded 722 00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:39,720 all his sons in front of Samuel and Samuel and Jesse both 723 00:48:39,720 --> 00:48:42,680 thought with each son, sure this is the next king. 724 00:48:43,680 --> 00:48:48,200 Eliah for sure. He is 6/5 and 2:20 and looks 725 00:48:48,200 --> 00:48:53,200 like Tom Brady and and this is definitely the next king and the 726 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:57,440 Lord said to Samuel, do not look on his appearance or the height 727 00:48:57,440 --> 00:49:01,120 of his stature because I have rejected him. 728 00:49:01,640 --> 00:49:05,880 For the Lord sees not as a man sees man looks on the outward 729 00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:09,880 appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 730 00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:16,600 James's point is that if you're going to favor someone, favor 731 00:49:16,600 --> 00:49:23,280 those who are poor in spirit. He even wants to make the point 732 00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:25,840 don't favor the rich. Next week he's going to give an 733 00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:27,760 argument for why you shouldn't favor the rich. 734 00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:34,000 We'll look at that next week. James wants the church to stop 735 00:49:34,000 --> 00:49:36,960 seeing people as a means to advance their own Kingdom. 736 00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:39,160 I mean, why does he say you sit over here? 737 00:49:39,160 --> 00:49:42,160 Right? Because they are a means to 738 00:49:42,200 --> 00:49:47,600 advance their Kingdom. James wants the church to stop 739 00:49:47,600 --> 00:49:50,640 seeing people as a means to advance their Kingdom and to 740 00:49:50,640 --> 00:49:55,480 start seeing them as a potential heir of God's Kingdom. 741 00:49:58,160 --> 00:50:01,120 In heaven. There is no class system, there 742 00:50:01,120 --> 00:50:06,360 is no caste system, there is no socio economic status in heaven. 743 00:50:08,640 --> 00:50:12,720 There's just a community of people who are all poor in 744 00:50:12,720 --> 00:50:16,920 spirit. That's the only people that are 745 00:50:16,920 --> 00:50:20,880 in heaven is those who are poor in spirit. 746 00:50:23,960 --> 00:50:27,840 Favor them. Let's pray.