1 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:09,840 All right, so I grew up in the church, so I was just all around 2 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,640 Christians like my whole life. And I remember a term or like a 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:18,360 phrase growing up, like backsliding Christian. 4 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:22,120 I don't really hear that word being used a lot anymore to talk 5 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,920 about people. But just when I was younger, 6 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,560 that was just a term that was thrown out a lot like, Oh, he's 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:30,880 a backsliding. Oh, that person backslid. 8 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:32,520 That's what you don't see in my church anymore. 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,480 And it was kind of like a big deal. 10 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:39,800 And it was kind of like AI don't know, like fodder for gossip to 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:42,560 like, Oh my gosh, did you hear like they're like drinking 12 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,320 again, They're cussing again, like, Oh my gosh, they're 13 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,360 backsliding. And I don't know, like I just 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,840 felt like being a backsliding Christian meant like something 15 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:54,720 really taboo and like untouchable. 16 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:56,520 And you had like, avoid them and stay away from them. 17 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:01,080 It's like really bad, right? Well, in today's passage, James 18 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,519 kind of addresses this, this idea of someone who's 19 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,520 backsliding. The phrase that he uses is stray 20 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,560 from the truth, truth being the word of God. 21 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:16,120 So he talks about people who stray and what we need to do 22 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,200 about it as a church. All right? 23 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,440 So he talks about how to prevent this from happening and also 24 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,920 when it does happen, what can the church do? 25 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:28,000 Is there anything that we should do or do we just let them be and 26 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,000 just whatever? Bye, bye. 27 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:31,800 You know, I don't know. Let's find out. 28 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,160 The question today is what should we do when someone 29 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:38,880 wanders away? What should we do when someone 30 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,080 wanders away? So we're going to read James 31 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:50,200 chapter 5, verses 15 through 20. OK, 15 through 20. 32 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,240 I'm going to just read the whole passage I can. 33 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,880 OK, All right. This is God's word. 34 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,160 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord 35 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:09,320 will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he 36 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,640 will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to 37 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:15,640 one another and pray for one another so that you may be 38 00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:18,360 healed. The prayer of a righteous person 39 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,120 is very powerful in its effect. Elijah was a human being, as we 40 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,920 are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and for 41 00:02:25,920 --> 00:02:28,640 three years and six months it did not rain on the land. 42 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,600 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the land 43 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:36,240 produced its fruit. My brothers and sisters, if any 44 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:40,320 among us raised from the truth, and someone turn turns him back, 45 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,440 let that person know that whoever turns a Sinner from the 46 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,160 air of his way will save his soul from death and cover a 47 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,640 multitude of sins. Amen. 48 00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:53,840 So what should we do when someone wanders away? 49 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,920 We need to learn to recognize the signs of wandering, learn to 50 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:00,800 recognize the signs of wandering. 51 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,240 So I'm going to kind of start from the end of this passage 52 00:03:03,640 --> 00:03:07,840 versus 19 through 20. That's where James mentions if 53 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:12,720 any among you strays from the truth and, you know, turning him 54 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,080 back, turning a thinner from the era of his way. 55 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:21,560 So when James talks about straying from the truth, some 56 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,120 people might think like, oh, this must be somebody who has 57 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,400 like turned away from God, like they've rejected God. 58 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,040 They're not Christian anymore. But that's not what James is 59 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,840 talking about. He's addressing Christians here, 60 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,120 brothers and sisters, if any among you right. 61 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:44,240 So these are Christians who have maybe started to drift away from 62 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,760 living more faithfully as believers, right? 63 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,960 You're not being hostile to God, you're not hating him and 64 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:56,440 blatantly like rebelling. It's just this kind of gradual 65 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,040 wandering that happens when we start neglecting certain 66 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:04,680 spiritual disciplines like spending time with God, prayer, 67 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,120 worship, coming to church, fellowship, all these things, 68 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,240 right? And I think this happens for 69 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,400 various reasons in our lives. And this is something that can 70 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,680 happen to all of us. Maybe it has happened to all of 71 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:18,079 us. We're all capable of drifting 72 00:04:18,079 --> 00:04:20,600 away. It could be because of a sin 73 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,440 that we won't let go of. It could be disappointment or 74 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:25,400 hurt. I know people who've drifted 75 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,920 away because they were hurt by the church, by their leaders, or 76 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,720 they were unhappy with something that the church did or how 77 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,080 somebody acted in the church. And personally, for me, what 78 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:38,320 I've struggled with is life just getting busier. 79 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,320 I think a lot of us can relate to that, especially as you move 80 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:44,960 on in the stages of life, you know, you get married, you have 81 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,400 kids, you do, you just get busier. 82 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:52,480 And for me, when I became a parent, like, I like, it was a 83 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,480 battle to not drift away. I will be honest. 84 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:58,640 And if I'm being more honest, I did drift away. 85 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:01,080 And I feel like I'm still recovering from that. 86 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,720 And I just remember like, you know, you have a newborn baby, 87 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,040 life is crazy. You're not sleeping, you're 88 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:10,800 cranky, you're like fighting with your spouse more. 89 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,840 And then slowly, you know, but surely like I spend less time 90 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:16,880 with God. It's just too tiring. 91 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:22,280 I start praying less until that just became more normal, right? 92 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:27,080 And then another thing was I started listening to the voice 93 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,720 of the world more instead of God's truth. 94 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:33,240 I started like living by the truth of the world where like, 95 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:35,480 you know, the world's, oh, you got to do this, You got to do 96 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,120 that to be a good parent. And I always just felt like I 97 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,320 was failing, right? And the further I drifted from 98 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,760 God, the further I'm drifting from his grace, which is what I 99 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:46,920 really needed the most during that time, right? 100 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:52,680 I think another reason why we often, you know, drift away or 101 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,720 wander is maybe because we don't take it seriously enough. 102 00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:59,880 Like, what's the big deal? Like God loves me still. 103 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:02,520 Oh, God's grace, you know, if I wander for a little bit, it's 104 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:04,080 fine. You know, I can always go back. 105 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,040 I don't know, I feel like that's kind of taking God's grace for 106 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:10,080 granted. And I think we need to start by 107 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:13,120 acknowledging what drifting away actually is. 108 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,800 It is actually sin. It's no worse than any other 109 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:19,360 sin. It's not like the worst than in 110 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:22,640 the world, but it is a sin. Because when you start living 111 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,680 this way, drifting away from God, you are choosing to live 112 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,560 the way you want to. You're making decisions based on 113 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,320 what you want to do, what's better for you, what's easier 114 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:33,640 for you, what's more comfortable for you. 115 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,120 Not what God's word is telling you to do. 116 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,320 You're choosing to be in control instead of letting God be in 117 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:43,720 control. That's what drifting away is 118 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:45,720 ultimately, right? And it is a sin. 119 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:48,760 And now it doesn't just happen overnight. 120 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,080 Like I said, it is a gradual process. 121 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,800 It kind of sneaks up on you. It's just a result of many, many 122 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,520 choices that get piled up on one on top of the other where 123 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:04,080 eventually you're just so used to just choosing what's easier 124 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,240 and what feels better in the short term. 125 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,120 You know, doing your devotionals or quiet time as some of you 126 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,640 guys might call it, it's, it's hard to do OK. 127 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,640 Just ask any Christian, unless you're like like that rare 128 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:19,640 person who's super disciplined in life. 129 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,240 I've only met like not even a handful of those people. 130 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:26,560 And like doing quiet time is just really hard. 131 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:29,760 And even if I'm being honest, sometimes I'd rather be like 132 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,880 doing something else. Like as a pastor, I'll just be 133 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,280 honest with you, OK? Like, you know, like doing 134 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:38,200 dishes. Like I don't really like doing 135 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,720 dishes, but if there's like a pile of dishes and it's gross, 136 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:45,120 then I just I want to deal with it right then and there, right? 137 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,920 But then let's say it's usually my devotional time. 138 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:52,120 I walk in the kitchen and just see that dirty sink and I'm 139 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,600 like, I have to do the dishes. God, I have to. 140 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,960 And then I start doing the dishes like for an hour and then 141 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,880 I'm tired and then I don't want to do anything after that. 142 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:05,920 OK, I mean, it satisfied this urging me to like get a clean 143 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,800 home, but then, you know, it was just good for the short term, 144 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,320 right? And for parents, it's so easy to 145 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,480 let our kids become the priority in our lives. 146 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,280 And the world will tell you like your kids are everything, but 147 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,000 the Bible says God is everything. 148 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,560 But, you know, like I, I know, I know the struggle. 149 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,960 Like they're always there. They always want something. 150 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,440 They're always needy. And you're just like, oh, OK, 151 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:33,440 fine. I'll just, I'll just, you know, 152 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:35,440 meet your needs instead of spending time with God. 153 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,080 I'll do what you want, not what God wants. 154 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:41,159 So it's, I understand it's very easy to fall into that. 155 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,200 But in the long run, these things don't bring lasting joy. 156 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,600 They don't bring lasting fruit in our lives. 157 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:55,000 Lasting joy, lasting fruit only happen when we are walking with 158 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,800 God and in community with his people. 159 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:00,480 Now I bet some of you can relate. 160 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,600 Maybe you guys experience drifting away during a difficult 161 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,680 season in life. Maybe you were struggling with 162 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:13,080 something, maybe even after, like I know this happens a lot 163 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,360 after a missions trip, people drift away, you know, missions 164 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,040 high and you come back and you're like, oh, like I miss 165 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:21,880 missions. And then you start drifting away 166 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:24,560 from God. So you show up to church flest 167 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:30,280 you pray less until that becomes your normal right now, what can 168 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:32,720 we do when we find ourselves in this situation? 169 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:34,200 Is there anything that we can do? 170 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:38,680 Of course, that's why James Rice's letter point to is we 171 00:09:38,680 --> 00:09:43,440 have to remember why we need the church community, OK, We need 172 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,200 the church community. I know there's people out there 173 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:49,080 who feel like they can be the lone wolf Christian just like go 174 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,360 at it by themselves. But the Scripture is so clear, 175 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,480 like we need community, all these commands to do this. 176 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:59,040 And that is all in the context of the church. 177 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:02,040 And if you're already plugged in, great. 178 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,360 All right, Do your best by God's grace to stay there. 179 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:06,520 Stay plugged in. OK? 180 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,520 Community is one of the best defenses against straying from 181 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:14,720 the truth. And of course, we're talking 182 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:16,840 about a healthy church community, one that's really 183 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,760 striving to live out the gospel, live by God's words. 184 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:26,840 And there's two key things that James mentions in verse 16 that 185 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,320 a healthy church does, right? Things that the church does to 186 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:35,280 really help one another stay on track with God, right? 187 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:40,200 And that's it's confession and prayer, right? 188 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,640 So verse 16 says, therefore confess your sins to one another 189 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:47,480 and pray for one another so that you may be healed. 190 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,320 And like we learned last week, this healing is not always just 191 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:52,320 physical, but it is also spiritual. 192 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:56,280 That's why we confess our sins to experience spiritual healing. 193 00:10:56,800 --> 00:11:02,600 So again, it says confess to one another, pray for one another. 194 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:04,760 Now, these are things that we can do on our own as well. 195 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:09,280 We confess and pray. But there is a specific type of 196 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,320 confession and prayer that happens in community, right? 197 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,280 It's mutual confession, mutual prayer. 198 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:20,960 That's the key here. So confessing mutual confession, 199 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:24,680 simply telling somebody at church about your sins, 200 00:11:24,680 --> 00:11:27,320 something that you're struggling with, you know, and you don't 201 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:29,640 have to go into all the sort of details like you don't have to 202 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:31,560 be like, Oh my gosh, I did this and this is what happened. 203 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:33,280 And like, just lay out the whole thing. 204 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,280 Like you don't have to do that. If anything, that could be like 205 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,880 stumbling for others and don't do that unless like you feel 206 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:40,480 like it's actually going to be helpful. 207 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,160 But like just confess your sin what you did. 208 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,640 And that's enough in the Bible, when people confess their sins, 209 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,920 that's just, hey, I admit to God, I sinned, I did this and I 210 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:53,320 am sorry, God. And that's that. 211 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,880 God's not like you got to recall every little. 212 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,000 He doesn't do that. OK, Shame is not the goal here. 213 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:03,000 All right, So we confess our sins to one another. 214 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,800 Some trusted people. It could be your CG, which is 215 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,360 why, hey, CG, right? We have CG at our church, like 216 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:15,040 the main way to get plugged in. We do that so others can pray 217 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,800 for us, right? Praying for one another in the 218 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,080 in this passage happens because we're confessing sins to one 219 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:24,560 another and then others are praying for you. 220 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:30,080 And you know, that's what I really the goal of our CG 221 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:34,280 ministry is, is where you find a place to belong, to confess your 222 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:37,520 struggles and have these people around you who can really walk 223 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:40,160 with you and pray for you through your struggles, right? 224 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,360 It's kind of like having people who can keep an eye on you, not 225 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,600 like, in a creepy way, but like when you know, when you're sick, 226 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:50,720 like, it's nice to have somebody, like, watch out for 227 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:51,960 you. Like, if you're a parent with a 228 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,640 child who's really sick, you keep an eye on them to make sure 229 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,560 they don't get any worse, right? And if they do get worse, you 230 00:12:57,560 --> 00:12:59,160 intervene. You take them to the doctor or 231 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:04,160 whatever. And we're all sick, OK? 232 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:07,280 Spiritually, we're sick. We're sinners. 233 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,600 We need brothers and sisters to keep an eye on us and to 234 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:13,920 intervene when you start wandering away. 235 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:21,080 OK, When you're isolated from community, it is so easy to 236 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,920 stray, right? When you're isolated, it's so 237 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:28,120 much easier to stray. I remember the first time I went 238 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:31,040 to missions in college, it was after my first year. 239 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,920 It was during the summer. And then that missions team was 240 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:36,120 awesome. It was like through a campus 241 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:38,120 ministry I was part of. It was really great. 242 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:40,800 But you spend so much time with them, training with them for 243 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:44,320 months, and then you basically spend like almost a month abroad 244 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:47,520 with them, overseas with them. And then like, you're with them 245 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:49,320 every day. They're like your family pretty 246 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:50,840 much. And then you come back from the 247 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,840 trip. And I was living on campus that 248 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:58,880 summer because I had a summer session to attend, and I felt so 249 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,800 lonely. I'm an introvert and usually I 250 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:06,360 like being by myself, But that summer I was like, something was 251 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:08,640 off. I felt really lonely, OK? 252 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,640 And I, I was just so isolated because even our campus 253 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:17,640 ministry, it wasn't that active during the summers and I was not 254 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:19,400 plugged into a church at that time. 255 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,680 All right, So I did go to a church on Sundays, but literally 256 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,240 I did not get involved at all in that church. 257 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,560 I didn't serve. I didn't talk to anybody else, 258 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,480 just see people from my campus ministry who were like, most of 259 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:33,720 them were gone during the summer. 260 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:38,240 And so I was very isolated, like, spiritually too, right? 261 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:42,000 So I spend less time with God because no one's around me, 262 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,960 like, hey, let's quiet time. Like, you know, no one's there 263 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,400 to keep me accountable. And I even start like, a 264 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:49,280 relationship, OK. And then that was like, even 265 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,320 worse, like, for my spiritual life, distracting me even more. 266 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:56,400 Bad idea. OK, Looking back, I wish I had 267 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,800 made more of an effort to get plugged into a church. 268 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:01,880 I really do. I think that would have helped 269 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,360 immensely during that time when I was very isolated. 270 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,200 So This is why, you know, community is so important 271 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,040 because that's where confession and prayer happen. 272 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:19,200 OK, So challenges, do whatever you guys can, right, To stay 273 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:24,120 connected to a community. And that means as individuals, 274 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:28,800 we have to do our part. And that part is to show up. 275 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,280 Are you going to show up, participate actively in the 276 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,520 community? Otherwise, like if someone only 277 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:39,480 comes out every so often, it's really hard to tell when they 278 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:42,120 start wandering away. Like they're already not coming 279 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:45,320 out that often. Wandering away means you've come 280 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:49,000 out not that often. So it's like, oh, it's just life 281 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,080 as usual for them, I guess. But if you're committed and 282 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,800 you've been coming out regularly and you're going through a 283 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:58,000 season of hardship and you start drifting, then it becomes very 284 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:00,920 noticeable, right? You just start coming out less, 285 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,040 you know, you just seem different. 286 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:09,400 If we know you and we see you often, like we'll notice when 287 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:13,400 you're wandering, right? So that's our individual 288 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:19,200 responsibility to show up, confess, so that others can pray 289 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:20,160 for you. All right. 290 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:26,760 Now, the community obviously has a responsibility to write as a 291 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:28,440 whole. We have a responsibility to 292 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,760 those who wander. And that's .3, which is we have 293 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:37,240 to take steps to restore the wanderer, OK? 294 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:40,960 Take steps to restore the wanderer, OK? 295 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:47,080 We've really got to pursue restoration as a community. 296 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:51,960 And so verses 19 to 20 is like James's conclusion of this 297 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:57,040 letter and he's really ending with this like, like, I guess 298 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:01,200 challenge the community to really reach out to those who 299 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:03,120 are straying from the truth. OK. 300 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:06,520 It's a little different from like people like Paul and they 301 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,079 and their letters, like this benediction, like, Oh my God 302 00:17:09,079 --> 00:17:10,720 bless you. But James is like this 303 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,839 challenge, do this, pursue the wander, like go save them. 304 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:19,440 You know, it's like a big deal. Bring someone back into 305 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,400 fellowship, restoring them to the community. 306 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:26,760 We're not supposed to like shame them or cast them out as I've 307 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,160 seen some churches do with people who like backslide. 308 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,000 But we got to show love and grace and and truth to them, 309 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,440 right? And I feel like James is really 310 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:40,280 offering hope to those who, you know, they might be hearing this 311 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,800 letter that James wrote. And they're like, man, like I 312 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,280 failed in so many areas, like all these like commands and 313 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:48,800 instructions that James is giving, Like I'm really not 314 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:52,280 living up to it. But his conclusion is like, hey, 315 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,320 like, you can always come back. All right. 316 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:58,840 God has the heart to pursue you and to come to bring you back 317 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:03,880 into fellowship. And so he is giving us hope that 318 00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:07,600 no matter what, no matter where you're at in your walk with God, 319 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:13,040 you can always come back, right? James says. 320 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:17,160 Like when someone brings a wanderer back, it's like saving 321 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,000 their soul. It's like covering a multitude 322 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,080 of sins. And that's because it's a really 323 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,920 big deal spiritually when someone's in community, because 324 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:28,080 it's in community that you can you receive correction when 325 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,000 you're like, you know, not aligned with God's Word. 326 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:33,840 You get reminded about God's love. 327 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:37,640 And like I said, people pray for you and help walk with you so 328 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,680 that you're reminded of the gospel day in and day out. 329 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:45,120 It really helps us stay true to God's words when we're in 330 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:48,680 community. I think as a community it really 331 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:50,880 means we have to have a right heart. 332 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,360 And I know having the right heart is hard. 333 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:55,920 Heart is hard, OK? That's hard to say. 334 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,760 But we have to have the heart of Jesus, OK? 335 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,320 We must have the heart of Jesus, the heart of Jesus where he was 336 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:10,680 willing to leave the 99 sheep behind to go after the one lost 337 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,120 sheep. OK, now the point of that, you 338 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:17,080 know, parable that he tells, it's not about neglecting the 339 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:19,840 99. Like the reasonable, like 340 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,840 logical person might be like, Oh my gosh, Jesus, like you just 341 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,600 have you, you still have 99 cheap. 342 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:27,840 Just take care of them. Like, who cares? 343 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:30,680 Like one lost sheep, Like you're going to spend all your energy 344 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,640 like going after the one, like just, you know, cut your losses. 345 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:35,280 It's, you know, take care of the 99. 346 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:38,320 But that's not the point of that parable. 347 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:44,000 The point is God's heart for the lost, for that one individual 348 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:48,680 soul that God really loves and cherishes and wants to bring 349 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,320 back. That's the point of that 350 00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,680 parable, OK? It's not about neglecting them. 351 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:56,120 It's about him wanting that one to come back. 352 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,880 So that means every one of us here, wherever you're at, maybe 353 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:03,520 you've been wandering. Maybe you feel like you've 354 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:08,040 wandered so far. God still has this heart, the 355 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:12,080 heart of the shepherd. Who left the 99 to go after that 356 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,600 one lost sheep? He has that heart for you and 357 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,800 that's the heart that he wants his people, the church to have 358 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:23,120 as well for those who wander. So what does it look like to go 359 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:27,000 after that one lost sheep? You know, some practical things 360 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,400 that you can do is simply you can start by texting the person 361 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:33,840 that you feel like, oh, maybe they're not doing so well 362 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:35,880 spiritually. Where have they been? 363 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:38,640 Like, I don't know, let's, you know, send them a message or 364 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:43,040 give them a call and then maybe you could, you know, meet, meet 365 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:47,680 with them for coffee and then of course, pray for them, right? 366 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:50,520 I think prayer is really the most important thing. 367 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,360 I know, like, I'll pray for you. It gets like kind of overused 368 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:56,440 and people say it and they don't even mean it sometimes. 369 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:03,280 But real prayer when you pray, James says it is very powerful 370 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,480 in its effect. It is powerful and effective. 371 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:10,840 So the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and 372 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:13,000 effective. Now, who is this righteous 373 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,640 person? What does that mean? 374 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:19,760 Now, I think if you recall last week's passage, James talked 375 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:22,360 about elders like anointing and praying. 376 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:25,480 He's not talking about elders here. 377 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:28,800 He's talking about anyone, any Christian. 378 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:32,720 OK. And he talks about Elijah, like 379 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:34,040 why is Elijah being mentioned here? 380 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,960 It's because he's saying, yeah, Elijah is this famous prophet, 381 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:44,040 but he was a man just like us. His prayers were powerful not 382 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:49,200 because he was powerful, because the God that he was praying to 383 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,800 is powerful, right? The God that he had faith in was 384 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,600 powerful. That's why his prayers were so 385 00:21:55,600 --> 00:21:58,600 effective. And the only thing was that he 386 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,880 was righteous, right? What does righteousness mean? 387 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,520 A commentator says this. The essence of biblical 388 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:11,320 righteousness is dependence upon God in all one's dealings. 389 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:15,080 To be righteous is to live a life centered upon the word of 390 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,120 God. Not sinlessness, right? 391 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:22,760 Not sinlessness, But mercy typifies this life. 392 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,720 So who is this describing? Any of you? 393 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:31,200 Like, if you're someone who depends on Jesus, you've put 394 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:33,720 your faith in him. You're a Christian, a follower 395 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,080 of Christ. You're a righteous person. 396 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:40,240 Your prayers are powerful and effective because of who you're 397 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,480 praying to, because of who you have faith in. 398 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,400 I know. I'm sure like there are those of 399 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,000 you who know people who have drifted away or who are 400 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,600 wandering. Maybe you yourself aren't that 401 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,960 season. And it's not because you know 402 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:58,840 the wanderer hates God. It's not like they stop 403 00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,600 believing in him. But sometimes, yeah, life gets 404 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:07,600 busy, the motivation dies, and then we just lose the strings to 405 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:11,760 keep going on our own. When you see people drifting, 406 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:16,000 how do you normally respond? How do you normally react to 407 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,320 someone like that? So that I think the challenge 408 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:23,160 for us as SBMCI think, they tend to try to, like, keep our hands 409 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:25,200 out of people's business. Like, oh, like they're going 410 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:26,480 through something personal, private. 411 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,400 Let's just you know, I don't want to butt in by the Bibles 412 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,280 like, but in sometimes you should, but in OK, like if you 413 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:35,440 start noticing something and you're like, oh, I haven't seen 414 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,160 that person in a while. I wonder how they're doing. 415 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,120 Pay attention to that little voice. 416 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,560 That could be the Holy Spirit prompting you to act, prompting 417 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,960 you to reach out. Pay attention when you think 418 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:55,480 that wonder about somebody. OK, so challenge really is SPMC. 419 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,880 Listen to that voice and reach out. 420 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,120 And I'll be honest with you, like there are more times than I 421 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:07,160 can count where I've kind of just, oh, they're they're 422 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:10,080 choosing to go leave the church or not come out. 423 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:12,600 That's on them. And I'm just going to take care 424 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:14,960 of my own business because I have my own issues to contend 425 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:16,640 with. I'm trying not to drift away 426 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:18,360 myself. So I need people to reach out to 427 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:20,080 me. You know, like I've, I've done 428 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,360 that. I thought that OK, but God is he 429 00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:26,400 was like rebuking me like Esther, you can't do that. 430 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,600 We are called each of us to reach out and to care for one 431 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:32,680 another, to keep each other accountable. 432 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,240 And I think in the announcements you guys heard about covenant 433 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:38,680 membership, right? Shameless plug. 434 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,360 OK, but that's why we have covenant membership. 435 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:42,880 That's the whole point. If you've been wondering like, 436 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:44,600 what is this covenant membership? 437 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:48,120 It sounds so like, I don't know, like this old term of covenant, 438 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:49,920 Covenant just means like a promise. 439 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,200 So, you know, you take this class and if you choose to 440 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,360 become an official member, a custom member, it just means 441 00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:01,080 you're promising to keep one another accountable and to 442 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:03,520 commit to this church, right? So those are kind of two 443 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,600 keywords, accountability and commitment, right? 444 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:11,200 So accountability really is about just hey, like I'm going 445 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:15,080 to promise to do my best. Like if I see someone wandering 446 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,520 or having a hard time, I'm going to reach out to them now, 447 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:21,600 message them or meet up with them to not punish or shame 448 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:25,520 them, but to restore them, to help them heal, to bring them 449 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,960 back to God in the community. And commitment is about us, 450 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:31,720 right? Our responsibility to show up 451 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:36,240 and to share and to participate in the community life. 452 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:43,080 So we have our cover membership, but if not that we have our CGS 453 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,920 and even we have growth groups. There are many ways at least 454 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:50,600 that Archers that you can get plugged in and receive that 455 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:55,680 accountability and, you know, participate in community and as 456 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,160 a safeguard from wandering from God, right. 457 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:04,640 So church, let's be agents of God's grace to those who have 458 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,800 drifted away. Let's reach out to those who are 459 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:10,840 spiritually sick, who are in need of healing and in need of 460 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:13,520 restoration. So what should we do? 461 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:18,760 And someone wanders away. My main point is we need to 462 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:22,920 pursue the wanderer and restore them back to God and the church 463 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:29,000 community. Let's pray at this time. 464 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:34,200 Let's just spend a few moments to pray on our own. 465 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:42,080 Just reflect on the passage, reflect on the sermon, and 466 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:46,200 that's got to really reveal to you like, where are you at, you 467 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:48,120 know, in your relationship with God. 468 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,320 Maybe you are in a season of wandering. 469 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,880 Maybe pray that you would be able to come back, that you 470 00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:01,080 would choose to come back. And maybe you are doing well. 471 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,880 But you know people who are wandering right now, pray for 472 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:10,440 the heart to reach out, the boldness to pursue them for the 473 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:15,080 sake of restoration. Let's pray that SPMC would be a 474 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:19,160 church where confession and prayer happen on a regular 475 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:20,920 basis. So let's pray.