WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:06.639 Hi, this is Pastor Jonathan, and thanks for downloading the FBC El Dorado Sermon Podcast. 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:12.800 In today's sermon, we begin a summer-long series that is a study of the book of James. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:14.960 We're calling it authentic faith. 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:21.760 And in week one, we look at the first step of the life cycle that leads to authentic faith. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.160 The seed of authentic faith. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:27.839 As we consider James chapter 1, verse 1. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:34.719 A few weeks back on a Friday morning, I took the kids to school, dropped them off, and then I immediately came home. 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:38.560 And when I got home, I gathered three tools from around our house. 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:43.520 I got a hairdryer, a razor blade, and a suction cup. 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:46.560 And then I promptly sat down at the kitchen table. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:50.000 Now that's a really random assortment of tools, isn't it? 00:00:50.159 --> 00:00:52.719 A hairdryer, a razor blade, and a suction cup. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:01:00.719 But I needed that random assortment of tools because I had a very uh specific project that I had promised Spencer I would complete on that day. 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:05.760 Um I told him I would replace the screen on his iPad mini. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:17.120 Um he's still not quite sure how he first cracked that screen, but he used it for about a year and a half with um one crack and then many cracks all over the front of it. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:24.480 Um eventually the screen was in such a state of disrepair that it was completely unresponsive. 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:30.159 And so uh one night he came into our bedroom and he asked, Can someone fix this screen? 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:34.799 And I said, Yeah, we can we can fix it, but you're gonna pay for it. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:37.040 He remembers having that conversation, right? 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:40.560 It's why we save our birthday money, it's why we save our allowance. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:50.799 And so he asked me how much um an iPad screen would cost, and I told Spencer, I don't know, but let me Google it and let's see what the Google answers. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:02:01.680 So I did a quick search, and uh I was surprised and he was really disappointed when we learned that um a new screen for his iPad was something like$200. 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:06.640 And so I told him, okay, well, let's just calm down for a minute. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:08.000 Let me keep searching. 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:10.960 Let me see what else I can find on Google. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.520 I'm sure I can find a knockoff screen. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:19.680 I can find a cheaper version of the screen that we need so that we can uh repair your iPad. 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:22.159 So I continued searching for a few more minutes. 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:26.960 I went through a couple more pages of search results, and I said, Hey Spencer, guess what I found? 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:31.439 I found a screen that's like less than half of that price. 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:33.759 It's a knockoff, it's a cheaper version. 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:34.800 Let's give that a try. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:37.120 And he was like, Yes, let's do that. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:39.360 So I ordered the screen. 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:42.879 Um, and on that Friday morning, I finally unboxed the screen. 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:49.199 I took it out of its packaging, it looked exactly as it was described on the website. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:55.520 And then I took out his iPad and I took out my hairdryer and I heated up the edges of the iPad. 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:57.439 If you've ever done this repair, you know. 00:02:57.599 --> 00:03:08.719 You're loosening all the adhesive on the back side of the screen, and then I took the section cup and I took that uh razor blade and I began to pry off the screen from that iPad. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:14.560 Then, with the help of a YouTube uh tutorial, uh, what would we do without YouTube? 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:22.560 A man walked me through the step-by-step process of disconnecting the old screen and reconnecting the new screen. 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:32.879 So the final step of that whole process was this: that I would take the new screen and I would set it inside of the rear casing of his iPad. 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:41.520 And so I lined up the edges of that new screen with the edges of that uh rear casing, and I got it perfect just how I wanted it. 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:51.039 I had my tape on the back of it, and I began to press down and apply pressure slowly, slowly, slowly, and then I hear a snap and a crackle and a pop. 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:53.759 And I was not eating rice krispies. 00:03:55.439 --> 00:04:04.400 The new screen, that new knockoff screen, cracked underneath the pressure of my thumbs. 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:18.319 Like I took off an old screen with many cracks, and then I put on a new screen, and within 30 seconds, I hadn't even turned the thing back on yet. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:22.160 It had a big, huge crack down one side. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:24.720 I should have known. 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:32.639 There was a reason that knockoff screen costs so much less than an authentic Apple screen. 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:39.839 Our culture's literally overrun with knockoff products like that screen. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:52.240 Cheaper products that at first glance look authentic, they look like the real thing, but upon closer inspection, you notice the differences. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:05:08.079 You know, there's a reason the man who's selling uh designer handbags out of his trunk, or he's selling Rolexes out of his uh jacket or Ray-bans out of his suitcase, there's a reason he can charge a fraction of retail. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:12.240 They're not real, they're knockoffs. 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:16.879 Like if you inspect them, you can tell the difference. 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:25.360 Of course, most of the time in life, choosing a knockoff isn't an issue of huge importance. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:41.360 I actually put a piece of packing tape over that crack on Spencer's uh new iPad screen, and then I put it in the most heavy-duty case you can buy on Amazon, and so far, so good, no more cracks. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:51.279 In that instance, and in other instances in life, um, you can be satisfied with a knockoff. 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:53.759 A knockoff is good enough. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:06:06.560 But there are instances in life, areas in life when you can only be satisfied with the real thing, with an authentic version. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:13.360 And one of those areas of life just so happens to be faith. 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:21.519 You and I, we need an authentic faith. 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:29.759 But all too often we settle, listen, we settle for cheap knockoffs. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:37.120 One of the cheap knockoffs that we settle for is the knockoff of uh right words. 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:41.680 This is the knockoff that knows all of the answers. 00:06:42.319 --> 00:06:48.319 This knockoff faith, listen, it knows how to speak fluent Christianese. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:07:01.920 This person uh knows, listen, how to spell and define and use words like sanctification, juxfication, and propitiation in a sentence. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.920 And they can even use them in uh multiple sentences in the same paragraph and make a cogent argument. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:17.360 Or the person who knows all the right words, they have a Bible verse that they can share in every moment of life. 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:25.519 But if the substance of your faith is nothing more than right words, it's a cheap knockoff. 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:29.600 Listen actually to what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7. 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:45.279 He says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:49.759 Notice that the person Jesus is describing knows the right words. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:52.079 They know the thing that must be said. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:53.839 Lord, Lord. 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:57.920 But Jesus says it's nothing but a cheap knockoff. 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:01.920 Because there's no obedience, there's no action. 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:08.879 Another knockoff that we often choose is the right beliefs. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:16.800 This this knockoff says that faith is nothing more than principles. 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:18.319 It's ideas. 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:22.560 Faith is an exercise of your intellect. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:30.319 Folks who prefer this knockoff of right beliefs, they often engage in debates online. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:34.240 They like to argue facts about the Bible. 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:40.240 Or maybe this person sometimes they like to sign up for every Bible study that they possibly can. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:43.600 They just want to learn and to know more. 00:08:44.799 --> 00:08:47.759 Faith, of course, does engage our intellect. 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:52.480 Jesus teaches us to love God with our entire mind. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:57.919 But faith is more than brain power. 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:01.519 Faith is more than ideas that you know. 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:07.360 Listen to what James says in James chapter 2, verses 19 through 20. 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:13.120 You say you have faith, for you believe there is one God. 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:18.960 Like you've got the right idea, the right belief. 00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:21.919 Good for you, James writes. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:27.519 Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:34.960 How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless? 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:41.759 Good news, if that's the knockoff you choose, you're keeping really dangerous company. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:45.200 You're in the company of demons, according to James. 00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:55.279 If your faith is simply all the right beliefs that never overflow, that never lead to obedience or action. 00:09:56.399 --> 00:10:06.320 Now, the reason we choose these knockoffs is because as long as life is smooth sailing, they stand the test. 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:07.840 They stand up. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:24.000 But on the moment, on the day you lose your job, on the day you lose your marriage, on the day you say goodbye to your spouse or to your best friend, or you don't make the team, or you don't get into the college you had dreamt of. 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:29.759 That knockoff faith, it goes snap, crackle, and pop. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:36.480 A knockoff faith can never endure the ups and downs of this world. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:44.320 A knockoff faith, it leaves us anxious in the middle of a world that is filled with chaos. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:59.039 And maybe most importantly, a knockoff faith, a faith that is just the right words, that is just the right beliefs, it leaves us unable and incapable of impacting the world. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:06.480 Which is why you and I, we need the real thing. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.080 We need an authentic faith. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:20.480 Today we're beginning a series studying the New Testament letter called James. 00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:24.799 And we're calling it authentic faith. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:38.879 And I chose that title because it captures what I believe to be James' most unique and even most controversial contribution to the New Testament. 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:42.159 Listen to James chapter 2, verse 18. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:48.000 James writes, but someone will say, You have faith, I have deeds. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:57.039 Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:12.080 It was because of that statement and others like it, that the reformer Martin Luther made this statement that James didn't express the nature of the gospel. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:23.279 In fact, Martin Luther, at the school he taught, he felt so strongly about James that he wanted it removed from the curriculum of his school. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:33.679 Now, this is an example of a man who got a lot of things right in life, but on this thing, this one thing, he got it absolutely wrong. 00:12:34.639 --> 00:12:37.519 The church needs James. 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:47.360 We desperately need the book of James because James lets us know what authentic faith truly is. 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:51.279 So what is it? 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:53.200 How can we define it? 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:56.320 According to James, this is what authentic faith is. 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:59.200 Authentic faith is actionable. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.759 Authentic faith is actionable. 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:14.720 Authentic faith says that what I know to be true about God, what I say to be true about God, will overflow into actions. 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:22.240 It's a faith that knows when and how to act no matter the circumstance of your life. 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:28.559 It's a faith that gives you an abiding peace in the midst of chaos. 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:34.399 And it's a faith that makes you capable of impact. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:39.759 Authentic faith is actionable. 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:47.519 You, however, listen, don't wake up one morning and immediately possess authentic faith. 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:52.559 Authentic faith must be nurtured. 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:57.440 It's something that has to grow up within a person. 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:02.320 Authentic faith has a life cycle. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:11.039 And that's gonna be our focus for the first two weeks of this series: the life cycle of authentic faith. 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:15.360 We're gonna talk about that life cycle in terms of four phases. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:20.000 We're gonna talk about the seed and the soil and the roots and the crown. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:26.799 We're gonna talk about those final three phases, the soil, the roots, and the crown next week. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:31.600 And today, we're just gonna focus on the first phase, the seed. 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:36.480 So if you have your Bibles, join me in James chapter 1. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:41.360 And today I'm gonna do something really unusual for me and my preaching. 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:43.519 I'm just gonna read for you one verse. 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:44.240 One verse. 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:46.480 James chapter 1, verse 1. 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:58.960 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations, greetings. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:00.159 Hi. 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:02.799 How you doing? 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:05.759 Hope you're well. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:15.519 James, the author of this book, he is unlike any other author in the New Testament in one very unique way. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:26.080 James, the author of those words, and all the words in every chapter of this letter, is the half-brother of Jesus. 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:35.519 So Mary and Joseph, after the virgin birth, they come together and they have biological children. 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:41.919 And one of those biological children is the man who wrote these words. 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:55.360 That means that some of James's earliest memories, listen, some of James's earliest memories are growing up with his Baba, his buddy, his big brother Jesus. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:57.440 How cool is that? 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:03.600 He grew up in the same house as Jesus Christ. 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:05.039 Think about it. 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:08.240 James went to synagogue with Jesus. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:13.440 James celebrated the Sabbath with Jesus. 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:18.960 And I have to imagine they're brothers, so maybe James wrestled with Jesus. 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:23.519 And James, he played chase with Jesus. 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:32.720 Growing up in the home of Mary and Joseph, when James sees Jesus, he sees one person, he sees his what? 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:35.120 Older big brother. 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:41.519 And I have to imagine that Jesus is the best big brother. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:50.960 That Jesus is kinder, he's gentler, he's more patient, and he's more forgiving than any of the other big brothers who live on their block. 00:16:52.720 --> 00:17:00.399 But maybe it's because James, when he looked at Jesus, he first saw his big brother. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:08.160 Maybe that's the reason why James was so slow to put his faith in Jesus Christ. 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:13.920 I don't have an older brother, but I do have an older sister. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:19.440 And as a kid, if you have an older sibling, you always look up to them, right? 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:23.680 You watch the way that they make choices. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:27.920 Some of those choices you want to emulate, others you don't want to emulate. 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:32.319 You found out how they got in trouble, and you decide that's not the best way to live your life. 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:34.880 I don't want to get in trouble that way. 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:36.799 But think about this. 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:50.640 If your older sibling, the one who you admire, the one who you think is amazing, one day tells you that they are the Son of God, the Savior of the world. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:57.839 No matter how great they are, no matter how amazing they might be. 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:10.720 Like, look, man, we grew up in the same house, under the same roof. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:13.920 Mary and Joseph, like, they're our parents. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.440 Like, we're with them. 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:20.480 Jesus, you're a great guy, but you're not God. 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:26.799 Mark chapter 3, verse 21 tells us that one day the family of Jesus. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:29.440 So imagine James is a part of that family of Jesus. 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:34.559 They find Jesus while he's teaching and they want to pull him out of the mess he's gotten himself into. 00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:38.559 They can't believe the things that he's saying because they believe that Jesus is what? 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:40.400 Out of his mind. 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:44.240 He's not Jesus the Christ to his family. 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:45.839 He's Jesus the crazy. 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:50.640 Like he is saying things that don't make sense. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:56.640 And maybe, maybe James thought he was crazy until the very end. 00:18:57.599 --> 00:18:59.519 Jesus, you're saying lots of crazy things. 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:01.680 That's why everybody's up in arms. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:04.880 Jesus, you're saying all sorts of crazy things. 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:07.279 That's why your friends are betraying you. 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:09.519 Jesus, you're saying all sorts of crazy things. 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:10.079 Stop it. 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:12.400 That's why you're gonna go to the cross. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:19.839 But then something, listen, miraculous happens in the life of James. 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:31.359 And he no longer sees his brother as Jesus the crazy, he sees his brother as Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:34.960 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 7. 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:39.440 I read it earlier at the beginning of our time of worship today. 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:47.119 It tells us that following the resurrection of Jesus, that Jesus makes an appearance to groups of people. 00:19:48.400 --> 00:20:00.319 But then in that list, and telling all the people that Jesus met, one of the specific names listed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 is the name of James. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:05.599 Jesus appeared to James. 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:14.160 And in that moment, the seed of authentic faith is sown. 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:20.480 In that moment, James knows that Jesus isn't the son of Joseph. 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:26.400 Jesus is the Son of God. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:31.519 The seed of authentic faith for all of us. 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:39.359 Listen, it is sown when we encounter the resurrected Jesus. 00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:46.079 When we encounter him and we trust that he is who he says he is. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:11.200 They wanted to instill in you messages of grace and forgiveness and God's love for you. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:22.160 For others of us, though, sowing that seed of faith, and maybe that's where you sit today, sowing that seed of faith, man, you are kicking and screaming when it comes to that. 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:38.480 For some of you, you finally came to the day that the Holy Spirit drug you kicking and screaming till you finally had to admit and say yes to Jesus, to admit that he is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:54.960 It's by virtue of Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb that we know that Jesus is not just, he is not the son of Joseph, he is the son of God, he is the savior of the world. 00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:59.759 It's by virtue of his ascension to heaven and his imminent return that he we know. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:03.599 No, he is the Lord and King of all creation. 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:07.440 That is the seed of authentic faith. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:26.160 And it begins with this encounter like James had with his half-brother Jesus, have an encounter with the one who died at the hands of Rome and at the hands of Jewish leaders for the sins of the world, but in the power of the Holy Spirit was resurrected on the third day. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:29.200 That's the seed of authentic faith. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:40.319 And James wants that seed sown throughout those those tribes, those churches scattered throughout the ancient world. 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:48.000 That's the seed of faith that James wants sown throughout churches in the modern world, all around the world. 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:57.920 Because when that seed is sown, listen, that seed leads to a dramatic change in the life of a person. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:01.599 Just how dramatic could it be? 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:09.440 Well, pay attention again to the um to the title that James ascribes to himself in verse 1. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:16.400 He says that he is a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:24.160 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:34.400 Around our house, Spencer thinks it's really funny to call me or to call Lauren or to call Evelyn by the name Bertram. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:41.119 Now, for those of you who don't have a subscription to Disney Plus, let me fill you in on the details. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:43.759 Bertram is Bertram Van Winkle. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:48.000 He is the butler on a Disney Channel show called Jesse. 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:56.079 So Spencer, he calls us Bertram when he expects us and wants us to do a task for himself. 00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:59.200 So if he needs a snack, he calls on Bertram. 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:03.359 If he uh needs uh his dirty clothes put away, he calls Bertram. 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:12.000 If there's just anything he wants, turn on the television, whatever it might be, walk the dog, whatever it might be, he calls on Bertram. 00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:16.640 But listen, none of us want to be Spencer's servant, nor do we want to be his butler. 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:22.079 I don't know about I don't want to be the butler of a 12-year-old, do you? 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:27.039 I only want to be Spencer's father. 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:29.440 Lauren only wants to be Spencer's mother. 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:32.079 Evelyn wants to be Spencer's sister. 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:38.079 And something dramatic would have to occur to change and to alter that relationship. 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:47.200 You know, as a boy, I don't think James ever imagined calling Jesus something other than brother. 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:51.200 But then something dramatic occurred. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:58.079 A dramatic change that reoriented his entire life. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:05.279 His brother is now his master, and he is his servant. 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:22.799 The reorientation of a life, the brother who now is the servant, reminds us, listen, that authentic faith, even from the very beginning, even from the moment the seed is sown, is actionable. 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:30.079 Like that word servant is a title that describes action. 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:37.359 It describes movement, it describes doing certain things in life. 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:48.319 That word servant, James adopts it because it says this that he now lives in the world to act on behalf of his brother Jesus Christ. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:58.319 James calls himself a servant of Jesus because he knows that his brother Jesus has a plan for his life and he will be his master. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:03.920 That his brother Jesus has things he wants him to do and actions he must perform. 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:16.880 James says, I am a servant of my big brother, because this seed of authentic faith has been sown in my heart, and authentic faith is actionable. 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:29.440 Last week, as I reflected on this verse, James 1, 1, I just sense the Holy Spirit inviting me to fill in the blank. 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:36.160 To replace the name of James with the name Jonathan. 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:39.039 Not because I'm the author of the book, no, no. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:54.000 The Holy Spirit was inviting me, and I think he's inviting you to fill in the blank because he wants you to sow the seed of authentic faith. 00:26:54.960 --> 00:27:03.440 The Holy Spirit wants you to see yourself first and foremost in the world as a what? 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:07.680 Servant of Jesus Christ. 00:27:08.400 --> 00:27:22.640 To see our present and our future as God's great blank canvas on which God wants to draw this beautiful picture of what He wants to accomplish through you in the world. 00:27:37.359 --> 00:27:39.200 Can you fill in the blank? 00:27:42.319 --> 00:27:50.400 And if you're hesitant to fill in the blank, here's my worry and my question. 00:27:50.559 --> 00:28:06.799 If you're hesitant to fill in the blank with your name, then have you had an encounter with the resurrected Jesus where you've placed your faith in him. 00:28:09.359 --> 00:28:20.880 I think sometimes we we want to put our faith in Jesus and we just see it as the words and the belief, and we don't make that next move to write our name in the blank and say, now Jesus, I'm here, I'm yours, I'm your servant. 00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:27.279 Not that you're gonna possess this full-fledged, authentic faith from day one. 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:33.119 It's something that's gonna grow and has to be nurtured in your life. 00:28:34.720 --> 00:28:42.559 But Jesus, he he he meets with people so that there's a dramatic change in their life. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:49.839 For us, it's like James, it was he had to go from uh brother to master. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:29:02.960 For us, it's Jesus um is is a friend to our master, or Jesus is um a good teacher to the master, or Jesus is um just a nice guy and he becomes the master. 00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:10.400 But whatever it is, whatever that transition is, you are the servant. 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:16.400 That's where authentic faith begins. 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:29.759 To put your trust in Jesus Christ and realize that now and forever and all my days on this planet earth, I will serve him. 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:36.160 And God wants to accomplish a purpose through me. 00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:40.000 He has a plan he wants to fulfill through me. 00:29:42.559 --> 00:29:43.839 Because why? 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:46.000 Jesus. 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:49.839 He was not the son of Joseph. 00:29:50.559 --> 00:30:17.359 Jesus is the son of God, he is the Savior of the world, he is the Lord and King over all creation, and now James is inviting his church, the church of Jesus, to possess an authentic faith that serves Jesus in every circumstance and on every day. 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:21.279 Let's turn our hearts to God in prayer. 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:25.440 Where you're seated right now, would you just close your eyes and bow your head? 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:40.079 And at first, let's just together take an inventory of our faith and just that means to ask the Holy Spirit to put your faith under a microscope. 00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:51.279 Do you see a knockoff or something that's authentic? 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:17.599 Maybe even just consider the ways that that knockoff faith has failed you. 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:25.119 It's cracked, it's popped, it's broken. 00:31:40.640 --> 00:31:49.200 And just dedicate your life now to possessing this authentic, actionable faith. 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:55.039 Ask the Holy Spirit to nurture that sort of faith in your heart and soul today. 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:05.519 We live by faith, not by sight. 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:12.240 We make it our goal to please God, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 00:32:12.559 --> 00:32:23.680 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:34.640 And now consider and be honest. 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:38.319 Have you ever sown that seed? 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:42.000 Have you ever put your faith in Jesus Christ? 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:50.640 Asked him to be your Lord and Savior, and offered yourself to him to be his servant. 00:32:57.119 --> 00:33:00.799 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. 00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:15.519 This is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, for we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:35.119 Lord God, forgive us when we settle for a faith that is less than a knockoff faith, a cheaper version of the faith that you call us to live into to possess. 00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:37.279 Forgive us, God. 00:33:37.920 --> 00:33:54.799 And Holy Spirit, continue that work in our church and in individual lives so that we possess and see grow up within us this authentic, actionable faith, the faith that combines what I say and what I believe in my mind with what I do in the world. 00:33:55.039 --> 00:33:58.000 Something that's actionable, that makes an impact. 00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:03.599 God, this is the authentic faith we need. 00:34:04.480 --> 00:34:08.000 We know this is the faith you're calling us to receive. 00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:29.840 And God, I pray for that man or woman or boy or girl or teenager in this room, who's never sown that seed of faith in the first place, who's never put their trust in Jesus Christ, who's still serving themselves and is not a servant of the living God. 00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.320 And God, in your mercy, just speak to them in this hour. 00:34:36.719 --> 00:34:44.320 Show them the plans you have for them, the good works you prepared for them in advance. 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:53.440 That they would have the strength, God, and the Holy Spirit to receive the free gift of salvation. 00:34:55.119 --> 00:35:02.000 Authentic faith begins when we trust Jesus and we give our life to Jesus as his servant. 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:07.119 Jesus, you are our master, you are our Savior, our Lord, and our King. 00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:10.719 We love you because you first loved us. 00:35:11.920 --> 00:35:13.760 In your name we pray. 00:35:14.159 --> 00:35:14.800 Amen.