Believe & Know - James 3 // Nick Serban IV

Message Transcript

We are in James, Chapter Two, and I'm gonna warn you right now, from now until, like, Palm Sunday, I'm gonna hit a different chapter, a whole chapter of James every single Sunday.So today is 2, next week's 3, 4, then five, and then we're getting into Easter.But we are in James, Chapter Two, and as we approach James today, I wanna remind you that this is full of wisdom, an- an incredible, incredible amount of wisdom.And so many times, we can, we can hear a lot of, like, deep spiritual teachings about the gifts of the Spirit and being spiritual an- and bearing fruit, but James really helps us put it into practice.So it's no longer this ethereal idea out here in, in the Spirit, but it becomes practical.It gives us the attitudes and the practices that we should be engaged in as believers.How we act as believers is often even more important than what you know,And I, I've read my Bible many times and I've read books about the Bible.I've had holy encounters with God, experienced miracles, signs, and wonders.I've got history with the Holy Spirit.Can anybody else attest to that?You've got history with Jesus?But what good is all of that if it doesn't change our actions?What- what good is all that if it doesn't change our behaviors and how we operate in the world?If we wanna live worthy of the Gospel, we need to know the Word and have relationship with Jesus, yes.But can I tell you, we need the Holy Spirit as we engage in this text today so that this will become action.Because we've, we've really seenI was talking with a pastor this last week over coffee.We've really seen this great divide over the years within the Church, where one church is all about the Spirit and then you've got other churches that are all about the Word, right?A- a- and, you know, we're all about the gifts of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, the, the, the prophetic and all these different things, and then you're all about the Word and almost ignoring the Holy Spirit, even becoming cessationists and not believing that the Spirit of God still moves.These are, these are the extremes here, but I, I truly believe and I, and I see this happening, we need to be 100% in the Spirit and 100% in the Word.Amen.This isn't like a 50/50 thing, where we're just, like, swinging on this, this spectrum, you know, pendulum constantly.We need to be all about the Word because it's the truth.It's God speaking to us,Yeah.But then we need to be all in the Spirit as well and allowing him to do what he wants to do and, and see it become action into our lives.Amen?James gives us practical wisdom in how we let the Holy Spirit be active in transforming our lives with action.So again, as we read this today, we're gonna hit a lot of scripture.It's gonna feel like a really weird commentary, if you've ever read commentary before, where it's just reference after reference after reference.That's what James is doing.But, but he's making this, this overarching point that I want us to, to engage with today.Again, we zoom in so much on, on one scripture.I want you to zoom out today.Can you ask the Holy Spirit to do that right now?I, I'm gonna just pray.Let me pray.God, would your Holy Spirit be here today?Would you allow us to see all that you're saying, not just a singular thing or one side of the spectrum?But God, let us engage with everything that you have for us today.In Jesus' name.Amen."My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism."Favoritism.Everybody say favoritism."Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.If you show special attention to the man wearing the fine clothes and say, 'Here's a good seat for you,' but to the poor man you say, 'You stand over there,' or, 'You sit on the floor by my feet,' have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?Listen, my dear brothers and sisters.Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?But you have dishonored the poor.Is it not the rich who are exploiting you?Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right.But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."James is repeating his big brother Jesus, the Golden Rule, right?Yeah.Love your neighbor as yourself.And so, if you, if you're taking notes today, which I hope you areI- if you're not taking notes, you're only gonna get 8 to 9% of what I'm saying.Uh, if you take notes today, you're gonna get 40 to 50%.All right?And if you start saying amen and clapping back at me, you're gonna get up in the 90s.Somebody, let's go.All right?And if you start saying amen and clapping back at me, you're gonna get up in the 90s.So let's get a little Pentecostal.Yep, somebody, let's go.You don't have to clap at me, but, like, yell at me a little bit, all right?Say, say, "Preach it, preach it, preacher."Okay?Something.Write this down.Love every neighbor fully and equally.Love every neighbor fully and equally.In Jerusalem, where James is writing this, it's a very diverse place.You've got, you've got Jews and you've got Christians.You've got Greeks and Romans.You've got merchants from all of these different nations and many different cultures, and they all live together, but many times th- their culture divides them.We see this in America.We see this in other nations, where, where we choose culture over people.And James is pointing out, we can't show favoritism to how someone looks.Rich or poor, black or white or brown, it doesn't matter.We're to love everyone.Someone say, "Love everyone."Love everyone.A- a- a- and I'm gonna talk more about this in a couple of weeks.Like, James definitely goes after the rich, and I'm not, I'm not knocking you if you, if you're wealthy and you're rich today.But he's not attacking them and saying that you should see them as less.You know, he-he-heMany times, we can, we can read a text and go, "Oh!I should hate the rich and love the poor."No.This is a both/and.Love every neighbor, fully and equally.And again, this is really to contrast how we treat people by the world's standards.This is how the world treats people.We see someone that, that looks a certain way, or they're a part of a, a, a tribe in our minds, or a culture in our minds, and so we automatically assume things about them.We automatically assume, by the way that they look or the way they talk or the way they carry themselves that they're going to be a certain way.And James is, is coming against all of this.We judge by looks or status or what we might gain from them.And that's the evil thought that he's even speaking to.When you start to look at someone for what you can gain from them, whether it's money or status or cultural influence, that's when we start engaging in sin, when we show favoritism in this way.Many, many years ago, I've, I've, uhI've, I've been, like, at different influencer events and networking events.I was actually in Las Vegas.I know.It's okay, all right?I wasn't gambling, all right?I was actually at a, at a camera expo, and, uh, th- it was this huge, huge conference room with, with all these different camera companies everywhere, trying to, like, sell to all of the different filmmakers, and I got invited to it, you know.I'm, I'm not that up there.This was years ago.Um, and IBut I got invited to an after-party, all right?It was great.It was fun.Um, uh, there was, like, this amazing view overlooking the city and, and all the things, and I wasn't drinking, I wasn't doing anything weird.I was just there to connect with people and network, okay?I promise.Scout's honor, okay?There was incredible food, and there were, like, tons and tons of these indie filmmakers and photographers that I knew who all these guys were just by, just by seeing them and looking at their face.Um, it was, it was awesome.I was, like, rubbing shoulders with some of my heroes, you know, w-with guys who produced movies, and they've, they've worked for all these world-renowned companies, and I'm just like, "This is awesome."I wasn't a- a-At all in my mind, I wasn't thinking like, "I'm gonna be just like them."It was just like, "Oh my gosh, I get to be around these guys."Like, "This is so cool," right?But it was really hurtful when I started talking to people, and then they realized that I was a nobody.You ever been in, like, a conversation like that before, where someone's talking to you, and then they realize, like, who you are, or they're like, "Oh, I don't even know, I don't know who you are."And then they just kind of push you off, right?It doesn't happen here at, at our church, right?No?It doesn't?No.Praise God.But it's so interesting.Like, I wasn't a somebody.I was just some kid who made YouTube videos, and they, and they would try to leave the conversation as quickly as possible to find someone else of influence, or to find somebody else of status, or somebody else who they knew who they were.They were looking for all these other people, so looking, really, for what they could gain from someone else.Yeah.And this is a terrible feeling, on the other end of the spectrum, when you experience this, when you experience favoritism, when you experience partiality, when you're disqualified by someone because you're not at a status level that they desire you to be at.When we treat people this way, when we show favoritism, James is saying, "This isn't loving our neighbor.This is sin."And it's calling us to examine our hearts.Again, God looks at the inward while man looks at the outward.We know, we see this in 1 Samuel when, when, when the Prophet Samuel is talking about David.In verse 6, Judi- or 16:6, it says, "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.'" This is David's, one of David's brothers."The Lord does not look at the things people look at.People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."Aren't you grateful today?Amen.That He looks at your heart?Yes.That, that God doesn't require you to be at some type of cultural status in the world, but He sees your heart?So James, again, he's, he's giving an invitation here for us to see people with God's eyes.To see people's hearts, see people how God sees them, because God doesn't disqualify anyone.I need an amen for that.God doesn't disqualify anyone in this church.Like, when you read your Bible, it's filled with messed up people.Like, I have a hard time reading scripture sometimes, where I'm just like, "God, why are you still patient with this dude?""Why are you still allowing all of this to happen?"Like, 'cause God doesn't disqualify.Yeah.The Bible's filled with messed up people, messed up families, messed up situation.God loves them, and he uses them, even in their mess.Even in my mess.Right.And James doubles down on this.He says, "If you're not fully loving everyone without favoritism, it's not fulfilling the true law of loving your neighbor."He says this in James 2:10."For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles at just 1 point, is guilty of breaking all of it.For he who said, 'You shall not commit adultery,' also said, 'You shall not commit murder.' If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker."Right."Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom."Here's what he's saying.Not only is it saying, like, don't show favoritism with people, but don't show favoritism with sin.exactly.You, you, you, youBack, back away from the text a little bit and just see what he's saying here.Don't just show favoritism with people, but, but, but on top of that, don't show favoritism with sin.But what does, what does culture tell us to do?Again, we know sin is sin, but sometimes we think that murder is worse than adultery.Or lying is, isn't as bad as coveting.Or, or again, many times we find ourselves in this place where we're comparing one sin to another.Right.Like gossiping isn't better than sexually acting out.That's right.If you sin, whatever it is, it's sin.Amen.It, again, in our government, we have different penalties for different sins, right?Like, if you kill someone, you could get a lifetime sentence.But if you have a traffic violation, you can get a ticket or maybe a few nights in jail.If you've been drinking.And so, the world is conditioning us to compare one sin to another.And holding one higher than the other.But this is the exact opposite of what the word of God is saying.That's right.That sin is sin.Again, we, we see the world in this way, and so it, it shapes how we then see people.We think, "Oh," we look at addicts in one way, and we look at rapists and pedophiles in another way.Yeah.We look at murderers in one light, but again, we look at somebody who got a ticket in another way.Sometimes we can even justify certain sins based on people's upbringing and culture.Yeah.But I love this.In Verse 13, James goes on.He says, "Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.Mercy triumphs over judgment."Yeah.If we can't show mercy, how can we expect to receive mercy?Again, this is, this is a tough thing for us to, to wrestle with.Because the world is the complete opposite of what this text is saying.And this is really where we have to let the Holy Spirit speak to us.If we have been shown great mercy, and act unmercifully toward our neighbors, then we will be dealt with in a similar fashion.And this isn't just said in James;it's also said in Matthew 18, when Jesus was talking about the parable of the unforgiving steward.A long time ago �Go read it.And the principle even goes back to, to Solomon, in Proverbs 21:13.It says, "Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered."Yeah.Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful."Why?"For they will be shown mercy."Amen.We need to show mercy.As a church, as a people.Like, if I can't show m- mercy to people in their sin, if I can't show love, even when someone's sin may disgust me, why should I expect to be shown the same mercy?We need to lean into this.And Holy Spirit, we need you right now, as we, as we engage further in this text.Help us to not put ourselves as better than others right now.Help us to not show partial love and mercy.As we get into this next section of, of scripture here, in James 2, it's 14 through 26, he just ups the ante.All right?It's about to get really fun.Th- but what I love about this text is it gives me, like, crazy clarity to live out my faith.It gives me a living faith, a faith in action, a real faith.Who wants real faith today?Amen.Come on."What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith""but has no deeds?Can such faith save them?Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm and well-fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."Now, I know, you know, some of y'all are, are greater theologians than me, so I'm about to, about to clap at you a little bit, okay?James is not contradicting Paul when he says this.Right.Because Paul, Paul said that we're not saved by works.Right?Right.We are saved by grace through faith, not by works.But saving faith, saving faith will have works that accompany it.As the saying goes, "Faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone.It has good works with it."And this is where many people, again, we get twisted up inside, because we just said God looks at the heart.God's not looking at the outward.He's looking at the heart.But don't you love that, that Jesus came to address the heart?Jesus came to address the heart of the Pharisees, who were following the law, but yet there was corruption in their hearts.They had the, the outward appearance of everything being holy and pure and doing all these things, but they were going and standing on street, street corners, fasting for everyone to see them and see how holy they were, and Jesus said, "No, you're a whitewashed tomb.""Beautiful on the outside, but your heart is far from God."They did a lot of works, but their hearts were not in it.And so many Christians, again, and even coming from the, the Jewish faith, uh, uh, as, as Jews were coming to Christ in the time of James, they were almost anti-works.Again, the pendulum was swinging.Here are the Pharisees over here, they're all about works.Now we need to be all about heart.We almost need to be anti-works, and against works.And I'm here to say today, it's not about being on one side of the spectrum or the other.It's about being 100% in the Word and 100% in the spirit.Amen.James 2:18 says, "But someone will say, 'You have faith.'" One side."'And you have deeds.Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.You believe that there is one God good.Even the demons believe that, and shudder.'" Write this down.Number 3.This is gonna feel very, like, poignant."Accept all word and all spirit."We can think, "All I have to do is believe," right?But then James claps back and he says, "Even the demons believe."The demons believe that Jesus exists, that He's real.When we separate our faith and spirit from our faith and action, we don't really have faith.And y'all are gonna hate on me, 'cause I'm, I'm gonna use a different translation that I, that I almost never use, but it's just so good.I wanna r- reread this from The Message, all right?Send the emails to kim@fullifeag.J- just, just hear this, okay?Just don't, don't rebuke it yet."Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful?"That's just great.Demons do that.But what good does it do them?Like, use your heads.Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hand?It's, it's, it's still death, right?Faith without works is death.Yeah.But doCan we really separate these 2 things?Can we really be, you know, all word or all spirit and expect not to have a, a dead faith?One of the things, like, I, I grew up hearing this from my parents all the time, especially my mama.She's sitting over there, it's great.But she said, she would say this so often, I think this was Russ Moyer that maybe said it first, but we've been repeating it forever, "If you're all in the word, you're gonna dry up.And if you're all in the spirit, you're gonna blow up."And this is why it's so important that we are 100% in both, so that we can actually live a real faith and a real life in Christ.Like, we can't neglect the practice of holiness and righteousness and obedience to God and his word, loving our neighbors and showing no favoritism.We need the Holy Spirit in our faith that our faith would live out loud.And this is where it gets so much, so much more fun.I want you to just see this again in the context of, of favoritism.It says in verse 20, "You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?"Again, remember, this is a Jewish Christian church in Jerusalem.They know who Abraham is."You see what his faith and his actionsYou see that his face andfaith and actions were actually working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.His faith was made complete by what he did and the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness and he was called God's friend.You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone."It was the faith in action that then released God to say in the moment, "He's my friend."Again, this brings us back to the beginning, don't show favoritism.We say, "Hey, don't show favoritism in your faith walk.Don't be so fixated on the inward and the heart that you neglect to do the outward works of righteousness and holiness and following God's voice and his word."But this is where James gets really weird.He's talking about Abraham and all, all the Jewish Christians they know Abraham, but then James brings in somebody else into the picture."In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."This, this, like, this has to make waves to a Jewish audience.Yeah.Because James is comparing the father of their faith to a prostitute.Don't show favoritism.Right.The father of their faith, he's a man of covenant, he's a man of faith, and he brings a prostitute, a harlot comparing to Abraham.Why, why does God do this?Why does God do this?Because God sees everybody through grace.God sees everybody through grace.And just so, so you get the full story here in, in, in Joshua 2, I'm not gonna read that verse yet but just I'll, I'll get there.Rahab is used by the spies when they're conquering the land of Jericho.They're heading to take down the, the city, it's a key city, and when they get there the spies actually connected with Rahab, she hides them, she protects them, and she does that when she finds out that they're with God.And they even still call her Rahab the harlot, but she says something really incredible to the spies in Jericho, put that verse up, Joshua 2:11.It says, "For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below."Yeah.Is that not faith?Yeah.Like is thatI've heard about your God and he truly is the God above heaven and earth, I believe it, I know it, but what's so great is she doesn't stop at just believing and knowing but it moves her into a place of action, saying again, "Your God is the real God."And then in this whole moment the action was, "I'm gonna protect God's people."And they said, "You know what?Because you've done this, put a red cord out from your window so we know when we come in that we're gonna keep you protected and safe when this attack goes down."But it's interesting.A harlot, a prostitute recognizes God as God, and her faith moves her to action.And in the process, she gets saved.Quite literally, from the destruction that ensues.She protects God's people.And it kind ofJ- let me just say this, like, again, so they call her Rahab the, the Prostitute, Rahab the Harlot.But going back to favoritism, as a church we cannot worry about the labels that people put on us.The labels that the world wants to put on you.Like, don't worry about how you're tagged, don't worry about your past, don't worry about your yesterday.God is bigger than all of that.Can we let his cup to overflow?On to every part of our lives?Past, present, and future?Like, God is bigger than all of that.He's bigger than a label of shame that the enemy wants to put on you today.No matter what you're labeled, when your faith in God moves you into action, you will no longer be known by that label in the kingdom.Come on.Rahab, again, she's listed in the genealogy of Jesus.She's a part of the history.A prostitute is a part of the history of Jesus.And shows up again in Hebrews 11, in the Hall of Faith.What's funny is they still call her Rahab the Harlot.But what man labels you i- is nothing when your, when your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.And James, just has the audacity to compare Abraham to Rahab.Why?Because faith moved her to action and God's grace covered her.Woo!We may be friends to God or think ourselves better than another, but God sees the hearts of those who are willing to walk out their faith.This is why, like, I love, I love, I love new Christians.I love the old ones, too.I l- I love youI love all of you.Equally, like I said in my first point.But there, but there's something like, there's something really fun about a Christian who has no fear.Yeah.I know, I know everyone in this room.You're f- you're all fearless, all right?I know you're all jacked on Jesus, and like it's, it's real to you.But there's something just powerful about someone whoIt's not about how much they know, it's about what little they know and act upon."Well, the Word of God says this, so I'm gonna do it."That's a fun person to be around.If you could be a person of faith no matter what's going on in your life, you would be a person of grace to others.God can use you no matter how many times you failed, and if it up, if it were up to our works to save us, we'd all be in hot water.If, if it was up to our works to save us, with how often we fail, we would all be in a tough place.We're not saved by works, we're saved for works of righteousness.Again, Paul shares this, but he even shares this with Titus, one of his spiritual sons in Titus 3:8.Worship team, you can come."This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to tru- to stress these things so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good."Doing what is good."These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."Again, there's no difference between what James and Paul are saying.All of us should want to live a life of faith.Yes.Faith in action.It's a living faith.It's not just a faith that talks a big game, but it's a, it's a faith that moves us.Yeah.It's a faith that's alive, a faith that walks.Not just a faith that is spiritual, but a faith that also serves others.James is, again, he's working with people like us that have the tendency to pick sides.different views, kind of, kind of dealing with what's right and wrong.Like, who's spiritual and who's not spiritual?Who's in the Word and who's not in the Word?And James is saying, "If the family of God, as a church, if we are polarized in this way, then the enemy is going to win.And when the enemy wins, lost and hurting people are not going to experience all that God has for them.That's right.Like, weUh, again, I think it's in our nature, and I think it's even part of cultural conditioning where we play this game where we, we go, "Oh, it's, it's faith versus deeds."Or it's spiritual versus serving.It's, "No, I'm all about holiness," versus helping.It's prayer versus the practical.It's worship versus works.It's conviction versus compassion.It's, it's belief versus behavior.Like, you know, which camp are you in?Are you in one of those faith movements or are you a church, or are you a people that's all about doing good deeds?Right?Are you all about holiness or are you all about helping people?Because the world says you can't be both.You gotta be really good at one of 'em or, or really good at the other one.Like, we play, we play this, this game and this, and this spectrum, and I'm done with it.We, as a church, need to be done with this.We need to be all in the Spirit and all in the Word.Yeah.That we would live a faith that is in action, no matter the labels that anybody wants to put on you.Like, "Oh, you're a Pentecostal church, so you must be all about this."No, I'm about everything.Right.Everything that God has for me, I want it.Amen.I wanna walk in it.I wanna live it.Everything that He has for me.I wanna be a church that's all in with Jesus.That my answer is, "Yes."Like, "Yes, I want the Holy Spirit.Yes, I want the Word of God.Yes, I want deep truths.And yes, I want practical wisdom to live this thing out.I want it all."Can some- somebody say "yes" in this house today?Yes.Yes.I want everything you have for me, Jesus.I want it all.Not my way, but His way, your way.Yes, Lord.Again, can we see the strategy?Just, just zoom out for a second.The strategy of the world is to condition us into a place where we divide our thinking in our faith, in how we live.It's Democrat and Republican.It's Conservative or Liberal.It's, it's, it's Baptist or Pentecostal.It's Nike or Adidas.It's Coke versus Pepsi.And then we play these games where we're like, "You're a Coke person, right?""Oh, you're, you're a Pepsi person?Ooh."We're in the South, you know.You gotta, you gottaBut don't we do that in our faith?"Oh, you're one of theYou're one of those?"Yeah."Your, your church is part of what fellowship?Your, your pastor believes in miracles?Like, like, you read out of The Message version on Sunday?"Yeah.Whoo.Then I'll give you a list of every church in this area, 'cause I love, I love 'em all.Wherever you wanna go, wherever God has called you, it, it doesn't matter to me.Yeah.As long as you're living faith in action.Come on.What are we doing if we're not?"Oh, this is just me.This is just my faith."No, God is calling us to, to live faith in action- Right.in everything that we're doing.And again, James is, is saying this, "You need to change your attitude and your viewpoint when you're approaching people, when you're approaching sin, and when you're approaching your faith."We can't play favorites in all of these areas.We should say yes to all that God has for, for us.I want the spiritual, I want the practical.I want faith to believe and I want faith in action.It can't be either/or.Because today, people need a living faith.Yes.Now more than ever, we need to be a people of faith.Not just faith within our hearts, but faith on display for the world to see.We cannot be camouflaged Christians anymore.Like, I love hunting.I know you can't tell 'cause I'm so hipster today.Yeah.But I love getting in the woods.The best part of it for me, it's not going out, it's not kill, killing stuff, you know, whatever.I love just wearing camo.Yeah.I put the, I put that camo jacket on and I transform into a different person.I'm an animal, you know?I get up in that tree, and I know that deer can't see me.And it's the greatest feeling in the world.I see that thing walk up and I'm just likeOkay, I almost brought my camo jacket today, but you get the picture, right?But here's what's so fun about hunting.The deer can't see you when you are still.But the moment I move, it locks in on me.And I think as a church, as a people, w- we're not called to just stand still.Yeah.We're not gonna be seen if we're not moving.We're not gonna be seen if our faith isn't moving and in- and in action.Like, "Oh, no, th- they're gonna ask me when they- when they- when they just see my heart."The world's not looking at your heart.Right.They could care less about your heart.They- they only care about your status.They only care about how much money you got or how much influence you have.But when you begin to live with faith and action, when you begin to testify of the goodness of God in your life, that's when Jesus is on display.That- that's when he begins to move in those- in those moments and we have to be a church that's no longer camouflaged from the world.You might put some camo on, but start moving.Start moving.Start speaking.Tell your story of how God healed you.Amen.Start telling your story of what he's done in your life, in your marriage, in your relationships.How he's opened door after door after door.I- I- I can't explain it, but God is just good.What if we started just giving God the glory for every good thing because every good thing is from God.Amen.James 1.Spiritually, spirituality- Yep.Spirituality is not impressive 'cause everyone is spiritual these days.A spirituality that impresses, but doesn't influence a broken, hurting world is no good.Yeah.So let's use our spirituality to improve our world through serving our community, through loving those that are far from God.To live a faith that worships God, yes, where we may have been labeled by the world in some way, but when we worship Him, we're just inviting the grace of God to- to cover our lives and we can embrace that life.Like, God, here's my life.Here's my yesterdays.Would you overflow and touch those parts?Would you remind me that you were ever present in those moments?And God, here's my today, here's my tomorrow.I worship you.And God, would you be with me in the works of my hands and my heart and my feet and my skill?God, would everything that we do be worship?This isn't like aI just want us to rest in this.I'm gonna- I'm gonna read this verse and then our- our worship team is gonna lead us.W- would- would you stand with me across this room?Something that- that I- I'm- I'm just gonna be transparent.Something that's really just moved on my heart is I- I- I grew up in theI grew up in '90s church, early 2000s church and everything was about the altar.You know, ev- at the end of every service, there was an altar call and then I played the game in my mind of like, do I really need to come to the altar?Like, do I really need toSo, like just so you know, I'm not gonna make an altar call, all right?But there's something powerful about changing our posture when we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us in these moments, where we allow him to reveal to us where our faith needs to grow a little bit more.And so this altar's open.I'm not gonna pull out the anointing oil and towels and make it weird.I'm not gonna push you over or- or do anything like that.I just want the spirit of God to lead you today.You can sit back down in your seat, you can move somewhere else in the room, I just want you to have a moment with the Holy Spirit and allow him to challenge your heart w- unmanipulated, untouched by man, because his word, his word is speaking to us right now.Amen.It's speaking to us.We say, "Hey, stop showing favoritism with people.A- and I'm gonna begin to show you how to love everyone."He's saying, "Hey, stop showing favoritism with sin.I'm gonna show you how to walk in mercy.Hey, stop showing favoritism when it comes to your theology or the Word of God.Would you just be open to everything that I have for you?"Not me, the Lord.Why?Because we're called to be the light of the world.Matthew 5:14, just, just rest in this today.It says: You are the light of the world.A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.Here's my faith, here's my words, here's my heart, here's my life, here's my everything.God, I want to worship you on my worst day and I want to worship you on my best day.God, help me not to show favoritism, but help me to, to live my faith outward.You're calling us higher with this word.You're calling us higher with this text today, and it's so real.You're holding the mirror up in front of us and saying, "There's more, there's more, there's more."We're on this journey together of living worthy of the Gospel, and as we live worthy, there's no favorites anymore.We wanna be all in in the Word and all in in the spirit, living righteously, living with compassion.Holy Spirit, speak to us today.Come on, whatever you have to do, whatev- wherever you need to go, just begin to engage with God today.Just begin to enter in and allow him to speak to your heart.We got, we got time.The Holy Spirit is here.The Holy Spirit is here.We thank you, Jesus.