Peace with Self

James 1:22-25

ddsBig Idea: Peace with self is found when we mirror God’s truth, therefore, we must intentionally align our actions and thoughts with God's Word.

Introduction Hook: Who here…remembers who they were in the fourth grade? When I was in the fourth grade, I was a derpy kid who was super shy and kinda insecure. However, my elementary school decided to throw on this “talent show.” I was obsessed with Princess movies at the time, and one in particular was my favorite…” Mulan” — Now In the movie, Mulan is a young woman who sacrifices her life to save China. Her whole life seems planned for her - she’s supposed to look pretty, get married, and live happily ever after. However, she never seemed to fit the mold of the destiny her parents wanted for her. One day, her dad gets drafted into the army. However, her dad is too weak to fight the war, so she cuts her hair, puts it in a man bun, then heads to get trained to be a fighter of war.

As she’s troubled trying to find her own worth, she sings this iconic song in the original Mulan animation film that I decided to sing for the fourth grade talent show. The lyrics go like this “Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me, when will my reflection show, who I am inside.”

Mulan sings while looking at her reflection in the mirror because she doesn’t know who she is aside from the daughter who is supposed to bring her family honor and have her life together.

Have you ever felt like Mulan? Tired of pretending everything is okay with you? Not sure what the future holds? Afraid that you’re going to disappoint your family? teachers? friends? Always feeling like you’re not enough? Asking yourself who are you? Questions like these interrupt our peace. They make life feel chaotic.

Yesterday Mone talked about Peace with God, Today, we are talking about Peace with Self. What does it mean to have peace with yourself and how do we do that without making it all about ourselves?

Today’s passage is based in the book of James. Now James is writing to believers on the outskirts of Palestine or Israel. These believers were being persecuted for their faith and living in poverty. Social and spiritual conflict surrounded them. And… many of those who said they were “believers” were living in a worldly manner. They basically allowed their surroundings to dictate how they responded to God. James corrects them and challenges them to seek God’s wisdom to work out these problems.

So keep this in mind as we read our passage for today. Please turn with me to our text for today, James 1:22-25.

Point 1: Remember who you once were (James 1:22-24)

What does it mean to be a “hearer” vs. being a “doer?”

Do y’all play sports? Do theater here? I hear you’re doing the noosies. How many of you remember how you started? Were you automatically good at playing that musical instrument, soccer, acting, art, or school? Or… did you have to actually train yourself to get better?

In order to get better you have to train and do the hard things that no one but you really knows about. Behind closed doors, you have to practice, sit with yourself and reflect on your mistakes so you can get better.

Mulan does this in the movie too. In the movie, she lives during a time period where girls can’t be warriors in the army yet. So she has to go undercover and try hard to improve her skills.

There’s this point in the movie where she’s doing the bare minimum and her swordsmanship is pretty bad, she can’t climb a mountain, or efficiently catch a fish. However, her commander trains her. He tells her how to improve. Gives her ideas on how to succeed as a student warrior. Kind of like what your teachers do in your classes. And…with practice, she gets better gradually and finally uses that sword with expertise, climbs the mountains, and finally is able to catch fish.

Imagine if Mulan wasn’t a “doer,” Imagine if she didn’t make the conscious decision to “move to action,” If she only “heard her teacher” and had that information go in one ear and out the other without the hard work and growing pains that was necessary to grow in disciplines that mattered. She would not be able to be all who she came to be.

Now Imagine if you weren’t a “doer” of whatever your passions or “loves” you have. Could you be able to pass the test like how you did? Kick the ball like how you do today? Memorize those lines like how you can now? Or…Dance like how you can?

But I’m not just talking about being a “doer” of just anything. The most important thing for your life is to be a “doer” of God’s Word. The book of James is essentially saying this… to be a “doer” of God’s Word versus a “hearer,” you must make the tough decision to engage in the Word when no one’s looking. Learn how to use the SWORD of God’s armor , the Bible, and attach it to your hip like it’s necessary for survival. Learn how to mentally and spiritually climb those mountains in your life with integrity, perseverance, and endurance even when no one’s looking. And practicing being fishers of men and women, discipling others.

But…… in order to do that, you’ve got to know who you are. And if you forget who you are when you look in the mirror, how are you going to be a faithful steward of God’s good gifts over your life?

You have to,,,REMEMBER WHO YOU WERE. If we want to have peace with ourselves, we must look deep inside and reflect on our weaknesses so we can actually change and be a “doer.”

What songs did you play on the guitar before you advanced? How did you play soccer before you got good? How did you act before you put in the time to practice? What were your grades before you actually started doing your homework? If you’re a believer, what kind of person were you before Jesus found you and changed your life?

WE HAVE TO, MUST, look in the mirror and remember who we were. Do not forget who you were. James 1:23-24 literally said “ If anyone is a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he is like a man who looks closely at his old face in the mirror and then forgets what they look like” When we forget who we were, we forget our origin story. Our testimony and our stories about the craziest comeback stories of when God came through.

Y’all don’t know this about me, but I used to do some things that I wasn’t proud of. I hung out with the wrong crowd, I was super clique-y, I skipped school, I stole money from my church’s offering plate, and I always lied to my parents. (Pause & say with umph and silly passsion) BUT GOD, But God literally popped in my life and was like “you are my child, you are set apart for me. you are made in MY image, you are loved, treasured, you are more precious than rubies, and worth the death of Jesus on the cross, so don’t you go living life as if you playing on the devils team when I sure did give your whole family the option to wear the jerseys/uniform and play on my team” (pause)

If we forget who we once were…. we forget the works of our mighty God in our life.

So Step one of understanding Peace with Self is to remember who you once were. Now, Step two is to “take your eyes off yourself.” James 1:25 says “…The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perservers, being no hearer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing…”

Point 2: Take your eyes off yourself (James 1:25ab)

What does it mean to “Take your eyes off yourself?”

Y’all ever heard (silly voice) “be the main character of your life” or “main character vibes” or “main character aesthetic”

Sorry to break it to ya, you are NOT the main character of everybody’s life. And everybody else ain’t just an NPC in this game called life.

Honestly, you’re not even the main character of your story. In the book of Esther, God’s name is never mentioned. You know why? It’s because he is so clearly working behind the scenes that you don’t have to wonder why there’s a happy party at the end of the book. It’s happy because God won. God always wins. because like every great movie out there, there’s a happy ending where the main character comes and saves the day from utter destruction and disaster.

You can’t be the main character of your story because you aren’t going to come save the day from your own day. If you are in Christ, His hand is in everything that we do, and God is going to swoop in for the win – therefore, He is the main character of our story. He keeps it all together.

When we trust that God is working all things out, we can loosen our grip on our future and we can indeed have peace within ourselves without always making it about ourselves.

When we stop pretending that everything is about us, we can begin to look at others, not as NPC’s, but as people who have lives too. Lives that equally depend on God as yours does.

This is why James uses this term, “Law of Liberty” – a term that points us to a simple concept you may already be well familiar with “love your neighbor as yourself.” When we abide and listen to God’s Word and enact His Words, “do” what He’s commanded of us, we get to love on others and extend peace to others, the same peace that God also gave to us

So how can we act and liberate our peers? A conscious practice could be to sit with our friends when they need a friend. Or acknowledge someone’s presence who you might not know that well. If someone is struggling with sin, or self-worth, speak words of life to them because Scripture tells us to build one another up with our words and not to tear them down).

Point 3: Look at Jesus to remember who you are and what you were made for (James 1:25cd)

In the Barbie movie, Billy Eilish writes this great song, the lyrics go like this “when did it end, all the enjoyment, I”

What is the law supposed to be good for?

the law is an expression of governing authorities’ will and values

Laws exist as “boundary markers” that say “you can or, you can’t” — usually those “can and cants” reflect a value system that mirrors the person in charge. We see it very clearly in our government, country, and affiliations. Do you see how power structures effect whats happening in your corner of the world? The problem is…no government system or leader in power gets it all right. Our power structures fall short of promoting justice and human flourishing.

In James 1:25, James is pointing us to this “perfect law” to show us to tells us that the knowledge of our value happens when we experience Jesus on the other side of that mirror. True peace in yourself can only be found when you (1) remember who you were (2) take your eyes off yourself, and (3) look to Jesus to remember who you are and what you’re made for.

I know a lot of you have things going on in your life right now. Maybe your health isn’t what it used to be, or your family is tight financially and you’re trying to just make it, or the relationship you thought was going to workout just crumbled before you, or the future you had planned for your life feels like it was taken from you before it even began.

You looked at your reflection earlier today for 5 minutes straight in the quiet. What did you see? Did you see a confident person? An insecure student? A kid who grew up too fast? Someone you thought could look better? Did you have a moment where you thought something similar to “mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”

Honestly I hope you saw some of that because when I look in the mirror sometimes that’s what I see. I know I’m not worthy of Jesus blood. But one of the best things I’ve heard in my life when it comes to the treasure Jesus finds in you and me is this: YOU ARE NOT WORTHY, but you are worth IT. (2x)

This is why Jesus died on the cross for you. So we can have peace with Him and peace with ourselves.

We are at peace because… if Jesus is what we see when we ask ourselves “who am I” then… we don’t have to control everything. Have peace because God is the main character of every believer’s redemptive story, therefore, we can have great confidence that at the right time, He will come in to save the day and make all things right, new, and perfect.

One way we get to see this is by being a mirror to someone else. Many times, how God speaks to us is thorugh our peers. Our peers who are often times aware of some of our flaws, but also see the beauty of Christ image imprrinted on us.

So today, right now, we are going to get lirrle bookmarks. You are going to practice being a mirror to someoe else. (Give instructions to creative reinforcement )

And in this mirror we need to see our flaws in order to understand the perfection of Jesus who now is standing in our place. When

Keep in mind that the recipients of the letter this letter James wrote were believers who were being harassed, made-fun of, disliked, and even killed for their faith. So James is urging them to in the midst of the chaos

Do not add (maybe for seomthing else) —-—

Practical Application(s):

—Close your eyes. I want you to imagine your idea of the best day ever. What does that day look like? What are you doing?

I read something the other day that said this “The structure of a good day is simply this: your biggest loves find their way in.” Good friends, sports, maybe a girlfriend or boyfriend, etc… Is God in the picture?