Who has the keys to your heart?

Good morning and welcome to CCC. We are so glad each of you are here with us this morning both in person and watching online as well.

Speaking of online coming very soon you will notice quite a change to our online experience as we are currently switching providers and will be able to give you a much better online experience as well as a new app that will allow you to access everything here at CCC in one place.

Communication

Sermon videos

Sermon notes

Bible

Bible reading plans

Online giving if that is easier for you

and so much more

I will let you all know when that is up and running so that we can dive into that together

As I explained last week we are focused on IT as elders and leadership

The online experience and interaction is part of IT

The website will be redesigned for those seeking a church and most importantly seeking Jesus......IT....Salvation

The app and social media will be for those seeking to grow in Christian maturity....IT....discipleship

Again I am excited to see what God is going to do through these new platforms

Thank you to all who attended Renewed last night. What a wonderful night of renewal......worship.....food....fellowship.....loving others as Jesus loves us

I can tell you the Holy Spirit was here and ministering to everyone who attended

I am excited and looking forward to our next event to see what God has in store

You will see many more opportunities to participate in living out your faith here at CCC......again all part of IT

God is laying so many things on the hearts of leadership as well as you the congregation

I encourage you to make an excuse to get out of your comfort zone.....make an excuse to be here.....make a sacrifice to be here and see what God does when you put Him first!!!!!!!

Lets Pray

START RECORDING

This morning we continue with our James: A Christian’s Guide To Living From Jesus with James 5:1-12.

We are going to be wrapping up this series in a couple weeks and I am excited to see what God brings to us next

Lets start with

James 5:1–6

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“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”

What a warning to the rich......what a warning to Americans

Remember James was written to the church....Christians

God has really been bringing this to us a lot lately

This world makes having the correct heart relationship with money very difficult

Our nature is to love money and love the things of this world

satan loves to get us so focused on loving money and the things of this world that we miss a true....authentic....deep....intimate relationship with God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit

And that is IT......your heart relationship with God through Jesus!!!!!! Nothing else matters folks.....NOTHING

When your perspective of God is wrong

when your perspective is focused on loving money

when your perspective is focused on things

when your perspective is focused on family

when your perspective is focused on work or hobbies or sports

when your perspective is focused on you.....yourselves....self-centered

Then you miss that God is a just God

a God whose wrath must be and will be poured out on any and all who reject Jesus

When you don’t have a true

authentic

deep

intimate relationship with Jesus and a clear picture of who God is and how just and holy He really is then we are okay allowing sin in our lives

You are okay overlooking our shortcomings and failures

You are okay loving money and the things of the world

You are okay being an enemy of God

because that is exactly what you are

So many times you get caught up and focused on things and miss heart relationship

Loving money is easy to see if you truly look but it doesn’t stop there

you get so focused and caught up on things....how things are done

who does them

that you fly right past the why and it is all for not

Especially good things

style of worship

mode of Bible study

verse by verse

big picture overview

rightnow media just to name a few styles of Bible study

what about style of preaching

topical

verse by verse

series or stand alone

you get so caught up in your personal preferences and the physical you miss the point

are people coming to Jesus and salvation

are people moving from milk to meat....growing in Christian maturity

IT…that is all that matters and that is the heart of the warning here in James 5.

Riches are worthless

money is worthless

things are worthless

earthly power is worthless

prestige is worthless

all are pointless

all are worthless

When Jesus returns

money

gold

silver

cash assets

bank accounts

retirement accounts

your earthly....human kingdoms are worthless

Have you ever been asked to do something

maybe an assignment at school or a task at work or church etc

You go after it

you put a lot of work into it

you strive to do your best

you are excited to turn it in or see it finished and see the outcome or fruits of the work

you turn it in or carry out the task and you realize you failed to understand the instructions and it is all wrong

In that moment you go from feeling accomplished and on top of the world to vulnerable and worthless and rejected

if your trust and faith....your trust and faith is where you place your love....

if you put your trust and faith in what you have

money

things

power

prestige

earthly kingdom

when you meet God you will be rejected because you failed to understand the instructions and failed to heed the warnings

Nothing of this earth is eternal

it is all temporary

including you without Jesus

That is the warning here

This has nothing to do with money in and of itself

Money is not evil

Money is not bad

You can be wealthy and love Jesus with all your heart and mind and soul and body

1 Timothy 6:6–12

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“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”

Here is the battle my friends

godliness with contentment that is the battle

satan and the world teach that to be content you must be wealthy

to be content you must strive to gain more

to be content you have to have power

prestige

status

worldly influence

No that is all a lie

Godliness with contentment is great gain

But most of you see great gain as financial

making money

doing well in the stock market

building retirement funds

striving to set up generational wealth

you see that as great gain and you miss the point

Godliness with contentment THAT is the great gain

God is the great gain

Salvation is the great gain

Jesus is the great gain

The Holy Spirit is the great gain

Wisdom is the great gain

Being secure in your future......where you will spend your eternity is the great gain

Freedom is the great gain

Praise the Lord

Godliness with contentment is only found in God and God alone

You come into the world with nothing and you will take nothing out of the world

why spend your entire life building something

an earthly kingdom

earthly wealth

that will do you absolutely no good in eternity

you will face eternity and judgement and your stuff

your wealth

your earthly prestige and power can only condemn you not save you

Do you love money?

Do you love the things money provides?

Do you love power?

Do you love status?

Do you love prestige?

The love of money is the root of all evil

Do you love evil?

if you love money and the things of money you love evil!

I beg you to truly do a time audit because where your time is shows where your love is and where you love is show where your trust and faith are placed

Church this is serious

love of money will send you to hell my friends

God and evil do not mix

If you love and serve evil…money…you hate and reject Jesus!

If you love and serve Jesus you hate and reject evil!!!

I beg you to have God search your heart here

Love of money only leads to sorrow

pain

sin

separation from God almighty for eternity!

Repent this morning and lay your love of money at the foot of the cross!

James 5:7–8

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“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”

You mindset is important

your perspective is important

Is patience your mindset?

Is patience your perspective?

Now you must understand what you are to be patient for

Not money

not promotions

not anything worldly

Patient for the return of the Lord

What does that mean?

Look at the example in scripture

A farmer

I would venture to guess that farmers don’t just plant their fields and then go and do nothing until harvest time

No

They patiently wait for harvest but also for rain to provide the harvest

However while the patiently wait they tend to their fields

They continue to work

You are the same

You don’t get saved and just sit back and wait on Jesus

You are patient for His return.....you know it is coming

you know He is coming and you patiently wait for Him

As you wait you work

What are those works

Ephesians 2:10

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“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

God created works for you to do

God designed you to carry out those works

By the way, when you are doing the works God created for you to do you will do them with great excitement and passion....they will turn your crank.....that is IT

You work

You are patient

You have stablished your heart....you know Jesus will return

When this is your mindset and perspective everything changes

Money has no real value to you

earthly things....materialism have no real value to you

hobbies have no real value to you

power and prestige and status have no real value to you

Jesus has real value to you so everything....I mean EVERYTHING is about and from Him!!!!!!

Are you there?

Does Jesus dominate and control your life?

If not you need to get with God because you are not living as God commands you to live!!!!!!!

James 5:9

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“Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.”

God cares about your personal relationships

Let me say that again for those who are hard headed and hard of hearing like me sometimes

God cares about your personal relationships

God sent Jesus to die in your place so you would be able to have a relationship with Him

God cares about your relationships......do you?

Grudge comes from a Greek verb meaning to sigh, murmur with grief, groan, grudge

This word is used 6 times in the New Testament and is translated groan 3 times, sigh once with grief once and grudge here only

This is different than hold a grudge....which is a sin also....when you hold a grudge you refuse forgiveness and when you refuse forgiveness you must question if you are forgiven....not my words Jesus words

Here grudge means groaning against or sighing against someone

When someone makes a mistake or when things go wrong

do you grumble

do you look for someone to blame

do you become upset at someone?

You are really good at passing the buck

pointing at someone else

placing your blame on them

When you mess up we get upset

you look for someone to blame instead of taking ownership of your mistake

When you do this it can be and usually is very damaging to relationships

It may work here on earth but it won’t work with God

When Christ comes He will judge all of us

no amount of shifting blame or grumbling will help you or me in that moment....only the blood of Jesus will save us

Either you have accepted Jesus and know Him and He knows you or not

Saved or lost

sheep or goat

You will either hear

well done my good and faithful servant

or

away from me I never knew you

passing blame is horrible

passing blame is destructive

passing blame is hurtful

Don’t do it

Take ownership and love each other

I imagine James anticipated push back from his readers....God anticipated push back from you today

You are asking way too much here

I am human how can I do that?

James 5:10–11

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“Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”

Look at the prophets

they spoke in the name of the Lord and suffered for it

Look at the patience of Job

Weatlhy

Healthy family

Walking with God

and lost it all

wealth gone

family gone

his health gone

Yet he still chose God

Prophets were happy to endure

God has shown He is very pitiful and of tender mercy when He is put first in your life

you don’t do the things of the Bible to gain status or acceptance

you do them because through Jesus you are a son or daughter of and fully accepted by God!!!!!!

There is no sense of duty only a deep devotion

you do because He already did!!!!!!

That is what made the prophets so quick to do and say what God told them to do or say

They knew HIM

They knew GOD

They talked with Him

The walked with Him

They had a personal relationship with God

You have access to that as well through Jesus

When you accept Jesus’ gift of His blood shed on the cross to pay for your sins.....salvation

When you make Him Lord and Savior of your life…full surrender through repentance and confession

You gain not only eternal life but the Holy Spirit and now have a personal relationship with God the Father....Jesus…and the Holy Spirit

That must change your perspective and outlook and direction in life!!!!!!!

James 5:12

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“But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.”

Huge mindset shift required here

So many times you see God as all loving....which He is

Full of mercy…which He is

Full of grace…which He is

But you forget He is also God

He is perfect

He is holy

He cannot stand sin

He requires payment for that sin or the full force of His wrath will be poured out because He is just

He is to be respected

He is to be feared

He is GOD

He is the creator and owner of all things

You are nothing without God…who are you to swear on something you have no authority over?

Matthew 5:34–37

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“But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”

Heaven is God’s throne

Earth is His footstool

Jerusalem is His great city

Your head.....you can’t even control your own hair

How in the world could you swear by these things

How about God Himself.......you are nothing without God and have zero authority over God how in the world could you swear by or to Him?????

Yes is yes

no is no

Anything other than that is evil

I pray you get that

Anything other than yes or no is evil

Church God is serious about this I pray you are as well

We have arrived again at the point in the service where everything shifts to you

You have heard the truth of God’s Word

What is He calling you to do in response to that truth?

Whatever it is be a doer of the word not a hearer only

STOP RECORDING

Invitation