A Heart for God
Believe
Believe
Luke 15:11–32
Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. [12] The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die.‘So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
[13] “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money on wild living. [14] About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. [15] He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. [16] The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
[17] “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! [18] I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, [19] and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man.’ ”
[20] “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. [21] His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
[22] “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. [23] And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, [24] for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.‘So the party began.
[25] “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, [26] and he asked one of the servants what was going on. [27] ‘Your brother is back, ‘he was told, ‘and your father has killed the calf we were fattening and has prepared a great feast. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
[28] “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, [29] but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve worked hard for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. [30] Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the finest calf we have.’
[31] “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you and I are very close, and everything I have is yours. [32] We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’ ” (NLT)
In their book, The Sacred Romance, Curtis & Eldredge write, “The life of the heart is a place of great mystery. Yet we have many expressions to help us express this flame of the human soul. We describe a person without compassion as “heartless,” and we urge him or her to “have a heart.” Our deepest hurts we call “heartaches.” Jilted lovers are “brokenhearted.” Courageous soldiers are “brave hearted.” The truly evil are “black-hearted” and saints have “hearts of gold.” If we need to speak at the most intimate level, we ask for a “heart-to-heart” talk. “Lighthearted” is how we feel on vacation. And when we love someone as truly as we may, we love “with all our heart.” But when we lose our passion for life, when a deadness sets in which we cannot seem to shake, we confess, “My heart’s just not in it.”
In the end, it doesn’t matter how well we have performed or what we have accomplished-a life without heart is not worth living.” (P. 3)
That last sentence is a haunting one. “A life without heart is not worth living.” How’s your heart? No, I don’t mean the cardiovascular system, I mean your heart-your passion. Are you passionate about life? Are you passionate about your family? Are you passionate about God?
Remember that God doesn’t just expect us to love Him with our spirituality and our lifestyle, He also wants us to love Him with all our heart. Deut. 6:5 says, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (KJV)
The parable of the prodigal Son is one of my favorite sections of the Bible. It teaches about legalism, forgiveness, God’s Grace and the hopelessness of sin. But this morning, I don’t want to focus on those great lessons, instead I want us to journey together into this classic parable for a cardiovascular checkup—I want us to check our heart. For these moments, forget that I’m here. Forget that your family and friends are here. For the next little while, let’s all lay aside our pretense and have communion with our Creator. Let Him do a heart checkup on us. I am not urging you to evaluate how much you do for God or even to reflect on how much He does for you. We’ll leave those reflections for another day. Instead, I’m asking you to invite God to evaluate your heart-your core passions for life and for Him.
Before we evaluate ourselves, let’s do something that’s a bit easier, let’s evaluate the brothers in this parable. What about the younger son? What was his relationship with the Father really like? Was there any intimacy there? What was his heart like? The younger son saw the father as a source for things. When he was leaving, he wanted to take his father’s money with him, in essence he said to his father, “I wish you were already dead! Give me the money now that I’ll get when you die.” After wasting the money and finding himself impoverished, his attitude changed, or did it?
Luke 15:17–19 NLT [17] “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! [18] I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, [19] and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man.”
He does not hurry home because he wants to be with his Father, or because he missed him, he went home because he was hungry.
Are you the type of person who ignores God when you need nothing, yet run to Him when you are in trouble? Sure, these type of people are ready to promise to do anything, they hold up a spiritual placard when they pray that says, “Will work for food,” but their motivation is not to develop a relationship with God, it is to get what they need from Him. They have no passion for God-their heart isn’t into the relationship.
The older son, though he does not commit the overt sins of his brother, or leave his father’s house, suffers from the same lack of intimacy with his father. Mechanically, he labors every day, seeking the approval of his father. He could not understand how his father could show mercy to a disobedient son and became angry with him because he did. How easy it is to know someone without really knowing him.
Didn’t the older son notice the heartbreak of his father? Couldn’t he rejoice with him that his son returned home? If he really knew his father, he would have anticipated a gracious response to his errant brother’s return.
The older son, like many Christians, knows a lot about God, and works to please Him, but never really knows Him. Our goal is not to be able to explain words like omniscience, omnipresence or immutability, it is to press into God, to know His heart, to feel his heartbeat and to move with it. Our relationship with God must be more than answers to fill-in-the-blank questions, it is the air we breathe-the very source of our existence. It is a great dance. God moves, and we respond with His slightest touch or softest whisper. He guides us from one end of the floor to the other. We trust Him and He entrusts us with His Kingdom work. With time, a deep love develops on our end that has existed on His from eternity. Not a love based on what He does for us or what we do for Him, but just out of a sense of belonging to one another and being together in time and in eternity.
Don’t you long for that? Not a religion that defines you by what you don’t do or what you do, but one that releases the spirit within you and allows you to synchronize your soul with your Creator and empowers you to move with the rhythm of his love.
Now the hard work. Ask God to show you the contents of your heart. If you aren’t passionately pursuing your relationship with Him. Ask Him to reveal to you what you are substituting for a real relationship with Him and then lay it aside to launch on the great adventure of loving God with all your heart.
Please don’t settle for being the dutiful son that remains behind or the misguided son who seeks for life and adventure outside of his Father’s house. Instead, listen to your heart. Go with your passion. Risk loving God with all your heart, all your soul and all your might. Don’t hold anything back. Trust Him. Love Him. Know Him.
Believe
John 11:16
It isn’t always easy to believe, sometimes cynicism gets in the way.
“Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” (John 11:16)
H. L. Mencken said, “A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.” An unknown author wrote that a cynic is: “One who not only reads bitter lessons from the past, but who is prematurely disappointed with the future.” I believe a cynic is a “toxic pessimist,” someone whose negative, faithless attitude harms their family, friends and their church.
Judas fits the profile. Remember how he reacted after a wonderful act of worship? A woman broke open an alabaster bottle of expensive perfume and poured it over Jesus. Judas became indignant and complained.
John 12:4–6 NLT But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples—the one who would betray him—said, [5] “That perfume was worth a small fortune. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” [6] Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief who was in charge of the disciples’ funds, and he often took some for his own use.
Cynics are always thieves. Even if they don’t steal money, as Judas did, they rob life of its vigor and joy. Thomas is known for his doubting. The root of his doubt is a cynical spirit. In this text, he is willing to die for Jesus, but not believe in Him.
• It isn’t always easy to believe, sometimes theology gets in the way.
Rejoining the text in John 11:22–28, we read, “Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” [23] Jesus said to her, “Your brother shall rise again.” [24] Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” [25] Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, [26] and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” [27] She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” [28] And when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here, and is calling for you.”
Addressing religious and spiritual leaders from around the world at the Millennium World Peace Summit at the United Nations, Ted Turner said:
“We are all one race, and there is only one God who manifests himself in different ways.
Basically, the major religions which have survived today don’t have blood sacrifice, and they don’t have hatred behind them. Those which have done the best are the ones that are built on love. God had to love us, didn’t he? He wouldn’t have made us if he hated us.”
Yes, God does love us. Unfortunately, Turner’s theology is getting in the way of His faith. He doesn’t understand that God’s love is what led Him to the cross-to shed his blood as a sacrifice for our sins. To experience God, people have to stop trying to explain Him and learn to believe Him. (Fresh Illustrations, http://www.freshsermonillustrations.net.)
• It isn’t always easy to believe, sometimes grief gets in the way.
“Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” [33] When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled, [34] and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” [35] Jesus wept.” (John 11:32–35 NASB)
I’ll never forget the day I stood beside the grave of a five-month-old baby who died in her crib. The grief of the parents was unbearable to watch. I did the best I could to bring them comfort, but knew their pain was so thick, they probably couldn’t hear a word I said.
When I got back to the office, I collapsed in my chair and broke down. I thought about some headlines I’d read recently. There was the ten-day-old baby who died in a hot car because her mother left her unattended as she gambled in a South Carolina casino (CNN Interactive, 9-3-97). And the one about the mother who was arrested for neglecting her children because of an Internet addiction. (CNN INTERACTIVE, 9-9-97).
The tragedy of seeing the suffering of good parents grieving their loss was magnified when I thought about those mothers in the headlines who allowed their addictions to gambling or the Internet keep them from caring for their children.
I don’t understand these inequities. Sometimes I wish that God would make the world fair instead of allowing man to have free will. But He hasn’t, all I can say is that suffering bothers God too. John 11:35 sums it all up, “Jesus wept.”
• It isn’t always easy to believe, sometimes pragmatism gets in the way.
“Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” [40] Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:39–40 NAB)
Though the Bible does offer some practical advise, it is more than a “how-to” manual. An important point some people fail to understand.
On her website, Gwen Shamblin, the author of the popular “Weigh Down” Diet plan makes some statements about the Trinity that are troubling. “As a ministry,” she says, “we believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. However, the Bible does not use the word ‘trinity’ “which implies equality, she said. “It is clear that the Scriptures teach that Jesus is the Son of God and God sends the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not send God anywhere. God is clearly the Head.”
Her statement troubled Thomas Nelson enough they cancelled her next book they were going to publish. Shamblin doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. “People don’t care about this. They don’t care about the Trinity” she said, “what the women want is weight loss.” (Fresh Illustrations, http://www.freshsermonillustrations.net.)
Is Shamblin right? Do we only care about practical things like weight loss? Pragmatism is important, but so is sound doctrine.
Over the past twenty years, there has been a subtle shift in most churches. In an attempt to become practical, we’ve become simplistic. Sermons have become “How to” lectures, you know, like The Home Depot has on Saturday mornings: “How to install tile” or “how to fix a leaking sink.” We’ve just changed the topics to “How to affair proof your marriage” or “how to find financial freedom.” Recently, Jack Allen, the pastor of Cottonwood Church in Albuquerque told me, that when he used to preach “how-to sermons,” he felt phony and conniving, like he was trying to sell a used car.
The absolute truth is, you can’t “affair proof your marriage.” As long as Satan is on the loose, people will sin. And you can’t find “financial freedom,” not during a 30 minute sermon anyway.
The Christian life isn’t always wrapped in a nice package. Sometimes it gets messy. Sometimes we have to bear the stench of a ripe corpse before we can experience the joy of resurrection.
It isn’t always easy to believe, but we start by rolling away the stone.
Look at John 11:41–44 with me. “And so they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank Thee that Thou heardest Me. [42] “And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me.” [43] And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” [44] He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
When we get past our cynicism, theology, grief, pragmatism and are willing to obey God, even when it doesn’t make sense to us, our faith grows and we experience resurrection power.
Like Thomas did. After Jesus raised from the dead, he appeared to Thomas. “And after eight days again His disciples were inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, “Peace be with you.” [27] Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.” [28] Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:26–28 NASB)
James 2:14–26
In verse 14 of James chapter 2, James asks a question that you’d likely answer one way without thought and another way after careful reflection, he asks:“What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?”
At first glance, it appears that James is teaching that faith alone doesn’t save. Paul had the opposite view. In Romans 3:28, he wrote,”For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”
In verse 21 of this chapter, James illustrates salvation by works by referring to Abraham, he writes,”Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?” And in Romans 4:2–4, Paul refers to Abraham too, but he says that Abraham was justified by faith, not works. He wrote, “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. [3] What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.‘[4] Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.” (Romans 4:2–4 NIV)
Paul is consistent with his teaching. In Ephesians 2:8–9, he wrote:“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; [9] not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”
Are these two teachings in contradiction? Is James giving a formula of faith + works = salvation? Does he contradict Paul’s clear teaching of faith alone & grace alone for Salvation? Some have concluded that is exactly what James is doing. Martin Luther, in the introduction to a New Testament translation he published in 1522 called the book “a right strawy Epistle.” He despised the book, and wanted to use it to light his stove.
Let’s see if we can unravel this controversy. First, I want you to notice that James doesn’t say “if a man has faith,” he says, “if a man SAYS he has faith …” There is a difference. It is one thing to have a vital, life-changing relationship with God and another thing to agree to a set of beliefs, or worse yet, simply to say you agree to a set of beliefs. It is one thing to talk about faith and another thing to put it into practice. Talk is cheap.
James is writing about a false claim to faith, he isn’t talking about real faith here. And Paul isn’t talking about a workless faith, he is talking about a real faith. Verse 10, very next verse after Ephesians 2:8–9 shows that. He wrote,”For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephes. 2:10 NASB)
Paul makes it very clear here, saving faith will be accompanied by godly works. In fact, that is the reason we were saved in the first place, to perform the good works God prepared for us to do.
It isn’t that Paul and James disagree here, it is that they are using different words to talk about the same thing. Paul is criticizing legalism-a faithless work and James is criticizing creedalism-a workless faith. Both are anemic and neither can transform a life into a vessel God chooses to use for His glory.
James illustrates the uselessness of creedalism with a question that appeals to the common sense within most people. He asked,”If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, [16] and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? [17] Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
We had an expression back home that is fitting here, “that don’t feed the bulldog.” It is works, not words that meet needs.
James continues in verse 18, “But someone may well say, ‘You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.‘[19] You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
Understanding something, even believing something isn’t enough, it takes action. In verse 19, James is repeating the core doctrine of the people’s faith-it was taught to Jewish children by their fathers,”Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deut. 6:4 NIV) James says, worthless faith, even if the faith is in the right thing is dead-it is the same kind of faith demons have. They know God is one, and they shudder in the thought, but their belief hasn’t changed them one bit. They are still demons.
James teaches that faith without works is useless in verse 20 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” and illustrates his point from the life of a godly patriarch and a godless prostitute.
First he talks about Abraham.”Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? [22] You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; [23] and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. [24] You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.”
Abraham had waited for years for God to open his wife’s womb and give him Isaac. In Genesis 22:2 God spoke to Abraham,”Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”And in verse 3, Abraham obeyed.”Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.”
Immediately, Abraham obeyed. His faith didn’t just consist of repeating a creed, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deut. 6:4 NIV) His faith catapulted him into action, to do what the one God of Israel told him to do, even if it didn’t make any sense to him.
In the same way, a godless woman found favor with God. James wrote,”And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”
Rahab didn’t have a creed, but she did believe what the spies from the children of Israel told her when they came to her house. Joshua 2:1–4 says,”Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. ‘Go, look over the land, ‘he said, ‘especially Jericho.‘So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. [2] The king of Jericho was told, ‘Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.‘[3] So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: ‘Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.‘[4] But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, ‘Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from.’ ”
She protected the spies, and because of her protection, her life was spared when Jericho fell. Why did she hide the spies and enable them to capture her people? Because she believed them and in their God. Joshua 2:11 reports that Rahab said,” When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” She did not mearly say these words, she risked her life to save God’s soldiers that came to her home in response to her words of faith.
The writer of Hebrews included her in the hall of the faithful, he wrote,”By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” (Hebrews 11:31 NIV)
James closes his thoughts by writing in verse 26,”For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
Life demands more than words, it requires action. Not action that is void of faith, but action born out of faith.
What kind of faith do you have? A lifeless, stale, dead faith that simply parrots what someone else has said. Or do you have a faith born not of words but of deeds? A faith that boils in your soul and propels you into action. A living faith that has changed your life, and is transforming you into the kind of person that helps others change their lives.
Believe
James 3:1–12
In the previous section, James downplays the importance of our words in favor of our actions. Primarily because, it is our actions, that prove we believe what we say we believe. Lest we begin to think then, that our words are unimportant, James uses this section of his epistle to underscore the importance of our words. In verse one, he writes, “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.”
What teachers say is important-so important, that the very act of teaching invites a stricter judgment. There is power in the spoken word. Power to instruct, to inspire to encourage and to motivate. And James says, that believers will give account for how they exercise that power.
Jesus had a lot to say about the consequences teachers will suffer who lead their students astray. In Matthew 5:19, He said: “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (NIV)
And in Matthew 18:6 he said “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (NIV)
Teachers, be careful what you say, because you are influencing us. Your words make a difference in our lives.
Words are so common, and so easy to manufacture that the importance of a single word can easily be lost in the sheer volume of words spoken, read or heard in a single day. How important is a word?
Ask a father who just heard his daughter say “I do” on her wedding day. Ask a mother who anxiously waited for her child’s first word and heard “da da” for the first time. Do you remember the tension in the court room when O. J. was waiting the hear the word “not” before the word guilty?
Words can have powerful effects. When you consider that over a hundred lives were lost in WWII for every word of Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf, you begin to envision the power of words.
Words can be used for evil, but they can also be used for good. I can still hear the resolve in President Reagan’s voice when he said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down these walls.” And shortly thereafter, the world changed.
Words are important, whether spoken by our teachers or by us, they make a difference. James continues, [2] For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. [3] Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as well. [4] Behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. [5] So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! [6] And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
We cannot let the relatively small size of the tongue lull us into believing its power is inconsequential. As a horse is controlled by a small bit and a ship is directed by a small rudder, and a forest fire is started by a small spark, so the tongue can create great problems or do tremendous good. It is small, but it is powerful.
The scripture uses dynamic words to describe the tongue, in Psalm 140:3, the Psalmist wrote, “They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on their lips.” and in Romans 3:13, the Apostle Paul wrote “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips.” Sharp as a serpent’s tongue, open graves, viper’s poison-these are vivid pictures of the negative potential of the tongue. We’ve all been on the receiving end of cutting criticism, destructive gossip, or demoralizing cursing. We’ve also seen the effects of lying, slander and a careless word.
These are destructive behaviors that the Lord hates. In Proverbs 6:16–19, the scripture says, “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: [17] A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, [18] An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, [19] A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” (KJV)
Of the seven things listed here that the Lord hates, three of them are sins of the tongue: a lying tongue, a false witness, and one who sows discord. The Lord hates it when we lie, or when we say something untrue about someone else or when we speak divisive words.
These are destructive behaviors, but they are not the only negative uses of the tongue. Paul admonishes his readers in Ephesians 5:4 to avoid the use of obscenity, silly talk or crude jokes, he wrote, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”
Sometimes, we sinners can be rather subtle in using our tongue as a weapon. Some of us hide behind humor to shield any criticism we might receive for saying something. But Proverbs 26:18–19 warns against that practice. It says, “Like a madman shooting firebrands or deadly arrows [19] is a man who deceives his neighbor and says, ‘I was only joking!’ ” (NIV)
The uncontrolled tongue encompasses exponential destructive capacity. Can we bring it under submission?
James continues in verse 7: “For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by the human race. [8] But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. [9] With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; [10] from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. [11] Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? [12] Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Neither can salt water produce fresh.”
James seems a bit pessimistic here, doesn’t he? In all honesty, he has a right to be, because I’ve never met a person yet that was free from these sins. Have you? Can anyone here say you are always totally honest? Can you say you’ve never spoken evil about someone else or that you’ve never cursed?
James’ teaching isn’t encouraging. So what do we do? Do we give up and give in to every temptation to lie, sow discord, curse or talk about someone? Of course not, and that is exactly his point. Because the temptation is ever with us to do evil with our tongues, we must be on our guard and constantly submit this temptation unto the Lord.
Beside a churchyard, along a windswept hill in England is a cemetery with Arabella Young’s tombstone. The elements have almost erased the inscription, but if you look closely and take your time you can read her epitaph: “Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies Arabella Young, Who, on the Twenty-forth of May, Began to hold her tongue.” (Gregory, p. 64)
One day, our tongue like Arabella Young’s will cease to move, but in the mean time, the question remains, what will we do with it? Will we use it to praise God, proclaim his Name among the nations, encourage the fainthearted, or tell someone that we love them? Or will we use it to curse, blaspheme, spread discord, rumors and gossip?
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that what we say doesn’t matter. It does. The tongue may be small, but it is powerful. And what we do with it does matter.
Where Does God go to Church?
Hebrews 12:18–29
“For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, [19] to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. (Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, [20] for they could not bear what was commanded: And if even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned! [21] And the appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am terrified and trembling.) [22] Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels in festive gathering, [23] to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to God who is the judge of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, [24] to Jesus (mediator of a new covenant), and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the [blood] of Abel. [25] See that you do not reject the One who speaks; for if they did not escape when they rejected Him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven. [26] His voice shook the earth at that time, but now He has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven. [27] Now this expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain. [28] Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe; [29] for our God is a consuming fire.” (HCSB)
In a recent study of 727 randomly selected adults who identified themselves as “Christians,” 601 senior pastors, and 69 worship leaders, pollster George Barna found that one in three adult regular attendees reported they had never experienced God’s presence while in a church. Two in three were not able to describe to the survey-takers what worship is. Less than half of the participants reported worship was a top priority in their lives, and only one in four described worship as something people do for God.
The most alarming thing to me about this data is the number of people who’ve never experienced God’s presence in a Worship service. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” (NASB) If God doesn’t attend a church, it must be because the people aren’t coming in His name.
Barna says, “Americans make worship services a self-centered activity. Of the reasons given to researchers on why they go to church, 47 percent were self-focused, 29 percent were God-focused, and 2 percent had no focus at all.” Barna adds, “We view ourselves first and foremost as consumers, Americans are always looking for a deal, or what’s in it for them.”
(http://www.freshsermonillustrations.net)
No wonder they aren’t experiencing God, they aren’t coming to encounter Him, they’re coming for other reasons. In his book, The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for new Generations, Dan Kimball cites a journalist who was writing about a Christian concert he attended. The headlines said, “Christapalooza: 20,000 Christians convene God doesn’t show.” In the article he writes, “I have a difficult time locating any similarities between what Jesus says and does, and what the people—in particular the organizers—[at this festival] said and did Jesus is a beacon of righteousness who leads the way through a dark world to eternal peace, love, and eternal salvation; the Jesus of [the festival] is a blue-light special, pointing you to the quick fix of a righteous bargain in the shopping mall of endless consumption.” (http://www.freshsermonillustrations.net) As far as this reporter was concerned, The Christapalooza was more about religious marketing then it was about worship.
The purpose of a worship service is to worship God. Not selling something. Not meeting someone. Not hanging out with your friends. Not promoting a ministry you’re involved in. We’ve gathered today to encounter God, and if we do it in His name, He will show up. If we don’t, He won’t.
Our text says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe; [29] for our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb 12:28–29)
How can we approach what we are doing today with a casual attitude? I’m not offended by casual dress to a worship service; come dressed however you feel comfortable. But I am offended by a casual attitude. You can come dressed in your Sunday best and still have an inappropriate attitude in your heart. 1 Samuel 16:7b says, “God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NCV) God knows our hearts.
A comforting thought.
A troubling thought.
But really, what difference does it make what I think. We should all be concerned with what God thinks. How does God feel about his creation refusing to worship Him?
In his book, The Air I Breath: Worship As a Way of Life, Louie Giglio writes, “There’s a war raging for our worship, and it’s been raging since before there was time.
Even before the earth was formed, one of God’s highest angels bolted from His presence, refusing to join the ranks of the true worshipers, refusing to exalt God above all. The account records that in a flash Satan fell like lightning from heaven. Exalting himself more than God, Satan was banned from His presence.” (http://www.freshsermonillustrations.net)
Is it possible that the same thing is happening to consumer-driven, what’s-in-it-for-me church attendees? Did they fail to assemble in His name and as a result, have they been banned from the presence of God? If so, then with the Psalmist David they should cry out, “Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me. [12] Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit. [13] Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee.” (Psalms 51:11–13 ASV)
David’s sin had separated him from the presence of God and he cried out for restoration to take place. He longed to walk with God through the day and encounter Him as he worshiped. The scripture says, “Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name; The upright will dwell in Your presence.” (Psalms 140:13 NASB)
The writer of Hebrews gives us two choices as to how we enter into the presence of God. We can enter it in worship or we can enter it in judgment. We can experience the joy of worship or the terror of the judgment of the consuming fire of God. In that great Day of Judgment, He will say, “Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,” (Psalms 6:8a NASB77). But if we choose to approach Him in worship we will experience the joy of the Lord. Psalms 16:11 says, “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (NASB)
The writer of Hebrews tells us to approach the presence of God “with reverence and awe” in this text. During his remarks after President Bush nominated him to replace Justice O’Connor on the United States Supreme Court, Judge Samuel Alito said. “The Supreme Court is an institution that I have long held in reverence.” Later, he commented, “I argued my first case before the Supreme Court in 1982, and I still vividly recall that day. I remember the sense of awe that I felt when I stepped up to the lectern …” (http://www.freshsermonillustrations.net)
He holds the court in reverence and standing at the lectern he had a sense of awe. Those are the same feelings we should experience as we stand before a Holy God ready to bring Him praise, adoration and worship. We approach the throne with reverence and awe, we also do it boldly (Heb 4:16) because of the completed work of Jesus.
The Lord alone is worthy of our worship.
The choice is yours. You can approach worship opportunities with a consumer-driven, what’s-in-it-for-me attitude and discover judgment. Or you can gather in His name, approaching His throne with reverence, awe and boldness and discover the fullness of joy.
God does attend our church, just as He attends all churches where the people gather in His name.