Heart for the starts in us

Having a heart for the House is about more than loving this building, it’s about living a life of Grace, see we are a part of the house.

1 Peter 2:1–12 ESV

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

not only are we to have a heart for each other but for all those around us & it’s no good saying it’s not your gift to tell people about Jesus, it doesn’t always have to be words, people see Jesus in your actions, they check out how you live all the time.

1 peter 2

Any way we are going to use , & 4 today, not a Bible study but a quick look through to see what james has to say to us.

Lets read

As Christians we should not allow peoples circumstances to determine how we treat them. Regular meetings for worship and Bible study are central to church life and are open to all with favouritism shown to none. We are not to show partiality, favouritism in relating to others is sin [ 25 – 37]. It breaks the law of neighbour love, which James called the “royal law” [v 8] James focuses on the tendency to be more favourable to the rich. Such favouritism can result in being manipulated by the rich and also insults the poor. Not necessarily just money matters but also spiritual matter God has promised his kingdom to those who love him [matt 5 v 3 & 20].

V 8 – 13

James says be consistent, don’t just uphold a part of the law uphold the whole law; don’t just give part of your life to God, give it all to him. It’s no good giving money to the needy, loving your neighbour and then closing your door and beating your wife and kids. If you trip on one thing you trip on them all

V 14 – 26 faith and deeds

We cannot earn our way into heaven; we are saved through our faith by Gods grace, which is a free gift to us. Deeds alone don’t guarantee an eternity with Christ. As good works on their own would be motivated by selfish ambition rather than a response to God.

V 19 says that even the devil believes in God, therefore faith alone is incomplete. A true faith in God would result in us acting out our faith through our deeds. James gives 2 examples Abraham and Rahab. Abraham was shown to be right with God for what he did because he believed. Likewise Rahab demonstrated faith in Gods purpose for Israel when she hid the spies and helped them escape, which resulted in her and her family being saved when the city was destroyed.

These verses seem to contradict what Paul says in 28 but instead they are complimenting each other. It’s true that our good deeds cannot earn salvation but true faith always results in a changed life and good deeds. Paul speaks against those who try to be saved by deeds instead of true faith while James speaks against those who confuse a mere knowledge of God with true faith.

Chapter 3

Taming the tongue

V 1 – 12

We are to be Gods representatives on earth; we are to be his ambassadors and anybody who wants to be a teacher in the church must first learn to control his tongue. A wrong word in public can have serious percussions.

Teaching was a highly valued and respected profession in Jewish culture and many Jews who embraced Christianity wanted to become teachers. James warns that although it is good to aspire to teach, teachers responsibility is great because their words and examples affect others spiritual lives.

Words can be so destructive, wrecking character, reputation, relationships, undoing years of work, by one careless venomous remark we can unleash forces we are powerless to stop. What is said can never be unsaid. If we can sort our tongue out then we should be able to sort out our whole personality.

V 13 – 18 true wisdom

Christian wisdom is very different from being worldly wise. The worldly wise are full of selfish ambition, eager to get on, asserting their own rights, looking out for number one, I’m alright jack.

God reckons a man wise when he puts selfishness aside and shows concern for others above himself. This kind of wisdom is seen in a mans personality and behaviour, not in mere intellectual ability.

Chapter 4

Submit yourselves to God

V 1 – 3

Arguments and fights among believers are always harmful. James explains that these conflicts result from the evil desires battling within us. We want more possessions, more money, higher status, more recognition. When we don’t get what we want, we fight in order to get it. Instead of having our own agenda and being aggressive and grabbing what we want, we should submit ourselves to God and trust him to give us what we really need.

V 4 –6

The cure for evil desires is humility (see proverbs 16 v 18& 19: v 5 & 6).

Pride makes us self-centred and leads us to think that we deserve all we can see, touch or imagine.

It creates greedy appetites for far more than we need.

We can be released from our self-centred desires by humbling ourselves before god, realizing that all we really need is his approval. When we are filled by the holy spirit, we can see that the worlds attractiveness are only cheap substitutes for what God has for us.

V 7 – 10

How can you come closer to God?

James lists five ways.

1) Humble yourself before God (v 7) yield to his authority and will, commit your life to him and his control, and be willing to follow him.

2) Resist the devil (v7) don’t allow the devil entice and tempt you.

(3) Wash your hands and purify your hearts (v8) be cleansed from sin, replacing your desire to sin with your desire to Experience God.

(4) Let there be sorrow and deep grief for your sins (v9)

Don’t be afraid to express heartfelt sorrow for what you have done.

(5) Humble yourselves before the lord, and he will lift you up in honour (v10: 1 Peter 5v6)

V 11 & 12

Jesus summarized the law as love for God and neighbour ( 37 – 40) and Paul said that love demonstrated toward a neighbour would fully satisfy the law ( 6 – 10).

When we fail to love, we are actually breaking God’s law. We should examine our attitude and actions towards others. Do we build people up or tear them down

V 13 – 16

It is good to have goals, but goals can disappoint us if we leave God out of them. There is no point in making plans as though God doesn’t exist because the future is in his hands. The beginning of good planning is to ask “ what would I like to be doing ten years from now? One year from now? Tomorrow? How will I react if God steps in and rearranges my plans?” We can plan ahead, but we must hold on to our plans loosely. If we put God’s desires at the centre of our planning, he will never disappoint us.