Sermon Tone Analysis

*A Final Word*

*James 5:19-20*

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Leroy Eims tells of a family road trip from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa, Florida.

As far as the eye could seem orange trees were loaded with fruit.

When they stopped for breakfast, Leroy ordered orange juice with his eggs.

“I’m sorry,” the waitress said, “I can’t bring you orange juice.

Our machine is broken.”

At first he was dumbfounded.

They were surrounded by millions of oranges, he knew they had oranges in the kitchen – orange slices garnished their plates.

What was the problem?

No juice?

Hardly.

They were surrounded by thousands of gallons of juice.

The problem was they had become dependent on a machine to get it.

Christians are sometimes like that.

We are surrounded by Bibles in our homes, but if something should happen to the morning preaching service, they would have no nourishment for their souls.

The problem is not lack of spiritual food.

The problem is that many Christians haven’t grown enough to know how to get it for themselves.

James has been telling us to Grow up!

We have seen how practical this book is to us.

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*The Teaching v. 19-20*

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James assumes that there will be people who identify with the church but have no life changing, saving faith.

I believe that this is a person who is in the church, who claims to be a Christian but wanders from the doctrine of truth.

James says it is our responsibility to turn them around.

The word “wander” is the same word from which we get our word “planet.”

Planets received their names because they seem to wander in the heavens as opposed to the fixed position of the stars.

When this happens, we are to turn them around.

That is the responsibility of the church.

Membership in a local church is not to be taken lightly.

In May of 1855, an eighteen-year-old boy went to the deacons of a church in Boston.

He had been raised in a Unitarian church, in almost total ignorance of the gospel, but when he had moved to Boston to make his fortune, he began to attend a Bible-preaching church.

Then, in April of 1855, his Sunday School teacher had come into the store where he was working and simply and persuasively shared the gospel and urged the young man to trust in the Lord Jesus.

He had and was now applying to join the church.

One fact quickly became obvious.

This young man was almost totally ignorant of biblical truth.

One of the deacons asked him, “Son, what has Christ done for us all – for you- which entitles Him to our love?”

His response was, “I don’t know.

I think Christ has done a great deal for us, but I don’t think of anything in particular as I know of.”

Hardly an impressive start.

Years later his Sunday School teacher said of him: “I can truly say that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was his when he came into my Sunday school class.

I think the committee of the church seldom met an applicant for membership who seemed more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of gospel truth, still less to fill any space of public or extended usefulness.”

Nothing happened very quickly to change their minds.

The deacons decided to put him on a year-long instruction program to teach him the basic Christian truths.

Perhaps they wanted him to work on some of his other rough spots as well.

Not only was he ignorant of spiritual truths, he was barely literate, and his spoken grammar was atrocious.

The year-long probation did not help very much.

At his second interview, there was only a minimal improvement in the quality of his answers, but since it was obvious that he was a sincere and committed (if ignorant) Christian, they accepted him as a church member.

Over the next years, I an sure that many people looked at that young man and convinced that God would never use a person like that, they wrote off Dwight L. Moody.

But God did not.

We are to use what God has given us to turn people toward the truth.

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We are to turn people from the error of their way

 

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*The Trail of Wandering*

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There are steps to this process, and it is a process.

I do not believe that it happens overnight.

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*Step one is to begin to not accept the Bible as Truth.*

This step begins in the mind.

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*Step two is to begin to live a lifestyle that is contrary to Scripture.*

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When one ceases to believe the truth, that belief affects the way he~/she lives.

Behavior follows belief.

James calls it the “error of his way.”

Luke 6:46

 

“Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?”

 

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*Danger is the result*

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Disobedient living brings discipline.

God disciplines His children.

*Hebrews 12* \\ \\     6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, \\        and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Sometimes God takes disobedient believers home early.

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*1 Corinthians 11* \\ 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.

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*Test for Mature Faith*

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How do I know that I am growing up?

 

Questions to ask yourself.

* Am I more patient?

* Am I resisting temptation or playing w~/ it?

* Am I reading the Word More and enjoying it?

* Am I able to control my tongue?

* Do people come to me for spiritual counsel?

* Is the world influencing me?

* Do I make plans without consulting God?

* Am I in control of my money?

* Is prayer the first response in trouble or joy?

* Do people ask me to pray for them?

I read about a man who dives for exotic fish for aquariums.

He said that one of the most popular aquarium fish is the shark.

He explained that if you catch a small shark and confine it, it will stay a size proportionate to the aquarium you put it in.

Sharks can be six inches long yet fully matured.

But if you turn them loose in the ocean, they grow to their normal length of eight feet.

That is what happens to some Christians.

I have seen some of the cutest little six-inch Christians who swim around in a little puddle.

You can look at them and think that are mature, but if you put them in the broad view of the entire creation – they might become great.

Don’t just grow old – grow up.