The Coachless Church

INTRODUCTION

OPENING STORY:

BACK IN THE DAY MANY BUILDINGS WERE HEATED BY BOILER ROOMS. ON THE SIDEOF THESE BOILERS WOULD BE A LITTLE THIN GLASS THAT HAD SOME WATER IN IT- THIS WAS THE WATER GAGE. IN ESSENCE, THIS LITTLE THIN GLASS TOLD YOU WHAT WAS IN THE BIG BOILER. IF THE SMALL GLASS WAS HALF FULL, THE BIG BOILER WAS HALF FULL. IF THE SMALL GLASS WAS…THE BIG BOILER WAS…I JOHN 4:20...

POINT: IT MIGHT BE VERY WELL SAID THAT HOW WE RELATE TO OTHER PEOPLE IS A GAGE ON OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. OR TO SAY IT ANOTHER WAY, THE BEST WAY TO GET AT HOW WE ARE DOING WITH GOD IS HOW WE ARE RELATING TO PEOPLE.

A GOOD PROBLEM:

THIS IS EXACTLY JAMES’ POINT IN OUR TEXT. OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH ONE ANOTHER IS A COMMENTARY ON OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH GOD. HE OPENS UP BY TALKING ABOUT A FAMILIAR THEME- HOW PEOPLE ARE TO NAVIGATE THE RICH AND POOR IN THE CHURCH (USED SOME FIVE PASSAGES). A CONSTANT THEME. WHICH TELLS US THIS CHURCH IS MULTICULTURAL. SO THE VERY FACT HE HAS TO JUMP IN HERE TO HELP THIS CHURCH NAVIGATE MEANS THEY ARE A CULTURALLY DIVERSE CHURCH. IF JAMES WERE TO LOOK AT OUR CHURCH WOULD HE BE SO IMPRESSED BY THE CULTURAL DIVERSITY THAT HE WOULD NEED TO WRITE CONSISTENTLY ON IT?

DISCIPLED INTO DISCRIMINATION:

DEFINE “PARTIALITY”- TO LIFT THE FACE. IT’S DISCRIMINATION. NOT ALL DISCRIMINATION IS BAD. BUT HERE IT IS. IN ESSENCE THIS HAPPENS WHEN WE LOOK AT A PERSON’S OUTSIDE TO DETERMINE THEIR WORTH ON THE INSIDE.

OUR WORLD DISCIPLES US DAILY INTO THIS:

AIRPORTS

MEDIA- WHITE MIDDLE/UPPER CLASS WOMEN WHO ARE VICTIMS OF VIOLENT CRIME ARE ALLOTTED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE MEDIA TIME THAN POOR WOMEN OF COLOR WHO ARE VICTIMS OF THE SAME OR SIMILAR CRIMES.

76% OF VIETNAM SOLDIERS WERE FROM LOWER INCOME TO POOR FAMILIES.

IMPLICIT BIAS- IF I’M AT AN ATM AT 11 PM.

SADLY WE SEE THIS IN THE CHURCH:

DURING SLAVERY CHURCHES LIKE SAINT GEORGE’S WERE MULTIETHNIC WITH WHITE’S ONLY SECTIONS.

CHURCH IN DC DAD PREACHED AT WITH LIGHT SKIN ON ONE SIDE...

ELDER BOARDS COMPOSED OF PEOPLE WHO ARE EXCLUSIVELY RICH.

CONSULT WITH CHURCH’S TRYING TO BE MULTIETHNIC BUT WON’T CHANGE BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT TO UPSET THEIR BASE.

HOWARD THURMAN SUMS UP WELL OUR PROBLEM, “Why is it that Christianity seems impotent to deal radically, and therefore effectively, with the issues of discrimination and injustices? Is this impotency due to a betrayal of the genius of the religion, or is it due to a basic weakness in the religion itself? The question is searching, for the dramatic demonstration of the impotency of Christianity in dealing with the issue is underscored by its inability to cope with it within its own fellowship”- Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited.

JAMES’ POINT IS CLEAR: THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST AIN’T SUPPOSED TO HAVE A BASE! IN A WORLD IMMERSED AND STEEPED IN BIAS, THE CHURCH IS TO SHAKE ITS FIST AND SAY ALL ARE WELCOMED HERE!

BILLY GRAHAM ILLUSTRATION OF REFUSING TO DO CRUSADES THAT WERE SEGREGATED. HIS BASIC MESSAGE WAS THE GOSPEL AND PARTIALITY CANNOT TRULY COEXIST!

“The Church must be the one place where all distinctions are wiped out. There can be no distinctions of rank and prestige when we meet in the presence of the King of glory. There can be no distinctions of merit when we meet in the presence of the supreme holiness of God…In the presence of God, all are one”- William Barclay.

YES!!! We are one, but how do we root out partiality in our own lives and in the church? Our passage shows us how. Partiality is ultimately a sin of the heart, the eyes and the hands. And James is going to show us that the gospel gives us a new heart, hands and eyes.

A New Heart- James 2:4

EXPLANATION:

JAMES BEGINS WITH THE PROHIBITION- DO NOT SHOW PARTIALITY. THEN HE GIVES THE EXAMPLE, AND WE HAVE EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE AN ACTUAL ONE. RICH WORE RINGS ON ALL FINGERS EXCEPT THE MIDDLE ONE. CHRISTIANS WERE ENCOURAGED THAT IF THEY WORE ONE TO ONLY WEAR ONE ON THE PINKY WITH AN EMBLEM. THAT’S INTERESTING. GOT A PINKY RING VAN? “EVIL THOUGHTS”. THOUGHTS ARE THE INNERMOST MEDITATIONS. EVIL SPEAKS OF THAT WHICH IS MORALLY WRONG. IT’S A PICTURE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR HEARTS.

POINT: JAMES’ POINT IS CLEAR. PARTIALITY DOESN’T BEGIN WITH WHAT WE DO, IT BEGINS WITH WHO WE ARE. OUR HANDS ARE AN EXTENSION OF OUR HEARTS!

ILLUSTRATION/EXAMPLE: LOVE THE CRM. BECAUSE OF THEM I CAN SIT ANYWHERE ON ANY BUS…BUT IT CAN CHANGE LAWS NOT HEARTS. TUTU SAID IT’S TIME FOR A NEW ROUND OF THE TRC BECAUSE THERE’S A NEW GENERATION OF SA’S. WELL, THAT WILL GO ON INTO PERPETUITY. NO AMOUNT OF TRC’S, CIVIL OR VOTING RIGHTS ACTS OR FAIR HOUSING ACTS WILL BE ABLE TO WIPE OUT DISCRIMINATION, WHY? BECAUSE YOU CAN GET IT OUT OF LAWS, BUT NOT OUT OF HEARTS. JEREMIAH 17.

EXPLANATION- HERE’S WHERE THE GOSPEL COMES IN. PROMISE OF THE NEW COVENANT- GIVE US A NEW HEART. ALL OTHER RELIGIONS SAY DO MORE, TRY HARDER. CHRISTIANITY SAYS YOU CAN’T. CHANGE FROM THE INSIDE OUT.

ILLUSTRATION: MY GRANDFATHER AND TRIPLE BY PASS. DOCTOR DIDN’T JUST TELL HIM TO CHANGE HIS BEHAVIORS. HE HAD TO CHANGE HIS HEART.

APPLICATION- HOW DO I KNOW I HAVE A NEW HEART? GALATIANS 3:28. IT’S EVIDENCED IN MY RELATIONSHIPS. DO YOUR FRIENDSHIPS TRANSGRESS: 1. CLASS LINES? 2. ETHNIC LINES?

NEW HANDS- JAMES 2:8

EXPLANATION: PROBLEM- SHOWING PARTIALITY. LOOKING AT THE OUTSIDE TO DETERMINE SOMEONE’S WORTH ON THE INSIDE. CAUSED THEM TO HONOR SOME AND DISHONOR OTHERS NOT BASED ON WHO THEY WERE BUT ON WHAT THEY HAD TO OFFER. JAMES’ RESPONSE TO THIS IS THEY HAVE FAILED TO FULFILL THE ROYAL OR PREEMINENT LAW/COMMAND WHICH IS THE LAW OF LOVE. IT’S ROYAL- I CORINTHIANS 13. JESUS SAID IN JOHN 13 THAT LOVE IS THE BADGE OF THE BELIEVER.

BIRTHMARK ILLUSTRATION: MY MIDDLE SON HAS A PROMINENT BIRTHMARK. IF YOU WERE TO PUT SOMEONE WHO LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM NEXT TO HIM, I WOULD LOOK FOR THE BIRTHMARK- IT’S WHAT DISTINGUISHES HIM. POINT: LOVE IS THE BELIEVER’S BIRTHMARK.

WHAT IS LOVE? SACRIFICING FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OTHERS…AND JAMES WOULD ADD REGARDLESS OF THEIR SOCIAL STANDING.

BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATION: GOOD SAMARITAN. JESUS ASKED ABOUT THIS ROYAL COMMAND OF LOVE, AND WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR. HE TELLS THIS STORY. HIS LOVE TRANSGRESSED ETHNIC AND ECONOMIC LINES.

BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATION: ACTS 2. THEY WERE SELLING THEIR POSSESSIONS AND GIVING TO EACH AS THEY HAD NEED. THAT’S LOVE. AND IT WOWED THE WORLD.

POINT: THE TRUE POWER OF THE CHURCH’S WITNESS IS NOT SEEN IN THE SIZE OF HER BUDGETS OR BUILDINGS, NOR IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HER PEOPLE, OR THE SKILL OF HER PREACHERS, BUT IN THEIR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER. AND THE DEEPER THE DIVIDE THE GREATER THE OPPORTUNITY FOR LOVE.

MR. ROGERS/BLACK MAN PUTTING THEIR FEET TOGETHER IN THE POOL ILLUSTRATION. A POWERFUL IMAGE OF LOVE.

APPLICATION: SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO TRANSGRESSING ETHNIC, ECONOMIC AND EVERY KIND OF LINE? IMAGINE GOING TO CHURCH AND SEEING A SLAVE SERVE COMMUNION TO HIS MASTER? OR A WOMAN BEING AFFIRMED IN HER GIFTS IN THE FIRST CENTURY WORLD. THIS POSITIONS THE CHURCH TO LEAD THE WAY IN CHANGING SOCIETY. THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT RICH PEOPLE HELPING THE POOR, BUT EMPOWERING THE POOR TO LEAD. LOOKING FOR MINORITIES TO LEAD AS WELL. HAVING ECONOMICALLY AND ETHNICALLY DIVERSE TEAMS. THINK OF THE POWER OF THAT WITNESS!

OUR EYES- JAMES 2:12-13

EXPLANATION: WHY WAS THE CHURCH GIVEN TO PARTIALITY? YES, IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THEIR HEARTS, BUT IT WAS ALSO A PROBLEM WITH THEIR EYES, OR PERSPECTIVE. VERSES 2-4- VALUED PEOPLE BASED ON THE TEMPORAL THINGS OF THIS LIFE, THINGS THAT WERE BOUND TO PASS AWAY. THEY VALUED THE TEMPORAL AT THE EXPENSE OF THE ETERNAL.

VISUAL ILLUSTRATION: THINK OF THE COOL PEOPLE IN HIGH SCHOOL. WHAT MADE THEM COOL? FOR ME GOING TO HS IN THE LATE 80S AND EARLY 90S IT WAS: 1. MEMBERS ONLY JACKET; 2. STONE WASHED JEANS; 3. HONDA PRELUDE. WHERE ARE THESE THINGS NOW THAT CAUSED THEM TO BE HONORED. FAST FORWARD NOW- LV PURSUES, MERCEDES, CERTAIN ZIP CODE. YOU KNOW WHAT JAMES SAYS- NONE OF THAT STUFF IS GOING TO BE IN HEAVEN.

A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE- VERSES 12-13. HE IS SAYING BE GOVERNED BY ETERNITY/WHAT WILL LAST. I CORINTHIANS 4:5. WE WILL STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD AND ALL THAT WILL MATTER IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST, NOT ANYTHING ELSE. POINT: THE WAY THE KINGDOM WORKS IS THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT MATTER ARE THOSE WHO ARE WEALTHY IN FAITH (5). IF YOU HAVE CHRIST YOU HAVE IT ALL.

CLOSING ILLUSTRATION: POPE DRIVING LIMO. WHO IS DRIVING YOUR LIFE.

GOSPEL CONCLUSION