James 1:19-27

Scripture reading this morning is St.

James chapter 1, verse 19 to 27.

James 1:19–27

Know this, my beloved brothers, let every person to be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of men does not produce the righteousness of God.

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.

But be doers of the world and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

For if anyone is hearer of the world and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror, for he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, think not no hearer who forgets and but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

If anyone thinks that uh if anyone thinks he's a religious and does not brightly his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Religion that does that is pure and undefiled before God.

The father is this to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep one's own self unstain from the world.

So God's word.

Now I know you all are wondering.

Yes, it is a new shirt.

Got it for Christmas.

Thank you for asking.

Uh I know it looks great.

Um, it is good to be get back together in this new year.

Uh, it is wonderful to gather together.

Uh, it feels in some ways we've been apart for far longer, uh, but it is good uh that we can come here today to worship, to praise uh Jesus Himself.

Uh, today we are in James chapter one, the passage that was read, and and next week we'll be returning uh to our series that we started a while ago in John's Gospel.

And this letter, uh just so that we kind of have a bit of context, is written by Jesus' half-brother.

Uh, it is directed not towards a particular people in mind.

He's not writing to one church or a group of churches, but rather towards any Christian, towards believers, anyone who would profess faith and know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

And in this opening chapter, it is almost like a tasting menu for the rest of the book.

James is bringing us wisdom and knowledge that he has gained through Jesus, and even echoes from the book of Proverbs come through this book so that we can understand how our faith shapes our life.

That faith cannot and should not be merely an aspect of our lives, but rather it is something that should be displayed in how we live, in how we speak.

So let me pray for us and then let us dive in together.

Please, can I encourage you as I pray if you want to get a Bible here or open a Bible, um, whether it's on your phone or a physical Bible, uh, that will be super helpful as we look at this passage.

Let me pray.

Loving Father, I thank you so much that you are so good and gracious towards us.

We thank you for this new year.

We thank you for bringing us back together.

We are here in this place, in this space, only because of your grace towards us.

You are the one who sustains all.

You are the one who has seen it fit that we be here together in this time.

So I pray that as we gather, as we come, as we have already been singing and praying and hearing your word read, would you meet with us?

Would we see you for who you are?

Would we hear from your word?

Would we know what you desire for us?

And would we be people who would gladly step in faith?

Would we be people who reflect and display Christ for all to see?

In your beautiful name I pray.

Amen.

At the top of the year, uh, people often speak about things they want to change in their lives.

I don't know whether this is something you do.

Maybe it's starting that diet, maybe it's taking up a new hobby or exercising more, maybe it's to do with your character.

You want to be kinder toward people, or you want to serve others, but serve others with gladness.

Personally, I've never really been bothered making such promises, to be honest.

Sorry if that's something that you're into, but for me, that's not been something that I've done.

To me, it feels like they can be a bit pointless.

I don't want to burst your bubble.

I get the intention is good.

I get that there is a desire to make positive changes in our lives.

But often it ends in disappointment.

I'm not gonna do a poll, but I imagine those of us who've made commitments, made New Year's resolutions, many of us will say, Yeah, I made it, and yeah, I didn't keep it.

The cake just looked too good to eat.

The weather was horrible.

I'm not going for a run in that weather.

The hobby started, it went well for a time, but then the busyness of life took over.

Of course, I want to be kind to people, but it's so hard when people are just so dumb and annoying.

What do you expect of me?

See, this desire, this longing to change, to be better is an instinct we have at times.

To be a better you.

Apparently, according to insideoutmastery.com, only 9% of people are successful in their New Year's resolutions.

Nine percent.

That's rather sad.

Because the truth is, true change is actually hard.

True change feels impossible at times, especially when it comes to more personal aspects, areas of our lives.

Those aspects of us that have been with us for years, those character traits that feel so embedded in who we are, and yet the ways we speak, the ways we act, we know that they do not reflect Christ.

But it seems so hard to change there.

And what James in this text and this book is pressing you and I to realize is our need for change as Christians.

That there is an expectation of continual change, not just in this season of the year, but in every season, in every moment of our lives.

If we love and know Christ, that we should desire to be growing, that if our faith is genuine, then it will be shaping our entire lives.

That we will experience true transformation.

Transformation that is not merely will power, but by the gospel we have placed our faith in.

This is why James' words are so direct.

James isn't messing around.

Because he knows that faith is not merely part of our lives, but our faith should be central in our lives.

And I think this is a helpful place for us to consider as we begin this new year.

This is not just in general ways, but in specific ways, God wants us to change.

He wants us to grow.

To be men and women who are slowly but surely experiencing the change we long for.

Slowly but surely, we are seeing our faith evident in our lives.

Evident as we receive the word, do the word and live the word, receive the word.

Next slide.

Hopefully.

Okay, receive the word.

There we go.

Look with me at verse 19.

Know this, my beloved brothers.

Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.

For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

James, as I said, isn't holding back.

He's setting out what is expected of Christians.

But it is so vital that we are able to appreciate that this isn't just James having a go.

He is not just annoyed, he's not just irritated at the state of the church.

But we hear that he is saying this from a place of love and care, from his affection for us, his affection for our souls, my beloved brothers and sisters.

It is hard to be rebuked at times, to be challenged.

I expect none of us enjoy that.

If you enjoy when someone just really says, you're terrible, you need to change, I don't get that.

We instinctly don't like it.

To be told we are wrong.

We don't want to hear someone say how we ought to live.

But James' heart is one of love towards his brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is a heart longing for our good.

To learn and grow in our understanding of what we've been called to.

Because the gospel that we believe in is the gospel we should love.

And if we love it, this is a gospel of change and transformation.

That our expectation should be that we do not remain the same.

But slowly and surely we are growing, growing in godliness, growing in holiness, reflecting more and more the God we love, Christ Himself.

To be men and women eager to grow, eager to embrace the commands of God toward us, eager to people be people who are quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

He begins here with this command.

Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.

A command that is not merely saying we should not speak.

Because if you know me, I'm a talker.

This isn't about merely the number of words we say, but it is more about the posture we should have.

Because the implication of someone who lives like this is clear.

To be someone who is quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, is someone who is growing in humility, growing in a longing to invest in others, desiring to be patient, to be someone who is not quick-tempered, desiring to put others before ourselves.

The idea of being this sort of person is nice.

We can look at it and we can think, I'd like to be like that.

It looks attractive.

I don't think any of us would have an issue with this.

This is not a bad command.

But the truth is, it is not easy to be like this.

To consistently display this posture.

When people do something that we don't like or feels as if they are interrupting our desires, our wants, our plans, they're getting in the way of it.

What is your response?

When someone is just seemingly being annoying in everything they do, what is your response?

You get angry.

You're annoyed.

But it's not just being annoyed, it's not just being frustrated.

You are actually angry.

Use whatever word you want.

Why do they do that?

Why do they act that way?

I can't believe they have just said those things.

And our instinct can be to justify, to believe we are right in our anger.

Well, of course I'm angry.

I should be.

Do you see what they did?

Do you hear what they said?

Because what we need to understand is that sin comes out of us in anger in these moments.

But it is not because any person is around us, it's not because of their words, it's not because of their actions, it is because it is already in us.

You get angry, I get angry because of my own sin.

Because the truth is, anger is already in me.

People or situations merely draw it out of me.

It is not an excuse.

If you and I are unprepared to see and admit this, to realize our issue, our problem lies within, then we are not going to be men and women who truly deal with it.

Jesus says this clearly.

When we find ourselves enraged by others, by what they have done or what they have said, we are not living in step with the gospel.

It's not saying you cannot feel hurt by those things.

That's not what this is saying.

But we are not reflecting the God we claim to love.

The one who himself declares he is slow to anger.

Psalm 103 says, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

You see, the very character of God is being displayed in the person, in the person who is slow to anger.

That when anger is our first response, when anger is where we go first, then mercy and grace are absent.

Love is not evident.

You might think there is a righteousness to anger.

That God has a righteous anger, which is true.

God does have a righteous anger against what is evil, sinful, and wicked.

But often we believe this gives us allowance to be angry.

We need to realize we are not God.

You might believe you can be angry and not sin, but to be honest, I think that line is very thin.

I see that in my own heart.

There are things in this world we should rightly hate and be angry at, injustices and acts of abuse, evil we hear about.

But often our anger, the anger we experience is not that.

We go far.

I would say we go far as sorry, I didn't say that right.

I would go as far as to say that the majority of the anger we experience is never that sort of anger.

It is towards those around us.

And James is clear for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Part of our issue is we need to realize the way in which God responds to us.

The number of times we fail, the number of times and moments we have rejected Him, the number of times we have lived hating God and His authority in our lives, the number of times we have struggled with temptation and fallen into sin.

And if God was like us, if God was a God who was harsh and rash and quick to be enraged, where would we be?

Where would you be?

Do you understand?

When we see and understand how patient, how gracious He is toward us, toward you and me, do we really appreciate His patience?

Because that would be shaping and then how we respond to others.

Because if we act as though we understand His grace and His patience, but then we are so quick to be angry, to be harsh toward those around us, then we are revealing our life is not truly seeing His grace and patience to us.

That is a person who does not realize how utterly desperate they are for His grace and patience.

God is so gracious and patient toward me.

How can I then treat someone with so little grace and patience?

What James is exposing for you and I is not merely behavior but our very hearts.

I can be honest, I know a tendency of mine is toward anger.

That I can go there quite easily.

And what I have sought to learn is often my first response is not a right response.

My natural reaction is often exposing my sinful heart.

So I know myself enough to know that generally I'm not going to respond straight away.

I'm not saying I always get it right.

I'm I'm I mess up at times.

But we need to be aware of our sinful tendencies.

That if anger is something that you struggle with, you need to know that.

To be honest with yourself.

To know that it is wiser to pause than to just rush in, to evaluate than to just rush in.

Because it is only then we can begin to be honest like this can we see change happen.

Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.

What we need when you feel enraged by others, what I need is to stop.

I need to pray.

I need to remind myself of the gospel again.

This is what we need to do, to humble ourselves before our God.

Reflect upon his grace and his patience toward us.

Rather than rushing in in anger, to recognize that I have and need to receive the word once again.

The gospel itself.

That's what James is saying here.

It is Jesus Himself we need.

Because it is only by him and through him we are able to do this.

This isn't willpower.

To experience the Spirit at work within us, to be men and women who gladly receive God's word.

It is the word by the Spirit that enables us to put these things away.

It is the word by the Spirit that enables us to put sin to death.

Too often we can wonder why we are not experiencing change in our lives.

Wondering how can we be a person like this?

A person who is quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.

This life we are called to as believers is only possible if we are people of the word.

People who delight in him.

And all he has to say, knowing his word, his gospel is alive and active, that it is in the power of his gospel by the Spirit we can live in such a way.

Too often we act as though we are in a position.

To neglect God and His word.

Too often we make justifications for why we are unprepared to receive His word.

And what James is proclaiming is that we need to be humble, to be meek, eager to hear from God, eager to receive Him for who He is.

When people say, I want to hear from God, and yet they refuse to open their Bibles.

That is foolishness.

This is God's word for you and I.

That we can hold it in our hands.

We can read it on our devices.

It is there.

That anytime his word is read, is proclaimed, we are not just hearing words, mere words, we are hearing the voice of God Himself.

The danger of when we neglect Him and His Word is clear.

Receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.

God's salvation is final and secure.

That is clear.

For any who profess faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, James is not preaching a work-based righteousness.

That's not what he's wanting us to know.

This is not a different gospel.

But James is saying that if we have received the gospel, we will constantly want to receive the gospel, the word, again and again, knowing that it is by and through the word that we grow.

We will hunger to hear and know God.

We will not take lightly our faith.

This is about our salvation, our realization that God and his word are essential for our life.

They are not secondary.

No matter what this year holds for each of us, we will be able to press on.

We will be able to know the joy in our salvation.

We will be able to know his sustaining grace in each season and moment when we cling to him in and through his word by his spirit.

I have no clue what 2023 holds for any of us.

But I do know that whatever we will face, if we take seriously this call, this invitation, if we cry like the salmon, so God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

If you come to him with a contrite heart, with a longing to seek his face, to seek his presence, he will meet you, he will help you, he will sustain you through all that comes your ways, because this is who he is.

This is the God he is.

Don't allow yourself to make excuses of why you are not prioritizing God and his word.

Don't allow yourself to be distracted from your need of him.

There is nothing more you need than him.

Nothing.

Know that your time spent seeking him will never be wasted.

Time wrestling, time pressing in will never be unfruitful.

What I love is when I get a front row to see this, when I see people seeing a deeper hunger for God and His Word, seeing their understanding grow in who he is.

It is beautiful because ultimately that is a display of life.

The life we all long for.

Spiritual life that they have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

It is not theoretical, it is not head knowledge, it is experiential.

Seeking Him.

It is a soul that has come to the living water and felt the quenching thirst be satisfied.

I need this, you need this.

To be men and women who receive the word.

But James is clear.

Though we are called to receive the word, we are also called to do the word.

Next slide.

There we go.

Do the word.

Verse 22.

Be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word, not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.

For he looks at himself and goes away at once and forgets what he was like.

This illustration is obviously here to help us, to grasp the point.

And for each of us, it's an easy situation to imagine.

Someone looking intensely at themselves in a mirror.

This is not just a little side glance as they go by.

This is looking intently, observing the details of their appearance.

I won't name names of who I think in here might do this.

But the thought of this person going away and at once forgetting seems so silly.

Spending ages looking and then going away and forgetting.

And yet, this is what he is saying we do with God's word.

We can often hear and read, and it has zero impact upon our lives.

It is merely words.

We can come here and listen to sermon after sermon, Sunday after Sunday, without appreciating the implications it should have.

We read our Bibles in our own time, and it doesn't really impact the rest of our day.

We can have brothers and sisters who seek to encourage us and share with us and challenge us in the gospel, and we just refuse to listen.

There are many people who know the Bible more than you and I, who know the original languages, who can tell you the historical context, who can answer many questions about God's word, and yet they do not believe.

They do not see the authority of his word and what it holds over their lives.

Because the truth is that God and his word is never about mere comprehension.

It is about people who receive and do what God Himself calls us to do.

I think too often in our Christian culture we can elevate those who seemingly have so much knowledge.

That knowledge begins to be the measurement we use for maturity.

Knowledge equals maturity in our minds.

And I'm not saying knowledge is not important.

But that is not fully true.

Knowledge should not be what we singularly look for, but rather godliness, faithfulness.

Brothers and sisters who are so evidently captured by Christ Jesus Himself, desperate to love others and love him.

I don't care how much you know, and more importantly, God doesn't either.

God cares how you live, how you relate to him and those around you.

There is a danger of hearing and knowing much of God's word, but James is pressing us.

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, verse 25, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts.

He will be blessed in his doing.

The blessing that is here for us is living a life that has been, that we have been called to live.

To hear and do, to be obedient to the call of God, knowing that it is this road that is the road of salvation.

The complete law, the law of liberty, the law of freedom, is to love God and love others.

That's what James himself is saying.

That is what Jesus Himself declares.

In Matthew 22, teacher, what is the great commandment in the law?

And he said to them, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This is the great and first commandment.

And a second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.

The deadness, spiritually speaking, that we can experience in our faith is a deadness that is often caused by our failing to do this, failing to delight in him, failing to seek to love others.

You see, when we say all day long we believe in this book, God's Word, if we are unprepared to live our lives with His Word directing us, then why would we expect to experience His life?

There is a simplicity to this.

That when we embrace the call of the gospel and what it places upon our lives, we experience blessings.

This isn't prosperity gospel.

It's not like that.

Realizing that this is the life we were created for.

It is, in a sense, simple, but it's not easy.

James speaks here of the need for perseverance.

See, he's not naive to the fact that though there are blessings, the life of the believer is not always easy.

It is not free from pain and hurt.

He knows that it is a life of perseverance, a life that keeps depending, keeps resting upon God and his word.

That some of the blessings we will have experienced and experienced in this life will come through the hardest and darkest valleys.

That is the life of the believer.

Some of the blessings that await you, brother and sister in Christ, are going to be at the other side of this present trial, the present suffering you are in in this moment.

And I want to say to you, encourage you, keep going, keep coming to Him, resting and knowing that His grace is sufficient for you in this and every season.

Finally, James helps us to see in part how we can live the Word, which is on the next slide.

Verse 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Personally, I think the CSB translation is helpful and just a bit more clear in my mind.

It says, if anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself.

I'm guessing for most of us, we have heard or even maybe said something like, Christianity is relationship, not religion.

And in part, I understand, I appreciate that sentiment.

But we need to realize that religion in of itself is not bad.

James is not speaking against religion here.

That's not his point.

Because simply religion is defined as the belief in and worship of a God or gods.

That's what religion is.

The question is not whether we are religious or not, but what true religion is.

Believing in the one true God, worshiping the one true God, lives shaped by Him.

That's the point.

For those who try to use religion as a badge of honor or to be seen by others in a certain way, they miss what it is to be religious.

That's what James is saying.

They miss what it is to believe in God, to worship Him.

Because all religion that is not rooted in a belief and worship of the Creator, God, Father, Son, and Spirit, is worthless.

What James is saying here is that true religion is evident, evident in how we speak, evident in our actions.

Because this is what genuine faith produces.

Lives changed, lives shaped by God and his word.

Lived out in ordinary moments we have.

Tomorrow, when you get up, whatever time that is, how are your words going to display Christ?

Later today, in your interactions, how are your words going to display Christ?

How will your love for him be displayed?

Not in just what you say, but even how you say it.

Because this is God challenging us as his children, helping us to see that controlling our tongue should be something that we desire.

That if you are not desiring to grow in controlling your tongue in what you say and how you say it, whatever you think you have in your faith, it is useless.

You might say you are religious, you are someone who believes in God.

You might not use that term.

Instead, you think you are a good person, whatever term you want to use, you're here on Sundays, you're at community group.

But the truth is, genuine faith is revealed in our words and our actions.

And that's what James is saying.

You will not always get it right.

I'm not saying we are perfect in this.

We mess up, we say silly things, but there is a willingness in someone who understands, who gets the gospel, who is seeking to grow in Christ-likeness, who recognizes our need.

It is right to reflect and say, you know what, I messed up.

I did not speak how I should.

To seek forgiveness in those moments, to accept the gospel once again, to not just try and justify ourselves.

Are you allowing others to challenge you in this area?

Allowing others to lovingly speak when your speech is harsh or inappropriate.

We can't think that our words do not matter.

If we truly recognize more, this more, that nothing is hidden from God our Savior.

That every word in private, every word that you've said toward others, he knows it.

I think if we realize that, that he would be present with us in every moment, if we realized he was here, right here, watching and hearing and listening, that would change how we speak.

I think we would catch ourselves at times.

And we'd be like, oh yeah, I'm not gonna say that.

We would realize that words have power.

I hope if you're a Christian here that you know what it is like to have someone who is life-giving.

What I mean by that is not that they themselves give life, but God by his grace uses them to bring spiritual vitality toward you.

They encourage and build up.

They point you towards the gospel, they speak with care and compassion and love.

You go away and you feel lighter.

You go away feeling a greater desire to love Christ, a greater desire to reflect Him.

We should all long to be that sort of person if we know Jesus.

To be known as those who speak in such a way, to be known as life-giving influences by God's grace.

Something I heard at one point a while ago, years ago, has shaped me in this.

It was a reflection from a pastor, and when he was asked, what was the one thing he would have wanted to do more early in his ministry, it was this.

He said it was to encourage people.

You see, he realized how important it was to be an encourager of others, and I think that's so true.

I think we live in a stage, in a moment in which it seems so negative at times.

Everything seems so critical.

We need people who are encouragers, we need people who are thoughtful and insightful, who seek to encourage those around them, to speak words of life, to not just tear down, but to build up.

This is not that we don't say hard things at times.

But when we see this, when we understand it, it's it's from a per perspective of for that person's good and for God's glory.

It is from a heart of encouragement that we even say hard things.

How could you consider encouraging someone this week today?

How could you prayerfully, sensitively think about who the Lord might place upon your mind and your heart to move toward?

To simply say that you're praying for them.

Simply say that you appreciate them.

It isn't difficult, but trust me, it could be used by God in significant ways.

You do not know what a word of encouragement could do for someone.

James continues by fleshing out what he has already challenged us in, to be doers of the word, to be those who do not just see the law of liberty, the law of freedom, the call of Jesus to love God and love others, but to live it out.

Verse 27: religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is to is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

What I would encourage you to do, when you read God's word, when you hear it read, be mindful, be mindful of all the moments God uses or engages with the outcast, with the lowly in society and culture, to know all the time God associates Himself with those who are looked down upon, all the times we are instructed to care for the marginalized around us.

Because what you will find is this happens time and time again.

Using people like Moses, who was a murderer and couldn't speak before others, using a prostitute named Rahab, using Ruth and Esther, unlikely people, Peter who seems so rash.

This is who God is.

Jesus, who is constantly being accused of what?

Associating with tax collectors and sinners, showing tender care to those who have been abused and ridiculed by those around them.

And what James is reminding us of is this is and should be who we are.

People who are not merely going to those we are comfortable with, not going towards those we find easy to just speak to, but rather to be men and women who have a heart like our Savior, filled with compassion for the broken, filled with empathy and concern for the needy.

This is not done through mere handouts.

Too often I think Christians think this is merely a financial.

Issue.

That we think we can throw money towards causes.

But often this is more about us.

That is often more about us wanting to feel good about ourselves than rather truly helping people.

Because what we need to recognize, what we need to see, is that for anyone, their biggest issue, their biggest problem is relational, as my daughter agrees.

It is relationship with their God, it is relationship with others, it is relationship with themselves, it is relationship with creation.

What James states here is a moving toward religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.

We do not get the full details of what visit fully means.

But what is clear is the intention is drawing near to people, to be those who are deemed, to see those who are deemed to be on the edge of society and culture, to be with those among whom we are not alike, to be with those who are facing affliction.

It is a relational issue, and we need to see and understand that.

It is to be Jesus' hands and feet to people who are in desperate need of a savior.

It is to treat people, especially those people around us, who have been treated as subhuman, as fellow image bearers, as those who have intrinsic value and worth.

This has always been evident amongst God's people.

William Wilbur Force, working for over 18 years for the abolition of the slave trade, George Muller, who cared for over 10,000 orphans in his lifetime.

Amy Carmichael, who went to India as a missionary and would spend her life caring, protecting, and proclaiming the gospel to the most vulnerable.

William Booth, who lived his life helping and preaching the gospel to the poor in England.

Cori Tempoom and her family would help rescue around 800 Jews from the hands of the Nazis.

The list goes on.

Those we know and those we have no clue about.

Men and women who did not see faith separate from their purpose, but rather their faith shaped their purpose.

That all they did was from their understanding of the gospel, it was from their love of Jesus.

Because this is ultimately what genuine faith produces.

Lives that are eager to display and proclaim Christ, lives that are eager to live in light of his word, lives that do not take lightly what he has done for us or what he asks of us.

The question for us is: are we eager?

Are we willing, are you willing not to just speak and say we have faith, but allow our words and our actions to display the faith we have?

A faith that is living and active in everyday moments of our lives, a faith that is clearly evident to those around us, a faith that shows there is nothing more precious to you than Christ Himself.

When you think about those in your life, what would they say you hold most dear?

What would they say is your greatest treasure?

What is of most worth to you?

Is Christ seen by them in your words and actions?

It can be easy for us to read a passage of this and just think, oh wow, that's so challenging.

And it is.

But we do miss out when we do see that it is not just about being challenging.

This is about inviting you and I to embrace life.

That's what this is.

Inviting you and I to live in line with the gospel.

The more we experience this, the more we live in line with the gospel, life itself is ours.

The more you seek by God's grace to embrace his word, to hunger and seek after him, to regularly long and taste and see the sweetness of the gospel again, the more you will know his satisfying quench.

The more your life will be lived in accordance to his word, delighting in him.

This is the life we have been made for.

Grab hold of it.

Don't neglect your responsibility, don't take lightly your own faith.

Step in and live.

That is what this is about.

My prayer for us all, for myself, for you is that we would be expecting together, almost giddy with excitement.

What might God do?

What would God do among each of us if we really stepped into this in this coming year?

Because I think it would be wonderful, marvelous that he would continue to do a work among us, to bring more faces here, to see others reached and encouraged and cared for through us.

Let us see what he would have.

Let us be men and women willing, eager to step in in faith to see what he would have for each of us.