12 Evidences of Faith (Part 3)

Nine. As Dr. Michael December appears to bring you another message in his series. The 12 visit feet into daily experience how obedience plays into deepening your faith now is Dr. you set your questions to consider before he begins today's message getting clans word how can the seed of the word of God be deeply blended into our lives. How can that happen. How can we keep these weeds from coming back home. I can tell you it certainly is not within minutes of reading the Scripture. It's by spending time taking time reflecting deeply on the word of God.

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Listen with me now is Dr. Michael you set against today's teaching time. It was a number of years ago, but I read the story, but really caught my attention and I've never forgotten and it's about a man who was 63-year-old in New York City. He had never had a job, not even once, in all his 63 years he spent all of his Outlook life as a professional student. He earned 1° after another public or more degrees on the alphabet wanted to spend the whole these years on college campus yes it is very simple. When he was young is very wealthy uncle made him the beneficiary of his estate and the stipulation in the will went something like this that he is to receive this very generous monthly stipend as long as he stays in school. The money will be discontinued when he finishes his education so to meet the conditions of his uncles estate will spend all his life in college.

I mean, he spent thousands and thousands of hours listening to professors reading books but never work today in all his life, his education benefited no one. It works the same way in the Christian life also somewhat.

There are so many people who are professional listeners to sermons. So many people who are professional readers of Christian books that watch Christian television programming and I'm not against, but they live all of the life literally in disobedience to the word of God. And James is so adamant about those who have faith or claim to have faith is to prove it.

He is adamant that the person who claims to have faith must show evidence of bad faith, we have begun a series from the book of James on the 12 evidence of faith.

We saw the very first evidence of faith counted all letters showing joy in the midst of the trials of life. Secondly, we saw that those who are with genuine faith must have the power of the Holy Spirit working in them to be able to fight temptation not given to it all the time and family here today the federal approval or evidence is obedience to the word of God, but before James could talk about obedience. He points his finger on some of the things that could be hindrances to obedience to try to imagine your mind as a field and the field is left to its own devices.

Never been touched. What's going to happen is going to be filled with readings, officials right as I say, before you start planting the seeds of the word of God inside of you, so that might grow and produce good crops. You have to dig up the weeds.

You have to plow that field. You have to cultivate the soil, then you be sure that the seed of the word of God is going to get deep into your heart to get deep into your mind going to get deep into your will and then transform your life now.

I want to think with me think of the Bible studies all the groups outside groups all the circle fellowships and even some churches that you my printer that never talk about confession effect. The word confession is almost an anathema in some evangelical churches and yet that is the very thing that you must begin with the cleanse and prepare the soil of your heart for the planting of the word of God.

Begin with confession.

Why is that so important. Listen carefully.

Please because when you confess God already knows and so when you confess you are agreeing with God, but he was at my parents made me do it. My wife made me do it. My husband met me doing something somebody else will never go to stage one. How can you plant the seed to take hold into the soul of your life confession. It's a cleansing operation and that is why before James talks about obedience to the word of God versus 19 to 21 he says no that's my brothers know what know what know that there is something we send for souls that of filling your heart and your mind that needs to be dug up. You need to deal with it. What are some of these weeds. He goes on to tell you you don't listen very well. You fly off the handle, then find out what the facts are when you are easily and constantly fussing and fuming and complaining about everything when you're full of your own importance and importance of your ideas and your views it in your opinion when you get easily angered when things don't go your way, you get frustrated when all of that happen and when you do that you can read the Bible all day long. You can hear this sermons all day long. You can watch Christian television all day long and it does not affect you.

The seed is basically falling on solid ground. It is not going anywhere, but you have to plow the soil. First you have to dig up the weeds. First, you have to prepare the soil first. Remember, all of James or James is saying in this third evidence of faith has to do with the first one.

All of them actually go back to the first one counted all what having joy in the midst of trials. Why, because when things get tough to get tough. All of us when we go through testing times the natural reaction is to say things that you wish you didn't say I can first year there are things that I've said I would give anything to get them back back and get them back when we complain about God when we accuse God of unfairness when we accuse God abandoning us and not loving us and why is not doing this and why is not doing the other thing the seed is not going away. As a matter fact this is the very sin of the first generation of God's people when they come out of Egypt. They saw with their eyes the amazing things of God, did all the plagues that came on the Egyptians, but that was fair parting of the Red Sea getting in the wilderness and there they found the man I'm in God just kept providing but the moment they first one, Charlie's words did you bring us here to die, but haven't started murmuring and complaining and whingeing. So God basically had enough pennies and gave them 14 years to keep walking around and walking around walking around the wilderness until everyone of that generation was buried in the wilderness and then the new generation was able to get into the promised land question why do quick temperance, thoughtless speech, and anger prevent the seed of the word of God from going and taking hold.

I don't have the answer. The Bible does verse 20 man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires underlined. You cannot become what God wants you to be when you're constantly falling on the mouse spinning and sputtering throughout the Scripture, we see how anger calls people to lose the blessing we see example after example in the Scripture got mad at God for not accepting his offering, the way you wanted to offer not the way God thought his parents and he got mad at God, and he took it out of his region brother able Moses man of God when he lost his temper and would not do what God said and to speak to the rock. But he walked it with his stick. Instead, God said okay Moses you will see the promised land. But you're not going to go into it. Jonah was mad at God for his own success and for God's think about this and he spent the rest of his life sitting under a tree counting topic. Be careful with you. Spent the rest of your Christian life. Sitting under a tree counting and lose the blessing and that is the result of injury to our pride is gonna blind us to the will of God in our life is gonna blind us to the grace of God is gonna blind us to the plan that God has for us in our life. Verse 21 you have to pull out these weeds of anger so that the word of God can be implanted in your heart how do you do that first by confession confession is a beautiful word because through it. The Holy Spirit comes in and begins to do his cleansing of our hearts.

The next important question is this how can the seed of the word of God be deeply planted into our lives.

How can that happen. How can we keep these weeds from coming back all the time. I can tell you that it certainly is not by quick 10 minutes on reading the Scripture.

It's by spending time taking time reflecting deeply on the word of God limit share with you the little bit that I am learning and believe.

Now I'm learning classical of the Scripture first thing in the morning I asked myself the following questions. Is that an example for me to emulate. Is there a command for me that I need to obey is there an error in my life.

I need to avoid is it a sin that I need to renounce is that a promise that I need to claim new thought about God that I have not learned before you thought about the Lord Jesus Christ that I have not learned before. Is that a new thought about the holders than his ministry in my life that I need to understand that's how the seed gets in and implanted deeply in our lives but is something else that I don't want you to miss. It is so small in that verse 21 for keyword humbly sometimes licenses meekly we receive that word humbly or meekly.

Why is that such a big deal.

It's a huge deal. Listen to me very carefully because what that means is that don't argue with the word of God, twist the word of God to make it conform to what you wanted to mean, but rather honorary All-American's absolute truth of God accepted and or braided sailing. Why verse 22 to 25 tells us why because it will help transform your life. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.

Do what it says. Remember this back in the first century as the apostle James writing all the New Testament writers. Most people were illiterate they could not read. The only learn the gospel by hearing, and that's why Paul says comes by hearing, because very few of them really could read but it doesn't matter really hearing or reading. It makes no difference. They can hear all the sermons in the world you can hear all the preaching and the teaching in the work until and unless you want to obey and willing to obey, allow the seed to go deep so to transform your life change your life become more like Christ. Every day it's like the guy who spent all his life in college help anybody. Why James said these professional hearers or readers alike.

Someone who gets up first thing in the morning and looks at American, but he never does anything about it. So James is saying the truth is when the word of God confronts us with our sin in our shortcomings and all my goodness that happens every morning for me.

It is not just to make us feel temporary bad and a lot of people do they feel temporary bedroom to hear conflicting messages order here bring something in order. Got it. Just a brief open God does not want you to feel bad tempered, or otherwise, did you get that God wants you to come to him for cleansing for empowering full strength for forgiveness. Seven issue that I need to repent simulation that I need forgiveness seven issue that I need strength to overcome this information that I need cleansing and removal for my life that's what the matter, because you and cause me to do. Here is a warning, the person who hears or reads the word of God and does not obey it to live a frustrated life. Maybe even not there say a depressed life like someone said impression without expression leads to depression. Some preferred evidence of real faith manifests itself how by weeding out the things that don't belong cleansing the word of God deeply into the hearts in the soil of our hearts so that obedience to that word does it's transforming work. It does, it's transforming work takes away the frustrations takes away that anger is a joy in the midst of trial question what does the fruit of obedience look like again.

James tells us.

Verse 26 and 27 he said. First he said will give you the ability to control your tongue touches on it. The importance of the speech. Why all words are important. Jesus answer that question God's and Matthew 1234. He said from the bones of the heart the mouth speaks of the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart wants nowhere comes up in the bucket was on Missouri United's block is really worse than his bite of his bark is the bite so the mouth speaks what's in the heart that's what's important for the question is do you praise God all the time to bless God or do you complain all the time thinking of something that's just not going right and complain about it. The last of the occurrence do you criticize or do you encourage people to do list about the second fruit of that obedience to the word of God is showing kindness why why is that important because showing kindness is love in action is not saying I love somebody and I see them in distress and I do nothing about it. Showing kindness is love in action showing genuine compassion is an indication of a heart that is experienced the power of the word of God of transformation expression of authentic caring to those who most desperately need is evidence of faith.

Remember back then. The reason he mentioned specifically the windows and the orphans back then there were the most desperate people in society have no Social Security and other government programs and no childcare. It doesn't matter doesn't matter. The issue is the same. The point is the same. If you show kindness to the desperately needy gives evidence of the fruit of obedience to the word of God said thing he says is a proof of obedience to the word of God. What is separation from the world. Okay Michael well going to go up to the mountains live in bubbles over going to go to the nunnery is in the modest reason none that's not what he struck the Bible text clearly about living in the world but not all of it.

So what is it mean simply this, don't read that junk that nonbelievers read the lots around your stuff that nonbelievers watch. Don't use filthy language that they use. Don't contaminate your mind with FL's and I was thinking about this and I thought about the example the Bible gives us lot lot was Abraham's nephew got into altercation over greed. His shepherds, Abraham shepherds Abramson take what you want when I'm not in a fight God blessed Abraham even more.

The Bible said that lot pitched his tent toward Sodom. Oh no, not a man like me is not going to go over there. I'm just going to be near enough so I can just take a look at how it admire it from a distance along wonder these people having a party every night. I wonder what's like to be the day off today pitched his tent toward Sodom. Be very careful, very careful with your tent distorts of this world and the next day. The Bible said he was in Sodom will probably thought himself an ongoing witness. I'm just going to be a good light to these people. I'm gonna get the first stage in the Bible. He is part and parcel of that miserable coach was sitting at the gate which means that he became part of it. As a result, he lost his testimony, he lost his family who lost everything and just have to drag them out because of the intercession of uncle Ebrahim. Contrast that with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible say this, for whom and through whom all things were created, was in the spring and the glory of heaven, but out of obedience and the father figure. The poorest of the poor.

Everything in his life in obedience to the father. The Bible says that's why today he sits on the rim of the universe. He is in control. He owns everything, not just the earth but also all the galaxies because of his obedience to the fall. The question I wanted to think about my like cloth from our Lord Jesus, not clutter my lectures getting cleansed by the word.

That's the title of today's message from leading the way with Dr. Michael you sent. Not sure about your spiritual journey.

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