What We Glory In | Sermon 02/20/2022

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Turn with me in your Bibles to James chapter 1. James chapter 1.

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Some of you might be thinking, boy, we've only covered a couple verses and a couple verses, and that's not how it's going to be the whole time.

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We're going with what's called the natural blocks of Scripture, which are called pericopes. Pericopes.

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For instance, chapter 2 is going to have some huge blocks of verses in Scripture there.

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But for now, we're going to be in verses 9 through 12. The title of this sermon is called,

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What We Glorion. What We Glorion. So, my friends, hear now the words of the living and true

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God. But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position, and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation.

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Because like flowering grass, he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed.

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So too, the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the

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Lord has promised to those who love him. Thus ending the reading of God's Holy Word, let's pray quickly,

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Church. Father, we thank you again for this service. Lord, please speak through me this afternoon.

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Teach your people, Lord, what they need to know regarding your word. Illuminate the Scriptures today,

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Father. And Lord, I pray that you would help us to understand more what it means,

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Lord, to be faithful, to boast our glory in our situations, knowing our exaltation in Christ, that he afforded us.

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So Lord, help me to speak in a way that is clear. Let it be helpful, and let it always be true, in Christ's name.

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Amen. So, God's sovereignty extends to every part of creation.

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The Lord states in Psalm 50, Here, O my people, and I will speak.

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Every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. God says,

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I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is mine.

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If I were hungry, I would not even tell you, for the world is mine, and all it contains, says the

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Lord. Every single thing in this world belongs to God.

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Every rock, every animal, every resource, every drop of water, and that includes, my friends, everything that we own is

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God's. All of it belongs to him. All that we have has been given to us by God, and that's true for the wicked, the righteous, the rich, the poor, the first world nation, or the third world nation.

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We are merely stewards. We are stewards. Stewards care for and supervise something that they don't ultimately own.

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You all are stewards. God has given you things, and wealth, and children, and wife, and husband, and you are to steward all that God has given you well.

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Because it all belongs to him. All of us came into this world with nothing, and not one thing we have accumulated will come with us into eternity.

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God is the true owner and creator. Nevertheless, in our stewardship, he grants us sovereignly resources, commodities, land, and the ability to grow wealth, all in the pursuit of honoring his commission to take dominion upon the earth, to be fruitful, and multiply, and to subdue all the earth to his glory.

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And that is a high priority to God, my friends. He has made laws to reflect that.

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The acquisition of property by theft is prohibited in Exodus 20. Confiscation of property by governmental decree is prohibited in first Kings 21.

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The government can't take your property. And the Jubilee laws in Leviticus 25 demonstrate how

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God desires for dominion to continue to be carried out in the midst of a fallen world with debt, poverty, and taxation.

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God's goal with Jubilee was that you would continue to own land. The Israelites would continue to have land.

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And of course, Christ is the Lord of the Jubilee. With him all debts are forgiven.

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Amen? Amen. Then we come into contact with God in the flesh.

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Jesus Christ arrived on the scene in the time of a Roman occupation of Judea.

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Jews were not typically well -off financially during this era in Israel's history.

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And the ones that were wealthy were typically so by way of religious or state treason.

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They betrayed their fellow kinmen. We see the rich young ruler.

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The rich young ruler and that in him, in that story, the idolatry of money is a real threat to entering the kingdom of God.

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Ananias and Sapphira held back part of their land proceeds when dispossessed Jewish Christians needed financial aid from their fellow brothers and sisters.

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It's a temptation even for believers. Wealth is a temptation even for us, we see.

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Is the new commission to bring the gospel to the world at odds with the first commission to make dominion?

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What are the different temptations for poor and rich brothers and sisters in Christ? I think what we will see is that no matter the individual,

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God is the one, of course, who must act on our behalf salvificly. Like our

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Savior said, as man on our own, it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of God.

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Remember the Apostles asked him, how is it possible for anyone to enter the kingdom of heaven?

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And he says, with man this is impossible, but with God this is possible.

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It is possible for you to be saved because it starts with God. God can save sinners.

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With that said, let's consider what God's Word is telling us here today. Starting in verse 9.

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But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position.

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The ESV puts it this way. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation.

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I like that. I like that. That's a good version. The Adelphos, the fellow churchmen, that is to say the brother, that's what

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Adelphos is. You know, Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. Adelphos, Phileo is love.

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So you have Adelphos's brother, fellow churchmen. This one is in humble circumstances.

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Although Tepinos can mean to be humble or lowly in attitude, based off of the context we see here, this is a brother of poor economic status.

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That's what humble circumstances mean. This is a brother of poor economic status. Maybe even low social status.

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A poor person. This is a poor person. Remember, these scattered

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Jewish Christians had lost their home and their possessions in following Christ. Christians often had the lowest paying jobs in society at that time in the first couple centuries.

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Why? Because the pagans despised Christianity. They hated that they said that there was a king.

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Because they would say that Caesar is king and Christians would come and say no, Christ is king. He's the only king.

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So pagans despised them. Their Jewish kin, remember they left in a way, well,

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Christianity is a fulfillment, the true fulfillment of Judaism, but to their Jewish kin it looks like they left them.

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So their Jewish brothers and sisters would not help them financially. To turn to Christ meant to lose almost everything.

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I mean, in many ways it was, many times it was to lose your own life. You would lose everything, but you would gain obviously so much more.

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Wherever they went, they were hated. They had to stick together to survive.

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They did. Despite often not having enough for themselves, Christians in the early church were saving babies from trash heaps before wild dogs would tear babies apart.

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Christians would go to the trash piles and take the children in on their own. They would take in orphans of any age, even though they had many mouths to feed themselves, they would care for the sick, they would pay for the burial costs of other people, and they would make communal purses of money for whoever was in need at the moment.

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This is what Christians would do. But Paul says of these early Christians, not many are mighty, not many are noble.

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They've been persecuted, victims of bigotry, victims of racism as Jews, and deprived in many ways.

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Later, James openly rebukes the rich who have treated the

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Christians wickedly, withholding pay to laborers who mowed their fields. Mistreatment was something that Christians were used to, my friends.

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We see James making an imperative here though, an imperative. Remember, an imperative is a command.

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The poor brother is to glory in his high position.

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This means glory in is to boast in, to take pride in, to boast in something.

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The low brother is to boast in his exaltation. It's a bit of application for even our other sermon for counting various trials all joy.

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Am I right? In Jesus's teachings, James would have heard that there is often a reversal of status for those who follow

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Christ. You hear in Matthew 23 12, whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

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There is a reversal going on there. Hupsos doesn't just relate to high, it can mean from on high.

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From on high, that would mean heavenly. Heavenly, that's what's going on here. To glory in the high position is to glory in something that is heavenly, boast in something that is heavenly.

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You may have nothing in this world, nothing to call your own, but that's okay. Rejoice in your high position with God.

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If you don't have an inheritance with your earthly parents, that is all right. Christ has purchased for you with his blood a heavenly inheritance with the

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Father. Boast in that truth. This allows us to say,

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I may not have much, but God does care for my needs. And most of all, I glory in the future heavenly dwelling that I will possess with my

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Savior. It allows us to say that. This tells us no matter how lowly we get on this planet, the believer has something infinitely greater to hope for.

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The believer has something infinitely greater to hope for than anyone else. Even if you're like Lazarus in the parable in Luke 16, where it says that he was laid at the gate every day.

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Lazarus, he was laid at the gate every day, and he was crippled, and he was covered in sores, and he was starving, right?

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And it said that he wished he could even just get crumbs from people nearby, and he couldn't even have enough strength to shake dogs off of his body.

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It said dogs would lick his sores. He's just laying there every day at that gate. Even if we're like that in this life, that destitute

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Christ shows us after this life, Lazarus was comforted in Abraham's bosom.

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Read that, Luke 16, tonight, Luke 16. Abraham's bosom, and of course,

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Hades is shown, the rich man and Lazarus, an amazing parable. Your physical status may be lacking, but your spiritual status is one of exaltation.

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Believers may be hungry, but they have the bread of life. They may be thirsty, but they are granted access to drink of living waters.

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They may be poor, but they have the only true riches of any value.

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Believers may be cast aside by all types of men on earth, but they are the people of God.

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You, my friends, if you have believed on Christ, you are the people of God. You were once not a people, but now you are the people of God.

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Nothing more is needed. Our position before God is enough. His grace is sufficient, it says.

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We are of the highest status a man or woman could ever possess. You hear that?

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You are of the highest status a man or woman could ever possess being found in Christ.

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All because of our Lord. The Lord calls us to have this attitude as well, that He delivered in Jeremiah 9, 23 through 24.

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He says, Thus saith the Lord, Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom.

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Let not the mighty man boast in his might. Let not a rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the

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Lord who exercises grace and mercy, justice and righteousness on earth. For I delight in these things, declares the

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Lord. Amen. Yes, we boast in Him. We boast in the

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God who justifies the ungodly. James is saying, if you're poor, if you're socially or economically humiliated, accept and receive that humiliation.

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It is a brief trial. It is a brief trial. It is a trial just of this life.

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But our hope in the eternal riches to come should allow us to be joyful in the midst of such suffering.

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Don't think more money will be your solution to joy. More money will not be a solution to more joy in your life.

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That's not always the case. Christ already died for you. Accept the humiliation.

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It is much like the various trials, of course, that we encountered in verses 2 through 4, that will produce endurance in us, leading to perfection and completion in Christ.

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Now on to verse 10. And the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass, he will pass away.

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Now, if you were here last week, or listened to the sermon online, you will likely remember

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I made the case for the double -minded man as an unbeliever.

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Do you remember that? The double -minded man, I argued, was an unbeliever. And for most technical commentators and theologians,

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I saw that they too hold to that assessment. He wasn't expected to receive anything from God.

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Too sold, two -faced, he cannot determine what master to serve. That's what we learned last week, right?

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Now, I didn't think the book of James would honestly have so many challenges with exegesis and interpretation.

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But this section of Scripture that we're in right now has even stumped me when

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I started this week. And it's stumped many theologians and many sound commentators.

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It's actually split right down the middle. Okay? Half of theologians believe that the rich man is a brother in Christ.

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And half of the theologians believe he is not, that the rich man is an unbeliever. I will just briefly present to you the arguments for both and tell you what the text shows the most according to proper hermeneutics.

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The one that I've determined that the Scriptures have revealed actually, is the one that has given me the most peace.

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I'll say that. So here are several arguments as for why the rich man is an unbeliever.

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See that? And the rich man is to glory in his humiliation because like flowering grass, he will pass away. Keep that in mind.

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This is what people say as to why the rich man is an unbeliever. Those who say he isn't a believer says the word

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Adelphos, like I told you, brother is omitted from verse 10. There is no brother mentioned here.

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Okay? James also demonstrates the rich man is brought low, but it never says exactly that he's exalted like the lowly man was.

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In James chapter 5, James heaps scorn on the rich who have sinned against Christians.

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I already mentioned that when they mowed their fields and they didn't pay them. Also, we know James is addressing scattered

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Jewish Christians who have lost much of their possessions and homes to follow Christ. He's been writing to poor people, we believe.

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Then the rich man is compared to flowering grass that sprouts up with beauty and then withers away.

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He is no more and no mention of eternal life is made explicitly.

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That's what people say. That's why they think he's an unbeliever possibly. But here's the thing. Real quick, sidestep.

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Even if James mentions a type of rich man who could be an unbeliever, I want you to see that he never rejects riches themselves.

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Themself as evil. Riches are not rejected as evil here. Okay? But now the argument for the rich man being a believer, let me tell you.

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There is something different about the Greek syntax here than the previous verses, okay?

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Syntax is the sentence or word structure in a sentence or paragraph syntax.

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It's the way words are organized. There's something different here, and this also doesn't really have that proverb -type format of opposites.

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I'll get to why. But Longman and Garland state grammatically both the subject and verb must be applied to the main clause at the beginning of verse 10.

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And these flow naturally from the previous verse. The verb in verse 9, translated to to Boston, to Glorian, carries over to this clause, and so should the subject brother because of that structure.

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So the correct way to read these two verses would then be let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position, and the rich brother is to glory in his humiliation.

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That's what the proper syntax would be here, the proper understanding.

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Okay, I want to say a lot of translators will only bring that verb over.

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They'll bring, check your check different translations. They'll bring to Glorian or to Boston, they'll bring it down to verse 10, but that's not actually there.

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But they will bring it down, but they won't bring down brother. Okay, and that is grammatically incorrect.

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Both need to bring, be brought down in this sentence structure. This is a parallel happening here.

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This is a parallel. There are many more reasons that make the argument strong for the rich believer. First we see in James chapter 2 verse 1 through 4.

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This is just one chapter over. James chapter 2, this is what he says, My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.

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And it's right here. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man with dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who's wearing the fine clothes and say, you sit here in a good place, and you say to the poor man, you stand over there or sit down at my footstool.

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Have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?

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So what we see right there is that it was it was normative to have rich and poor in the assembly, rich and poor in the congregation.

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He assumes it. He has jewelry. People with jewelry, people with fine clothes would come into their assembly, and he had to warn them not to treat them with personal favoritism.

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This is something that obviously has been happening in God's church in the first century. And it's not like today when we live in an age of church hopping and, you know, any stranger could could walk in and visit our church, which is not bad.

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I'm not saying that's bad, but to join in with believers in the first century was potentially a death sentence.

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So what I'm trying to say is there's not going to be just some guy with jewelry and fine clothes wandering into like an assembly of Christians in the first century.

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He wouldn't just find them. Christian assemblies, Christian meetings, worship services were often secret.

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They were invite only, lest they be found out by the the authorities. So there is no situation where a rich man with jewelry and fine clothes would just wander in.

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That may happen here, but it didn't happen then. Okay. Richer brethren join them to worship

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God. Another thing is if James was saying the rich man was not a brother, his statement about the rich man glorying in his humiliation would have to be highly ironic.

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It would almost have to be cruelly ironic. Go ahead, glory in your humiliation rich people, and it's like it's possible

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Paul has had language like that, but the thing is if we look through the themes of James, does he speak like that?

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Would he say something with such literary irony? Okay, I don't see that.

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The rich are rarely used as a synonym for the wicked in the Old Testament and other parts of the new.

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Just because you're rich didn't mean you were wicked. That is not a synonym in the

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Bible. Also, James alludes to Isaiah 40 where God says, all flesh is like grass that comes up and withers.

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Right here, it's just looking like it's for only the rich man, but in Isaiah 40 and other parts of scripture when it talks about grass that comes up and flowering grass that comes and withers away,

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God says himself, all flesh, all of us are like grass. We will all wither and die one day, okay?

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All flesh, not just rich oppressors. So with that said, dealing with the oppressive rich, but also wealthy

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Christians making sure not to be like the rich culture would be crucial in the early church.

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It would warrant these kind of admonishments and these kind of exhortations. Paul did it often as well.

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We'll touch on that later. So my understanding, church, is that the rich man is a brother.

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The rich man is a brother. And that will help us in our understanding of the rest of the verses in our study today.

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This section of scripture shows how within any one congregation of believers, there may be those who are more lowly in possessions and wealth while there may be some with greater possessions and wealth.

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There isn't a church for the poor and there isn't a church for the rich. That would be wicked and wrong.

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There is one body. Christ crushes all earthly barriers and unites us together as one.

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Nevertheless, we must consider the warning that is implied here. Most rich people are concerned.

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This is true. A lot of rich people are concerned that they may lose their riches one day. That is a real issue.

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But the rich brother boasts when he is made low. When he is made low. When he gives much away for the sake of the church and fellow saints in need, he boasts at the lower number in the bank account.

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Praise God. Look at that lower number. Praise God. He boasts in it. He doesn't boast to other people.

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He boasts, you know, obviously by himself with the Lord. Thank you, God. Let me give, right?

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Don't get the wrong reason here. The wrong example here. When the stock market crashes, the believer boasts knowing what awaits him one day.

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It's possible the way James wrote this was to say, let the rich brother boast in his reversal of his fortunes.

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In his loss of much wealth and possessions. That's his humiliation often.

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Rejoice, wealthy brothers and sisters, when you lose everything. Because no pride, no boasting should be in your material possessions or money anyways.

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We should place not one degree of hope on what we steward, what we own.

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And that goes for poor and rich Christians. It's an admonishment to the poor brother to never think that riches will change his eternal state.

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Or change his position in Christ now. Riches won't do that for the poor brother.

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This should be a comfort. Because to have riches, honestly, is to possibly be more easily tempted to have faith in those riches.

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That's a real reality for believers. The Bible demonstrates that. There's a temptation to have faith in our riches.

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Like I said, many of these believers were poor, destitutes of low reputation in their communities.

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Not many noble, not many mighty, just plain folk. So the prestige in following Christ is not in this life.

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The prestige of following Christ is not in this life, but in the life to come. Of course, there's many benefits now.

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But no one's going to pull out the red carpet for you because you follow Christ here. In fact, you'll be rejected for following Christ by the people of this world.

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The rich brothers and sisters would then be blended with these poor people. Their family and friends of the high life would be aghast.

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Can you imagine that in the first century? A rich family being blended in with poor brothers and sisters in Christ?

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They would be shocked. They would say, how could you associate with these people?

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We're your family. That's what their family would say. And this wealthy brother or sister would have to say in their humiliation,

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These are our people. This is our new family. And there they would be humbled in following Christ.

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They are called to rejoice and boast in that. Maybe some of you have experienced that already with family.

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Or on the other end, maybe you have been embarrassed of your church family. Maybe you don't want people to know you go to church.

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Maybe you don't want people to know you go to Apologia. For whatever reason. You don't want your family to know that you're a

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Christian. Either way, humble yourselves. Take heart. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

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For theirs is the kingdom of heaven, Jesus says. John MacArthur says regarding this passage of scripture,

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I thought this was a great quote. He says, and faith does an equally blessed thing for the rich brother.

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It fills him with the spirit of Christ. It pushes him together with the lowly and the humble.

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And gives to him a spirit of lowliness and humility himself. So as the poor brother forgets all his earthly poverty.

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So the rich brother forgets all his earthly riches. And the two realize they're equal in Christ.

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True humility accepts the poor and the rich. Why does the rich brother boast?

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Because just like the flowering grass, he too will fade away. He will pass away, it says.

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James is exhorting him to remember that this life is temporal. And therefore his riches are as well.

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Those riches are temporal. This is a call not to place faith in fading wealth.

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Fading away. If you are wealthy, boast in the fact that all of it will fade away.

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You should really boast in that. One day God, all my money and all my possessions will be gone.

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And they will not be mine. And I boast in that. Why would you boast in that? Why should we want it to fade away?

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Because one day will come. When you and I are raised in a glorified body. And the perfect has arrived.

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And as I am certain in the new creation. There will be gems and gold and silver.

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And types of rare things we consider precious and valuable here. I bet you they will not have a single allure to you in the new creation.

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I bet one sparkle will not change your mind. Christ will be your treasure in the new creation.

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Christ will be your treasure in heaven. Christ is the one shining and far above all value of any gem or money.

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He is of eternal value to us. He will be the object of our adoration. And Christ will never wither.

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Christ will never fade away. The gems and the riches fade away. Coins tarnish.

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But Christ stands shining as the light of the world my friends. That's our

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Christ. That's our Messiah. He is the flower in the field that never dies.

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That's our Christ. We need to remember the temporal nature of this life.

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So we don't store up treasure in it. But he says store up your treasure in heaven.

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Verse 11. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass.

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And its flower falls off. And the beauty of its appearance is destroyed. So too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

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There is something called Sorocco. That affects the Mediterranean and parts of Africa and the

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Middle East. Sorocco. I hope I'm saying it right. It is essentially a seasonal burning or hot, hot wind.

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That blows in the fall and spring for about three to four days. It originates in the

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Saharan desert. And literally moves hundreds and hundreds of miles to the

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Middle East. And Sorocco hits Israel. Twice a year. It reminds me of growing up in California.

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Some of my fellow Californians would understand that. Every year we have the Santa Ana winds.

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You might have heard of them. They also can be very hot. Especially depending on where you live in Southern California.

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And they would help ignite and kindle wildfires. The Santa Ana winds when they pick up and a wildfire starts.

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That wind is blowing that wildfire and making it grow exponentially. The Santa Ana winds.

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I'd remember they'd come. We'd be on the playground. And we didn't even have to push ourselves on the swings.

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We'd just go. But let me make a correction. I'm more of an Arizonan than a

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Californian. My apologies to Californians. I was born there but I love

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Arizona. And now Utah is my home forever. Every year you can expect those things.

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But again, even speaking of Arizona. I don't think it's anything quite like Arizona summers.

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When it's 115, 118 degree weather. And now we have monsoon season

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July and August. Which is nice to get some dirty rain. It kind of cools things off.

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But before that rain hits. We get a hot, hot sand dust storm.

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And the wind is blowing so hard. It's like taking a blow dryer and putting it in your face. And I imagine that's a lot what

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Sorocco is like. Everything, when those storms roll around.

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The flowers, plants. When those would come. The edges of everything would be like really brown and burnt.

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And stuff like that. You'd have to water in the morning and the evening. Just for anything to have a chance to survive.

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During that time. So riches will rise up as something beautiful.

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But as soon as death comes. As soon as the winds come. The scorching heat come.

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Riches are of no value to us. The wealthiest man in the world.

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Cannot stand before God on the day of judgment. And offer his highest bribe that he can muster.

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He can give none of his wealth to the living God. For it is God's. And he will not receive that.

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Not only can he not bring any of his wealth with him. But God isn't like man. He cannot be persuaded or bought with something that is already his.

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Something he can create ex nihilo out of nothing. He could do that right now if he wanted to.

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You heard that first verse from Psalm 50. Right? He says. What do I need you for?

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I created everything. Everything's mine. He doesn't need us. He'll take no bribe from man.

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Only the blood of the lamb can satisfy divine justice. The riches will be burned up in the scorching wind and fire.

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I think there is a principle here that we can even apply to other aspects of our lives. We ought not to place stock in anything that withers away.

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That includes even our bodies. Our bodies are slowly withering away. Little by little.

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In the beginning. We had ancestors who according to the Bible lived 900 plus years.

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900 plus years. But the effects of the fall continue to take a toll on creation and on us all.

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Things are not as they should be. Some of us have been born with ailments.

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Some of us here have chronic diseases. And as we get older our muscles lose mass.

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Our bones lose density. Our hair thins and greys. My head is a very testimony to the fall my friends.

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Things are not as they should be here today. Yeah. Scorching wind came right over it.

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So. Yeah. You know. I wish I could sick some she bears on the fall or something like Elisha.

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You know when they call them Baldi. Go up Baldi, go up. All of a sudden those she bears come out and maul those young ones.

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Interesting verse, interesting verse. These changes and degradation can be hard on us.

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They can. Especially women, especially our wives. And this is not to say we don't combat the effects of the fall with right diet, exercise.

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Tending to our medical needs and more. That's something I'm working on. That's as I said good stewardship of this temple that belongs to God.

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This belongs to God. Your body belongs to God. We are to steward all things well.

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All things well. But once again the exhortation is not to put your faith in your body, your appearance, your health.

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All those will wither as well. Along with the riches. It says the flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed.

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But rejoice in the degradation. Rejoice in the decay. One has come to reverse all of that my friends.

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And he has accomplished it in total victory. Total victory. Although death was never meant to be good.

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Do you know that it's good for you to wither and die one day? You're saying what are you talking about Pastor Wade? It is good for you to wither and die one day.

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You know why? Jesus says in John chapter 12 verse 24 through 25. Truly truly

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I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains alone.

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But if it dies it bears much fruit. So he who loves his life loses it.

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And he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. Brothers and sisters you are a flower.

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You are a stalk of wheat. And you must die so that your seed falls into the earth.

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One day you will die and your seed will fall into the earth. So that later it can be raised to new life and life eternal.

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That is a good thing. And after you die the next time you step foot on this earth you will be in a glorified body.

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And you will bear much fruit as Jesus said. Paul exhorts us in the same way in 1

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Corinthians 15. Listen to this. But someone will say how are the dead raised?

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How are the dead raised? And what kind of body do they come? Paul says you fool that which you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

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And that which you sow you do not sow the body which is to be. But a bare grain perhaps of wheat or something else.

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But God gives it a body just as he wishes. And to each of the seeds a body of his own.

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You know what that's saying? You right now you are a stalk of wheat. You are a flower.

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And you look one way as you die. You become this seed. And it is probably not the best looking seed.

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Seeds aren't like very magnificent looking. You are going to go into the earth like a seed. And you are going to be raised to life looking something different.

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You are going to be changed. He says you are sowed into the ground one way.

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And you rise up out of the ground in a new way. In a better way. In a glorified way.

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That's the promise. That's what Jesus Christ promises us in his salvation.

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Because if you are a believer. And you are withering away. Fading away.

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God's word says rejoice. In the day of your death. Because that which you sow.

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Does not come to life again unless it dies. Place no faith in riches nor your body.

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Place your faith in Christ and his promises of the life to come. Don't fear death. My friends don't fear death.

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You will make that passage and it will be like this. And you will be in the presence of the

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Lord. He says absent from the body present with the Lord. You will be with your Lord if you are in Christ.

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And one day we will be changed. Look I don't want you guys to walk away from this sermon.

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And think Pastor Wade is one of those guys. Who wants us to sell all that we have and live in boxes.

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That wouldn't be prudent. You couldn't continue to do what you do. If you sold everything you had and lived in a box.

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You'd then be on our special church benevolence list. That's not what

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I'm saying. We need blessed patriarchs in our world like Abraham. We need men like Jacob.

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We need men like Job. Job had so much. We need men like that.

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Men with possessions and livestock. We need men like Joseph of Arimathea. Who the gospels say was a rich man.

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He purchased a supreme tomb. For a grave site in a garden near Jerusalem.

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Not realizing he bought it for the Savior. A rich man. Bought a beautiful tomb for the

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Savior. We need men like that. We need men like that. It showcased one of the most if not the most.

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Probably the most glorious moments in human history. The defeat of death in the grave.

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And the victory and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. A rich man was used in that moment.

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He provided his tomb. That is again.

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Why I don't believe this is to be interpreted for an unbelieving rich man. Matthew was a tax collector.

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They often made out very well. Now I've heard. Let me just say real quick. I've heard word of faith people or prosperity or TBN people say.

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Man the apostles were so rich. They had they own their own fishing company. It's like no.

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These were poor men. Unlearned poor men. Granted a few of them may have had some money.

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Right. But they say that. Look God wants you to be wealthy. Because look at the apostles.

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They had a fishing company. You know what I mean. That's not what's going on here.

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They were. Tax collectors were often despised as traitors to the

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Jewish brethren. Because. They were collecting. For the Romans. They were collecting taxes for the

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Romans. And they would go to their their kin. And say where's the money pay up. And they despise them for that.

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But they made money. You may remember the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19.

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Who was a chief tax collector. And it says specifically that he was rich. It says he was small in stature.

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And trying to see who Jesus was. He climbed up a sycamore tree to get a better look. And Jesus called out to him.

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And said he would come to stay at his home there. And in the climb up the tree. As well as the climb down.

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Faith had sparked. In Zacchaeus. It says he received

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Jesus rejoicing. Verses 8 through 10. Zacchaeus stopped and said to the

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Lord. Behold Lord. Half of my possessions I will give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything.

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I will give back four times as much. And Jesus said to him. Today's salvation has come to this house.

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Because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save. That which was lost.

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Did you catch that? It says he received Jesus rejoicing.

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He lost half of his riches. And he received Jesus rejoicing.

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And he's willing to pay back four fold. In restitution. And he's rejoicing. He gets it.

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Zacchaeus gets it. He's a rich man who understood it. He boasted in his humiliation.

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Why? Because it's humiliating to make restitution. It's meant to be humiliating to make restitution.

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If you have ever. Maybe you've lied to someone before. And you need to come to them. And tell them you've lied.

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And it's not even just someone in your family. It's like. It's maybe like a brother or sister.

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It's a little humiliating. Hey I just want to let you know. All that I said on Friday. I lied about.

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That is humiliating a bit. And it's meant to be. Restitution is meant to be.

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It is to deter us from future law breaking. That's why the U .S.

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And state prisons need to institute restitution. People who steal from you.

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Need to pay back what they've stolen. There's not a transfer of ownership. If you've stolen.

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You pay it back. And you work hard until you pay it back. And that is a humiliating thing.

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Which is a righteous thing. And should hopefully deter future. Theft.

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If that makes sense. Okay. Little side thing on restitution. He didn't rejoice or boast in his riches.

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But in Christ and his humiliation. That was brought to him that day. 1st

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Timothy 6. Is an abundance of instruction on the rich. And how we understand wealth as Christians. 1st

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Timothy 6. If you want to learn more about. The rich. And how that works with Christians.

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Read that. That is where Paul says. It is not money itself. But the love of money.

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That is the root of all evil. Not money itself. But the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

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Verses 17 -19. Once again show us. That there were within various congregations.

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Mixtures of rich and poor Christians. But listen. Paul exhorts the rich Christians.

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Especially when he says this. Verses 17 -19. Instruct those who are rich.

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In this present world. Not to be conceited. Or to fix their hope. On the uncertainty of riches.

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But on God. Who richly supplies us. With all things to enjoy.

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Instruct rich people. To do good. To be rich in good works. To be generous and ready to share.

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Storing up for themselves. The treasure of a good foundation. For the future. So that they may take hold.

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Of that which is life indeed. So they are to be rich. In good works.

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Be generous. So they can use their riches to do good works.

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I don't see exactly an exhortation. To get rid of all that they have. And live in boxes.

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I hear Paul saying. If you are a wealthy Christian. Be aware of the temptation.

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To put your faith in your wealth. And here's the thing. When you do good works.

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Do it generously. You can use your wealth. As a way to do a good work. A good deed.

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That's an encouraging thing. That is. And I have to say. God has used.

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Some wealthy Christians. In helping to fund. The beginning of this plant.

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There were some men. Who just. And they didn't even want me to know their names. I still don't know many of the people.

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Who gave large sums. They didn't want anyone to know. But they gave.

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And God used that. That's a good thing to understand.

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Doesn't this parallel so well. With our understanding of James 1 .9 -11. Don't boast in the present world.

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Don't be caught. In the midst of the pursuit of wealth. On your last day. Be found in the midst of the pursuit.

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Of good works. If you're a wealthy Christian. On your last day. Be found doing good deeds.

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Don't be found looking for more money. Be rich in good works my friends. Give in abundance.

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Did you know. That the average yearly income worldwide. Is only nine thousand. Seven hundred and thirty three dollars.

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And the crazy thing is. Is that North America. Europe and Australia.

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Greatly skew that number. Our incomes. Make that number higher.

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Than it should be. Nine thousand seven hundred and thirty three. Most people today in this world.

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To this very day. Billions of people right now. Can it survive still on just a couple.

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Dollars a day. We are. We are rich my friends. We are rich.

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You have more than you could ever want or need. I go to my. Pantry and I get to make choices.

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We have so much. Here in this country. You know. There's temptation there.

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The warnings and encouragements are. Are here for us all. I'm wrapping up now.

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And I only say that once. Jeff says that like five times. So you know when

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I say wrapping up. I mean it. Now many consider verse twelve.

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If you want to go to the next one. Thank you. Many consider verse twelve. A standalone text.

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And it may be something that would have been. Worth preaching on its own. I see that. But I think it perfectly.

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Wraps up our text. In fact I think it's. Encountered a joy through various trials.

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Or avoided being the double minded man. And seek God with faith. Or if you are poor in finances or reputation or health.

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Or if you have. Resisted the temptations of your riches. This verse is from you.

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From the very beginning of our series to now. This verse. Is the culmination.

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Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial. For once he has been approved. He will receive the crown of life.

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which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." This is just like a beatitude of Jesus.

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Right? Blessed is the man. Blessed is the man who endures to the end, to those who pass the test, to those who are approved.

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To them will be given a crown of life. Crown of life. Do you see that?

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Man cannot earn the crown of life. Man cannot earn the crown of life. It must be given by God.

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It cannot be earned. It cannot be purchased. It is given by grace.

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Now there's some here that we live by who would have us believe this is a moment where believers receive a crown of deity, a crown of divinity, that we would take on the nature of God.

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That is not right, my friends. We do not take on God's nature.

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That is a demonic lie and must be rejected. We will not become gods. The crown of life is not becoming a god one day.

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There's only one true and living God. Amen? There's only one king and he will share the rights to the throne to no one else.

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But what he does offer is all the riches and inheritance that he has received in his triumph and victory he will give to us.

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In fact, it says he lavishes them upon us. The crown of life is eternal life, my friends.

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And should anyone actually receive a physical crown? I'm kind of unsure.

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We read that text. There's a lot of crown of life texts and casting their crowns before God.

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It may just be that some people actually receive a physical crown. I'd have to study that more. But if they do, if they receive a crown, if you receive a crown in prostrate humility before the royal one, it says you'll cast your crown before him.

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You'll cast your crown all to your glory, Lord Jesus, all to you. This crown would never be given to me except by you.

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This is for you. They cast their crowns before him. For he alone is worthy to receive glory and honor and power.

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So whether you are the poor brother or rich brother or sister, if you glory in the right things in this

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Christian life, you will find yourself approved. He says amen. Blessed is amen.

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Not just the poor brother, not just the rich man, but anyone who loves

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Christ. Anyone. That is the criteria, not social or economic status.

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To those who by faith and through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit love the

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Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, to them will be given the crown of life.

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To those who observe the royal law by faith and receive eternal life with the royal one,

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King Jesus. So, no matter your circumstance, humble yourself, church.

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For our Christ was meek and lowly. So as James says, glory in the low status.

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Whether rich or poor, that God sovereignly gave you. Whatever God has given to you, glory in your low status.

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Whether through the loss of riches or being without much, glory in your low status because you have a high status in Christ.

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There lies the crown of life, my friends. Let's pray.

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Father, we bless your name. We praise you. Lord, thank you for the message.

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Thank you for the reminder. Thank you, Jesus. There's no price we could pay to get eternal life.

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You, Jesus, paid the ultimate price. Your blood. And the kingdom of heaven is like a great treasure that we bury in a field.

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That we may buy that field and one day dig it up. You are a treasure beyond all measure,

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Lord Jesus Christ. We love you. Thank you for today. Bless the sermon that went out.