Ascension Presbyterian Lord's Day Worship 9/3/2023

Ascension Presbyterian Church Longwood

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:04

The next part goes up again, but not quite as much Everyone That was really good and and we'll just do the first line starting with me verse one on three one two three

00:52

On to me It does go up there a little bit at the end

01:29

So repeat this part to me So repeat that last part with me and just join with me here

02:34

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome to the corporate worship of our

02:41

God, please stand Praise the

02:48

Lord Oh Give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his mercy endures forever

02:59

Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord who can declare all his praise?

03:06

Blessed are those who keep justice and he who does righteousness at all times

03:14

Remember me Oh Lord with the favor you have toward your people Oh Visit me with your salvation

03:22

That I may see the benefit of your chosen ones that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation

03:30

That I may glory with your inheritance Come now, let us worship him.

03:40

Please pray with me Father son in Holy Spirit We confess that we have sinned with our fathers we have committed iniquity

03:52

We have done wickedness But you have sent

03:57

Christ to save us and we asked through his perfect mediation that our

04:04

Worship would be pleasing and acceptable in your sight That you would be glorified

04:11

And your people built up we ask this in Jesus name. Amen Please kneel for the corporate confession of sin.

04:29

Let us confess our sins together with one voice Almighty and merciful

04:35

God Please Stand If you should mark iniquities

05:18

Oh Lord Who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared

05:26

With Christ there is forgiveness for you his people in this we rejoice and say, amen please take up the hymnal now and turn to number 75

05:46

The tune is to all glory laud and honor. So we should be able to sing this.

05:52

Well Let us sing heartily to the Lord as DJ has said let us raise our voices and joy and gladness

05:59

Oh father, you are sovereign number 75

09:13

Please take up the bulletin insert and we are going to be singing

09:19

Psalm 37 C But we're going to use the tune.

09:24

What a friend we have in Jesus Those of you who are reading music you're going to have to ignore that and Sing to the tune what a friend we have in Jesus Psalm 37

12:16

Section of the song, isn't it? Please remain standing for the reading of the word from 1st

12:24

Peter chapter 5 1st

12:45

Peter 5 the elders who are among you I exhort I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed.

12:58

Shepherd the flock of God, which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, not for a dishonest gain, but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

13:13

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

13:20

Likewise, you younger people submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

13:33

Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.

13:43

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

13:51

Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

13:58

But may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

14:09

To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I consider him,

14:18

I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that which is the true grace of God in which you stand.

14:29

She who is in Babylon, I left together with you, greets you, and so does Mark, my son.

14:35

Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you and all who are in Christ Jesus.

14:41

Amen. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us now confess our faith in the singing of the

14:55

Apostles' Creed. Let us begin. ♪ I believe in God the

15:01

Father ♪ ♪ Almighty made

15:12

Christ his only begotten Son, our Lord ♪ ♪

15:17

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit ♪ ♪

15:23

Born of the Virgin, crucified, he who to hell is seated at the feet ♪ ♪

16:02

Will come to judge the living and the dead ♪ ♪

16:07

I believe in the Holy Spirit ♪ ♪

16:13

I believe the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, ♪ ♪

16:23

The forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body.

16:30

♪ 94, a very old hymn in the life of the church, very familiar,

16:59

I want to sing it heartily unto the Lord. Let's begin. ♪ What shall you say,

17:29

I say, to you, to Jesus, for I do you love.

18:46

♪ ♪ Your deepest distress ♪ By retrials ♪

18:56

Your pathway shall lie ♪ By grace ♪

19:02

All sufficient ♪ Shall be your supply ♪

19:19

Come soon ♪ And your goal ♪

19:34

Approved ♪ Eternal unchanged

20:42

Please prepare now for the prayers of the people. We are on the

20:48

Ten Commandments. I'm gonna ask the men to be prepared to pray.

20:57

Let's pray together in unison. Oh God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsel, and all just works.

21:09

Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey your commandments, and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness through the merits of Jesus Christ, our

21:30

Savior, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.

21:38

The Lord says, I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.

21:51

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

22:37

Lord, have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law.

23:35

You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. Have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law.

24:19

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Lord, have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law.

24:48

Honor your Father and your Mother. Lord, have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law.

24:59

Dear Heavenly Father, just as our Lord Christ honored our

25:05

Heavenly Father, his Heavenly Father, God, we pray that you would teach us and lead us in spirit to be

25:11

Christ -like in this law, to honor our fathers and our mothers. Pray, God, that as we would put to death our sin, the fleshliness, the worldliness that is in us, that resides in us still, to dishonor our fathers and mothers, to lift ourselves up in pride.

25:33

I pray, God, that your spirit would lead us in humility and love for our fathers and mothers.

25:40

Also, for those who you have placed over us in authority, such as magistrates and the elders of our church.

25:49

Lord, God, teach us obedience as it would honor you.

25:55

Christ, now I pray, amen. Amen. You shall not kill. Lord, have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law.

26:09

That you would put within our hearts an acknowledgment of what it means to murder, and not only to not physically take somebody's life, but to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

26:24

We also pray, as you have taught us, Lord, that we may not become angered in our hearts.

26:31

We know, Lord, that bitterness is a seed that will spring forth anger and death.

26:41

We ask, Lord, that, as you have promised, that the hearts of fathers would be turned to their children, that we would not provoke one another in anger, but rather,

26:52

Lord, that we be peacemakers. You shall not commit adultery.

27:01

Lord, have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law. We pray,

27:14

Father, that you would protect us from the snares that come with living in such a culture, that you would protect us from the big, obvious sins that fall under this command to not commit adultery, but also the more subtle ones that we would not even so much as look upon another person with lust, but that we would death lust in their flesh, and for us, at the times of need, how we fail.

28:13

You shall not steal. Lord, have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law.

28:22

Our Father and our God, we pray that you would put within our hearts the acknowledgement that you command us to no longer steal, but rather work so that we may have something to share with those who are in need.

28:36

Ask, Lord, that all of us would be mindful of the time that you've given us, that we would be faithful to our employers, diligent when no one is looking, knowing,

28:48

Lord, that we live before the face of God. God, grant us great diligence. Cause us not to steal from our neighbor.

28:54

Cause us not to steal from you. Cause us to have open hands.

29:00

For everything that we have, you've given us. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

29:12

Lord, have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law. You shall not covet.

29:54

Have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law. You shall love the

31:11

Lord, your God, with all your heart and soul, mind, and strength.

31:18

Lord, have mercy on us and incline our hearts to keep this your law. Father, we, on a daily basis, in fact, we fall short of this command.

31:30

It's a high calling, and learning to obey it is a lifelong process.

31:36

We just pray, Father, that as we go about our daily lives, that we would be always looking to you, that we would be cool, even in the midst of difficulty, or even while we are going through good times, that you would just show us your love and your grace, that we may continuously learn how to love as you love.

32:07

That each day we may grow less and more each day, how to love you with all heart, soul, mind, and strength.

32:17

We pray these things in your son's name, amen. And then, please stand. Take up the insert again to Psalm 119, which we practiced just before the worship service.

32:30

This is the Psalm of the month for September. I would encourage you to break this out with your family, keep this copy today, and bring it home, and practice during family worship and private devotions so we might be able to more confidently sing it together corporately.

32:45

Psalm 119. ♪ Unto me ♪

32:51

The book of James, in chapter one.

35:29

I'm gonna begin reading today in verse nine, and I'll read to the end of the chapter. I wanna remind you that this is

35:37

God's holy and infallible word. James 1 -9.

35:45

Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

36:02

For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass.

36:09

Its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

36:20

Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the

36:28

Lord has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted,

36:34

I am tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone.

36:43

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

36:50

Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.

37:00

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the

37:09

Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

37:15

Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a firstfruits of his creatures.

37:25

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

37:32

For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

37:47

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror.

38:01

For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

38:07

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

38:21

If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.

38:30

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

38:45

The Lord be pleased with our study here in the book of James. Please pray with me.

38:54

Oh Lord, help us to see that in Christ we are one, we are one body, and we are not respecters of persons.

39:09

Help us to not show favoritism to the rich, to the more like -minded, to those we have a natural affinity for, but help us to love your people, to see our own circumstances in a state rightly, and give thanks and boast in all these things.

39:29

We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Please be seated. Today, the title of the message is

39:39

The Trials of the Poor and Rich. And we're gonna be concerned with verses nine through 11.

39:48

The trials of the poor and the rich. How do we apply biblical wisdom to our economic status?

40:05

How do we think and live as Christians who are to prize our union with Christ, and we seek growing up to full maturity as one of the ultimate ends of our lives?

40:20

How are we to view our economic situation? First, at the point of outline,

40:29

I have two of them. It's derived right there from the text. The lowly brother's exaltation, the first point we'll consider, is the lowly brother's exaltation.

40:42

Second, we will consider the rich man's humiliation.

40:49

The lowly brother's exaltation and the rich man's humiliation.

40:57

In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, another connection seems to be drawn by James to that portion.

41:07

Jesus says in 619 and following, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

41:34

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

41:42

This paragraph is not a deviation from what we've already been discussing in chapter one.

41:50

And in fact, this seems to be a case study of applying wisdom to the issues of life.

41:59

In midst of God's covenantal promise to Abraham in the latter part of Genesis 15, one, it says, do not be afraid,

42:08

Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.

42:17

James has convinced us, and the backdrop of James one seems to be that we, the people of God, prize union with Christ above all things.

42:29

And not only that, a compulsion of the Christian life is that we would grow up to full maturity.

42:39

So riches or poverty aren't the chief circumstances of life that we are concerned about.

42:45

We are concerned more with our union with Christ and more about growing up into full maturity.

42:54

God tells us here in Genesis 15, and it's literally, of course, throughout scripture, that he is the greatest treasure.

43:04

If he's not the greatest treasure, we are in trouble in many ways. God has to be the greatest treasure of our lives.

43:15

We cannot prize other things more than we prize our relationship with the

43:22

Lord. Christ, his gospel, his salvation are the pearl of great price.

43:30

And in a manner of speaking, we should sell all that we have and buy that field.

43:38

Nothing is more precious and more treasure than being in union with Christ, to have his salvation.

43:46

I hope that is the burning compulsion of your life. I hope that's the testimony of your life, that your greatest treasure is the treasures of heaven, that your greatest treasure is your relationship with the

44:03

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I want you to notice something in the text.

44:10

There's something here, it's a biblical paradox. And it seems to be an important scriptural device that the

44:20

Holy Spirit, through human authors, uses that causes us to peer a bit more deeply into the truth that is being set forth.

44:31

A paradox is a tenet or proposition contrary to received opinion, or seemingly absurd, yet it's true.

44:44

Look at me and see if you can follow along with this. Children, pay attention here. How can the lowly, humble brother be exalted?

44:56

It's a paradox. The rich man is exalted, how is he humiliated in the same breath?

45:05

This is a paradox that's used in scripture. And it causes us to look with greater concern and carefulness to try to understand what it means.

45:16

There's a few others, of course, the scripture is full of these. In Matthew 10, Jesus said, he who finds his life will lose it.

45:28

How can you find your life and then lose it? And he who loses his life for my sake will find it.

45:39

It's a paradox. Matthew chapter 20, the last will be first and the first last.

45:47

The last cannot be first, we might say, rationally. The first cannot be last if it's first.

45:55

There's a paradox. Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter six says, as unknown yet well known, as dying and behold, we live, as chastened and yet not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

46:30

Again, Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, it's very tied to this theme in James one,

46:37

I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake.

46:50

Parenthetically, I should say, he's counting it all joy. As Lawson quoted this morning, for when

46:59

I am weak, then I am strong. Christ, Paul is taking part in the sufferings of Christ.

47:09

He has a share in those trials and therefore he takes pleasure in infirmities.

47:15

That's paradoxical. He doesn't mind being reproached.

47:21

He doesn't mind being in need. He doesn't mind being persecuted or in distress because it's all for Christ's sake.

47:29

In our text today, James gives a paradoxical statement.

47:38

He says the lowly, poor, humble Christian has a cause for boasting and rejoicing.

47:49

The world looks down upon the poor, but the poor in Christ are rich in faith.

47:57

In Christ, the poor man is exalted. He possesses the true riches of Christ.

48:06

And like Paul, it seems the trials that come upon the poor man in faith reveal the genuineness of his belief and trust in Christ.

48:21

That's how the lowly brother can glory and boast in his exaltation.

48:29

He has no money in his pocket, but he's a joint heir with Christ. He possesses all things in him.

48:40

So if you are a poor person, and I should point out to you that no one living here, no one in this room is poor.

48:49

You say, well, I feel like I'm poor. You're some of the richest people who have ever lived. Right now, we are all in the upper echelon of all the income earners.

49:00

You students in Bible college, you possess and own more things than the vast majority of the people in the entire world.

49:11

There's another element to this paradox. The rich man, exalted in the eyes of the world, and we all would like to have a bit more money.

49:25

We would all like to pursue a bit more. And Rockefeller, who was richer than all of the billionaires today, combined by percentage, if you were to take his wealth and compare it, he says, how much do you want?

49:37

And he said, just a little more. You all can relate to that. The rich man, exalted in the eyes of the world in Christ, can boast in his humiliation.

49:51

Well, what's the humiliation of the rich man? He's going to experience trials that his wealth is not able to fix, to cure, to ameliorate.

50:06

The Christian of either humble or wealthiest state is dependent upon Christ.

50:15

And so in our text today, there is a unifying theme. The lowly brother and the rich brother, there is a leveling of the playing field for them because trials are going to come on both of those men.

50:30

And they must be dependent upon Christ. They must be ones who do not doubt.

50:35

They must ask him for wisdom, and they cannot be double -minded, or they'll be unstable in all their ways.

50:46

The Lord's Supper, which is the greatest expression of our union with Christ, it's prominent in our liturgy, rightfully so,

50:57

I believe. It was also an occasion for misunderstanding economic things and the status of people within the church.

51:08

I'm gonna ask you to turn to 1 Corinthians 11. These are very familiar verses to us.

51:18

The church at Corinth is here reproved by the Apostle Paul for their errant practices at the table.

51:29

Worldly syncretism had taken root. A caste system of some kind was established among them.

51:39

Good verse 17 and following, 1 Corinthians 11. Now in giving these instructions,

51:48

I do not praise you since you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

51:55

First of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part,

52:04

I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.

52:15

Now I want to point out this to you because Corinth is a church with many problems.

52:24

No one's ever, Paul never says that if you're having problems at the church at Corinth, you should leave.

52:31

Isn't that interesting? You say, oh, you should leave and go find, you should move to Philippi. He doesn't say that. But when they come to the

52:39

Lord's Supper, this greatest of all symbols and this great thing we partake in to show our union with Christ in one another, there's divisions and there's factions and there are those who are approved and seeking honor in all of these terrible things.

52:59

They're losing sight, they're coming to the supper and not celebrating the supper.

53:06

Verse 20, it says, therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the

53:12

Lord's Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others, and one is hungry and another is drunk.

53:24

What? Do you not have houses to eat and drink in or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?

53:33

What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. For I receive from the

53:40

Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you.

53:52

Do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood.

54:01

This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

54:08

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes.

54:15

Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the

54:23

Lord. Contextually, it seems that the unworthy recipients are those who are part of these divisions and factions.

54:34

Steaming rich over poor, friends, family connections, whatever it is, they're not seeing the unity of the body of Christ.

54:46

This is a problem in the world and if we are to be people who have wisdom, we have to recognize there are no second class citizens in God's kingdom.

54:57

Verse 30, for this reason, many are weak and sick among you and many sleep.

55:03

For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the

55:10

Lord that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

55:19

But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment.

55:25

The rest I will set in order when I come. We don't quite often use 1

55:33

Corinthians 11 as a cross -reference to the book of James, but I have reasons and you'll learn more in just a minute.

55:41

I'll go back to the book of James. The Corinthians had lost sight of the unity of the body of Christ.

55:52

Elsewhere, you'll remember in Galatians chapter two, Paul had to withstand Peter to his face.

55:58

Peter had favored the Jewish Christians over the Gentiles. But here in James, James confines all, like Paul does under sin, he confines all under trials.

56:14

The trials all believers experience reveal our fellowship in the sufferings of Christ.

56:23

We would do well to examine ourselves in relation to Christ and his people.

56:29

Do we show preference for the rich? Do we show preference for those who are more like -minded to us?

56:36

Do believers have those who have a more natural affinity with? The ones that we like a little better.

56:43

If so, we undermine the very unity we have been incorporated into.

56:51

So if I favor the rich, I'm disunifying the unity of the body of Christ.

57:01

In verses nine through 11, we have application of several of the ideas already set forth in the chapter.

57:10

To see the world rightly and to act accordingly is wisdom.

57:16

We boast in our exaltation and humiliation. Whether we are rich or we are poor, we count it all joy in Christ.

57:30

We're gonna learn in just a few moments about the dangers of the wealthy and their relationship to the church.

57:41

I want you to look back at verse nine again. One of the things that may be a background to James chapter one is brethren who were formerly wealthy who had become poor as a result of their

57:59

Christian faith. A very big theme in Paul's writings is the taking up of the collection for the

58:09

Judean saints. I remember that as you read through Acts and the epistles. People who came to Christ, I want you to imagine how isolated they were.

58:22

The Jewish people, of course, were despised by their neighbors, and they had formed guilds and basically little trade associations among themselves, and they found a way to trade in goods and services.

58:38

And some of the relationships that they built would be used later because the church filled with Jews and Gentiles in those

58:47

Gentile areas would be the place where those New Testament gospel churches would flourish.

58:54

But now Jewish brethren coming to Christ were cut off from their means of employment and their ability to trade.

59:03

They were not only hated by the world around them because of their ethnicity, but now they were despised by even the

59:10

Jews. So we had some people who were rich men who became poor, and James tells them to glory in their exaltation.

59:21

Not surprisingly, again, in Matthew six, that Sermon on the Mount portion, it comes up here again,

59:29

I think, in our discussion. The double -mindedness he warns us against, that we talked about last week, is found in our assessment of our own economic state.

59:42

Matthew 6, 24, Jesus says, no one can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.

59:58

You cannot serve God and mammon, which is money.

01:00:05

So the double -mindedness is here, the doubting is here, the wisdom of God necessary is here, counting it all joy is all here.

01:00:15

And it's interesting, in verses nine through 11, we see that the economic state of the believer is an excellent case study of the principles that James has already set forth.

01:00:28

This section is absolutely connected to the context. The believer, whether rich or poor, needs to view scarcity and prosperity in the same way.

01:00:43

And how is that? Christ is the true treasure. Trials will reveal our dependency and need of him.

01:00:54

Both parties can count their trials as all joy. Imagine the rich man, he has all the money in the bank, and he gets a fatal diagnosis.

01:01:07

There is no medicine, there is no cure, all the gold can't buy me my health.

01:01:14

He's gonna be dependent upon the Lord. Both parties can count their trials joy.

01:01:23

Both need to patiently endure in order to grow up to full maturity. Both are in danger of doubting and double -mindedness.

01:01:32

The rich man puts his confidence in the gold coins in his pocket, and the poor man looks to the rich man's pocket and said, if only

01:01:41

I had those gold coins, everything would be okay, and so becomes double -minded. He thinks improperly about wealth.

01:01:51

The poor man could be a covetous idolater and a lover of money in the same way that a rich man can.

01:01:58

A rich man can be perfectly righteous in his wealth because he obeys the law of God and walks in faith and obedience.

01:02:07

So the richness or the poverty are not the issue, but the heart and its orientation to Christ.

01:02:16

As you know, the scripture has a lot to say about being rich and poor, and I could spend a lot of time here, but we're gonna talk about it more later in two sections in the book of James, but I wanna give you a couple of others, one of them another not so familiar reference to something like James 1 .9

01:02:36

through 11. In Proverbs 22, the scripture saying much about the rich and poor.

01:02:43

The rich and the poor have a common bond. The Lord is the maker of them all.

01:02:54

I am gonna ask you to turn another place, turn back to 2 Samuel chapter 12.

01:03:10

David's understanding of the law of God is the basis of his outrage when he is confronted by Nathan after the

01:03:23

Bathsheba incident. So Nathan uses the idea of the rich and the poor to illustrate

01:03:32

David's need of repentance. 2 Samuel chapter 12.

01:03:39

This is after the Bathsheba incident, after he subjected Uriah to the front line of the battlefield and he dies.

01:03:50

2 Samuel 12. Then the Lord sent

01:03:55

Nathan to David, and he came to him and said to him, there are two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.

01:04:09

The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he had brought up and nourished, and it grew up together with him and with his children.

01:04:27

It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom and it was like a daughter to him.

01:04:34

And a traveler came to the rich man who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.

01:04:53

So the rich man is going to try to show biblical hospitality, but what he decides to do, he's got a big flock of full herd of sheep out there in the pasture, but he's gonna go take the poor man's one sheep for this purpose.

01:05:10

How does David respond? So David's anger was greatly aroused against that man as the magistrate, as the prophet of God really, is the one who understood the law of God.

01:05:23

He understood that this was wickedness for the rich man to take advantage of the poor.

01:05:31

David's anger was greatly aroused against the man and he said to Nathan, as the

01:05:36

Lord lives, the man who has done this thing shall surely die. And applying biblical case law to the case, he says, and he shall restore fourfold for the lamb because he did this thing and because he had no pity.

01:05:55

And Nathan said to David, you are the man. Thus says the

01:06:01

Lord God of Israel, I anointed you king over Israel. I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

01:06:07

I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping and gave you the house of Israel and Judah.

01:06:14

And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more. Why have you despised the commandment of the

01:06:23

Lord to do evil in his sight? You have killed Uriah the

01:06:29

Hittite with the sword. You have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the people of Amman.

01:06:38

Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the

01:06:46

Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house.

01:06:55

Now take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor. He shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun for you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all

01:07:07

Israel before the sun. Verse 13,

01:07:13

David says to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. Now, turn back to James with me.

01:07:29

There are dozens upon dozens of verses of scripture about the relationship of wealth and poor, being impoverished, being rich.

01:07:42

We're not going to talk about all of those. There's another illustration I'd like you to consider.

01:07:49

I'm not gonna have you turn there, but the equality, if you will, of the rich man and the poor man in the standing before God is illustrated in a place like Leviticus 12.

01:08:02

You say, well, what's the significance of that? It's the offering that is given for the newborn.

01:08:10

And in it is a provision for the poor among the people, which made up the majority of them.

01:08:16

I want you to listen to this and be mindful of it. The days of her purification are fulfilled.

01:08:24

This is after she's given birth. She shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtle dove as a sin offering.

01:08:42

This is very important. And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtle doves or two young pigeons.

01:08:52

Now, for you to go back and read the account of Mary and Joseph presenting Jesus in the temple, we'll learn that Joseph and Mary brought the latter.

01:09:02

They brought the two turtle doves, two pigeons instead of the lamb.

01:09:09

They were poor. Jesus was born into poverty and identified himself with the poor.

01:09:20

And maybe one of the most powerful statements related to this is found in 2 Corinthians 8. It says, for you know the grace of our

01:09:28

Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes, he became poor.

01:09:38

There's another paradox that through his poverty, you might become rich.

01:09:48

In 2 Corinthians 8 generally, Paul lauds the faithful giving of the churches of Macedonia to relieve the poor of Jerusalem.

01:09:59

And a large number of texts speak to the issues that relate to rich and their mistreatment of the poor, but we're not going to get into that because there's more work to be done in this text, these texts in James.

01:10:14

However, I do want to point out to you the two internal references that will be of importance as we go on.

01:10:23

Look at James 2. It says, my brethren, do not hold the faith of our

01:10:30

Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality, introduced in chapter one and further expounded from chapter two and onward and particularly in chapter five, verse two of chapter two.

01:10:46

For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings and fine apparel and there should come also a poor man in filthy clothes and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, you sit here in a good place and say to the poor man, you stand there or sit here at my footstool, have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

01:11:16

Listen, my beloved brethren, has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him?

01:11:32

The lowly brother can glory in his exaltation. God has chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith, but you have, verse six, dishonored the poor man.

01:11:50

Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

01:12:01

And if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

01:12:08

You do well, but if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

01:12:17

I'll turn over to chapter five really quickly. James chapter five, gonna get verse one.

01:12:31

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.

01:12:39

Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth -eaten. Does that sound familiar?

01:12:45

Sounds like the Sermon on the Mount. Your gold and your silver are corroded, they're rusting, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.

01:12:59

You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the

01:13:13

Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and in luxury.

01:13:19

You have fattened your hearts as in the day of a slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just.

01:13:26

He does not resist you. The poor man, turn back to chapter one, can be rich in faith.

01:13:36

The rich man can be destitute of faith. Both can experience the fullness of God's blessing through their faith and obedience.

01:13:49

Their economic state is not the true measure.

01:13:57

The lowly brother is to glory in his exaltation. The rich man is to glory in his humiliation.

01:14:06

Trials fall upon every Christian, but there's another stronger warning at the end of verse 10.

01:14:17

This warning is given to the rich in a terrifying way, and particularly in light of chapter five.

01:14:27

In Israel, during the spring, a great color burst occurs and explodes on the arid landscape.

01:14:39

Those of you who are familiar with the out west or in Southern California, it looks very much like Israel.

01:14:47

It's very brown. And after the latter rains, a burst of color, those of you who have lived somewhere other than Florida, there is an amazing transformation that happens in April, usually.

01:15:02

The rains come, and the barren trees suddenly spring forth their leaves, and there's hope and optimism about, we're not gonna die in this dreadful winter.

01:15:12

It's true in Israel as well. Its appearance, the leaves, the flowers, there's a flowering reference here.

01:15:21

It's reminiscent of Isaiah 40. We won't go there. It's beautiful, but this beauty is short -lived.

01:15:32

Soon, scorching hot winds will blow from the south continuously.

01:15:40

The rain is gone, and only a blowing heat remains.

01:15:46

The grass withers, and the flowers wilt. It says in our text, so too, the rich man consumed with earthly wealth will see both his wealth and his life fade away.

01:16:05

The rich man is building his investment portfolio. The rich man's counting his gold bars.

01:16:16

Negatively speaking, the rich man doesn't think about the treasures of heaven. Pursue, James says, true riches, heavenly riches that moth and rust cannot destroy, that thieves cannot steal.

01:16:35

And here, in this section, I think there's a good argument that could be made distinguishing the believing rich man and the unbelieving rich man.

01:16:45

In verse eight, the Christian can be double -minded and struggle with it, but it's not fatal.

01:16:53

For the unbeliever, his doubting and his double -mindedness is fatal. The rich man can be prone to these sins and be in the faith, but the unbelieving rich man is going to be consumed and burn up, and his beauty is going to disappear, and the rich man is going to fade away in all of his pursuits.

01:17:19

Those of you here may be trusting in earthly riches.

01:17:25

The government in a tyrannical future could seize all of your assets. What will you do then?

01:17:33

The cash you've been hoarding and storing up, maybe in light of a future tyrannical event, maybe that cash becomes worthless.

01:17:43

Maybe you buy a big piece of land and you have crops. Maybe they come and seize that, too.

01:17:48

What will you put your trust in then? When the trials come, the wise man, the faithful man, puts all of his trust in the

01:17:58

Lord. Well, I want to close with the dying words of a very rich man.

01:18:11

This has been spread around for years since it happened. These are the words of Steve Jobs.

01:18:17

Some of you have contributed to the trillion dollar market value or whatever it is of Apple.

01:18:24

You're carrying his devices in your pockets right now. This is what

01:18:29

Steve Jobs, a very rich man, said. I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world.

01:18:39

Understatement. In others' eyes, my life is an epitome of success.

01:18:50

However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to.

01:19:03

At this moment, lying on the sickbed and recalling my whole life,

01:19:08

I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.

01:19:23

Material things lost can be found, but there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost, life.

01:19:37

The rich man gains the whole world and loses his soul.

01:19:46

Eternal life can be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Imagine this, the poor man and the rich man rightly discerning their need of Christ can come to Christ and find all of their needs met.

01:20:01

Heavenly treasure, the joys of heaven and faith and obedience which last forever.

01:20:08

This is what James is calling us to. Well, I've got a quotation

01:20:16

I'd like to read from a very good New Testament commentator,

01:20:22

Mateer. And this is from his work on our section and it's related to walking in wisdom.

01:20:31

I think it'd be good for us to take heed of these words. James chose to illustrate his theme, verses two through four, by reference to poverty and wealth, the count it all joy.

01:20:51

He could have equally chosen any of life's contrasts, loneliness and companionship, long married life and unexpected bereavement, hope fulfilled and hope disappointed, work and unemployment.

01:21:10

These are the endlessly varied testings which make the colors in the tapestry of each life, family life and childlessness, marriage and singleness, health and illness.

01:21:24

There is no end to the list to be made and the contrast to be drawn.

01:21:30

Life is like that. How then are we to steer a straight path to the goal of maturity?

01:21:38

How are we to see what is of stable worth and what a tinsel of disappointment and loss?

01:21:47

Only by the wisdom God gives. A wisdom that makes us see earth in the light of heaven and life in the light of eternal life.

01:22:00

The flickering pattern of experience in the light of the steady reality of salvation and that wisdom is sought from God in the place of prayer.

01:22:17

We live in a paradoxical world. The crushing defeat in the eyes of the world of Christ on the cross is the greatest victory.

01:22:32

That is spilled out through the whole of the new creation. The things that look so bad in our lives turn out to be something useful and good.

01:22:46

We can count it all joy. A few words of application, we'll close here. There is no economic hierarchy in the kingdom and both poor and rich will face trials that cannot be rectified with money.

01:23:13

That's how the trials humiliate and humble the rich man. Secondly, I'm calling you today to be content in your current estate.

01:23:27

Serve Christ wherever you are. Now later we're gonna talk about there's some things that can contribute to poverty like laziness.

01:23:36

There's things that can contribute to wealth like industriousness. That'll come up a little bit in our applications in James.

01:23:42

But today, be content in your current estate. Third, very basically, the poor and the rich can be idolatrous in relation to wealth and covetous.

01:23:58

There's a lot of poor people who are more covetous and idolatrous concerning wealth than some of the rich people.

01:24:05

So you think, well, I would never have this problem because I'm on the lower end of the economic scale. It's not true.

01:24:13

Fourth, let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation.

01:24:22

In faith, he possesses true riches. Let the rich man be humiliated.

01:24:31

His earthly riches can be blown by the scorching wind and be destroyed. But if he has genuine faith, he will still see the true riches of Christ.

01:24:47

James is stuck close to his original theme and it continues next week,

01:24:54

Lord willing. Let's pray together. Oh Lord, we are so thankful for the practical wisdom of your servants.

01:25:08

We ask that you would impress and imprint these truths into our hearts.

01:25:18

Oh Lord, we pursue things as flowers that are passing away and help us to pursue true riches.

01:25:29

Oh Lord, I pray today that the lowly brother would glory in the true riches of Christ and the rich would see his riches as Paul did as filthiness and dung in the light of the excellency of his grace.

01:25:48

Oh Lord, help us to be good stewards of the resources you've given us, but more so,

01:25:55

Lord, help us to be good stewards of our hearts that we would rightly discern our times.

01:26:02

We ask these things in Jesus' name. Well, let's continue our worship through the presentation of our tithes and offerings.

01:26:22

After such a message as that, I cannot think of a more fitting section of our worship than this.

01:26:47

Please stand and let us pray. Our gracious God and Father, you have given us so much.

01:27:03

You have given us not only these earthly blessings to which we return a portion to you now, but you have given us your very son that we may have life and that abundantly.

01:27:19

As was mentioned earlier in our prayers, Father, that you have given us work so that we may have something to give to the poor.

01:27:26

Father, you have taught us in your word that giving is better than receiving, and you have taught us that we should trust in you with our whole hearts and not lean on our own understanding.

01:27:41

Father, in this act of worship, of giving back a portion of what you have given us, I pray that that would be our motivation, to trust in you with our whole hearts and not to lean on our own understanding, knowing that it is our faith which you have in mind which is more precious than gold.

01:27:59

And we ask that you would give us graciously of that faith. And we pray this in the name of Christ Jesus, our

01:28:05

Lord. Amen. Let us glorify our great God in the singing of the

01:28:11

Gloria Patri. ♪ Glory be to the

01:28:16

Father as it was ♪

01:28:49

The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the

01:28:56

Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord. It is right and a good and joyful thing that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you,

01:29:09

O Holy Lord, Father Almighty, Everlasting God. Because you sent your beloved

01:29:15

Son to redeem us from sin and death and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life, that when he shall come again in power and great triumph to judge the world, we may, without shame or fear, rejoice to behold his appearing.

01:29:33

Therefore, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we praise and magnify your glorious name, evermore praising you and singing.

01:30:00

♪ Oh, blessed is he who comes ♪

01:31:10

Amen. Please be seated and let us pray.

01:31:17

Almighty God, you are the creator and Lord of all things.

01:31:22

You are the sovereign majesty whom we have offended. You are our most loving and merciful

01:31:30

Father who has given your Son to reconcile us to yourself, who has ratified the

01:31:37

New Testament and covenant of grace with his most precious blood, and has instituted this holy sacrament to be celebrated in remembrance of him till his coming.

01:31:51

Sanctify these, your creatures of bread and wine, which according to your institution and command, we set apart to this holy use, that they may be sacramentally the body and blood of your

01:32:09

Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the night in which our

01:32:16

Lord was betrayed, surrounded by his disciples, he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, this is my body which is broken for you.

01:32:31

Likewise, after supper, he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and saying, this is the new covenant in my blood.

01:32:40

As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until it comes.

01:32:47

Therefore, we proclaim the faith. Christ has died, Christ is risen,

01:32:53

Christ will come again. Let us pray this prayer as we approach the table. We do not presume to come to this short table,

01:33:03

O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies.

01:33:12

We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same

01:33:19

Lord who always shows mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to feed the flesh of your dear

01:33:27

Son, Jesus Christ, and to drink of his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us.

01:33:45

Amen. Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the gifts of God for the people of God.

01:33:55

Thanks be to the Lord. ♪ The beauty in the wounded hands of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪

01:36:12

His blood seeping in, praise to him, his blood showing ♪ ♪

01:37:39

Like the blood of Jesus, like the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪

01:38:06

Bright as snow, Jesus, the blood of our

01:38:20

Lord Jesus Christ ♪ ♪ For my blessing this I seek, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

01:38:34

For my pardon this I plead, nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪

01:39:12

Nothing can force him out of love, nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪

01:40:21

Nothing but the blood of Jesus is love, nothing but the blood of Jesus Christ ♪ ♪

01:41:54

I shall have dominion and see, earth, sea, water, and air ♪ ♪

01:42:34

Come to God and serve our King, Christ shall have dominion ♪ ♪

01:42:57

He shall be known as M -R -V,

01:44:48

Christ shall have sea ♪ ♪

01:44:58

Earth, sea, water, and air, come to God and sing ♪ ♪

01:46:24

He shall be known as M -R -V, Christ shall have sea ♪ ♪ Earth, sea, water, and air, come to God and sing ♪ ♪

01:46:33

He shall be known as M -R -V,

01:46:39

Christ shall have sea ♪ ♪

01:47:06

Earth, sea, water, and air, come to God and sing ♪ ♪ He shall be known as M -R -V, Christ shall have sea ♪ ♪

01:47:32

Earth, sea, water, and air, come to God and sing ♪ ♪

01:48:00

He shall be known as M -R -V, Christ shall have sea ♪ ♪ Earth, sea, water, and air, come to God and sing ♪ ♪

01:48:29

He shall be known as M -R -V, Christ shall have sea ♪ ♪

01:48:38

Earth, sea, water, and air, come to God and sing ♪ ♪ He shall be known as M -R -V, Christ shall have sea ♪ ♪ Christ to comfort and restore me,

01:48:44

Christ beneath me ♪ ♪ Christ above me, Christ in quiet,

01:48:51

Christ in danger ♪ ♪ Christ in hearts of all that love me,

01:48:58

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger ♪ ♪

01:49:04

I bind unto myself today the strong name of the

01:49:13

Trinity ♪ ♪ By invocation of the same, the three in one and one in three ♪ ♪

01:49:26

Of whom all nature hath creation, eternal

01:49:32

Father still ♪ ♪ Your spirit, word, praise to the

01:49:38

Lord of my salvation ♪ ♪ Salvation is of Christ the

01:49:46

Lord, amen ♪ Go in peace to love and serve the risen and reigning