Putting feet to our faith-Listen & Do (Pt.2)

(Part 2)

 “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”-James 1:21-22

There is another danger in our walk of faith that is equally as devastating as over-reacting and that is under performing. In this passage, James is addressing another problem he has observed among believers. Many were knowledgeable about scripture, knowledgable about church, knew the right things to say; but were not executing the truth of God’s word in their daily life. Being a non-response believer is just as crippling as being a reactionary believer. They are what I like to call idealistic Christians. They like the idea of Christianity, but are not interested in the application or sacrifice expected of those who received truth. 

Right from the beginning of the passage, James calls for Christians to lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and to receive with meekness the implanted word. He called for them to be doers of the word and not hearers only. When we are hearers and not doers, we deceive ourselves into believing that we are in right standing with God. True salvation, however, will always lead to serving. Unfortunately, there are those who are more interested in their image than they are accomplishing the will of God in the earth. 

“For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”-James 1:23-25

You can construe a lot of different things from this passage, but for me it boils down to this: You can spend you time looking in the mirror, preparing to do something, or you can get out there and do it. You can spend your time appearing to be a servant, or you can roll up your sleeves and serve. We have way too many believers who are more concerned about their image than they are accomplishing God’s will. It soon becomes all about maintaining the image they have created, of themselves, in their own minds. Nevertheless, when you peer into God’s Word to see what needs accomplished, how you appear quickly loses it’s appeal. You discover who you are in Christ and can focus on what needs accomplished. I no longer have to see me, I just need to see Him! 

“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”-James 1:26-27

A lot of people think they are religious (spiritual), but their actions and words communicate a different story. Worthless religion is a religion that makes you feel better about yourself, but doesn’t really transform your life. Genuine religion leads us to express our faith in very practical ways like taking care of those in need but it also leads us to develop an inner devotion to God’s holiness. 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

Putting feet to our faith-Listen & Do (Pt.1)

(Part 1)

“So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”-James 1:19-20

When it comes to living a life of faith, it is important to remember that the Christian faith is not built on reactions but on responses. The meanings of these two words may seem synonymous, however we must be mindful of the subtleties between the two words. 

A reaction is impulsive, tense, short-sighted; whereas a response is thought out, calm, and has the big picture in mind. Considering those definitions, how do you live your life? In times of trial and temptation do you react or respond? Life is going to throw a million things at us and we have a choice regarding how we will approach those moments. With that said, there are going to be moments where we must react to a situation for our own preservation or for the protection of others. However, we cannot live a sustained life of faith with that as our base.

Listen to James words on how we should respond to the trials and temptations that we face. He said we should be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. 

Proverbs 1:5 tells us: 

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.”

The key to responding correctly to most situations we face is to listen first. Too often, we want to express ourselves verbally before we have taken time to listen. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 5:1:

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.”

Solomon teaches that even when we are approaching God, we should first go near to listen. How often do we blaze into our personal prayer times and exhaust God with our laundry list of needs and then just as swiftly exit without ever hearing from Him? It stands to reason, that when facing a trial, we should spend time listening. We should add to our learning and seek discernment before we begin to try and address the problem. This will help to keep us from sounding foolish and from appearing naive about the situations we are facing. 

In addition, we should be slow to speak. Ecclesiastes 5:2 states: 

“Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few.”

Solomon points out that a proper response requires us to discipline our mouths. The key to responding and not reacting is to weigh our words before we speak them. Consider their impact and necessity in addressing our problems. Too often we are rash with our mouth often speaking without thinking, verbalizing our thoughts without weighing all the facts, forgetting that according to Proverbs 18:21 that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Our words have the power to build up or tear down. Solomon admonishes us to be careful with what we say, especially before God. We should be quick to listen, but let our words be few. 

Finally, James challenges us to be slow to anger. He states that the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. There is a righteous anger that we can carry towards that which is sinful, however the anger we carry towards others will never produce God’s righteousness in us. Man’s anger is reactionary; intended to punish and exact justice on our behalf. God’s wrath is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. It seems that we are quick to forget the we have been forgiven by God and commissioned to forgive others just as God has forgiven us. 

How different would your work place, home life, and daily interactions with others look if you simply employed those three simple rules: be swift to hear, be slow to speak, and be slow to anger? 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

Putting feet to our faith-Endurance (Pt.2)

(Part 2 of 2)

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”-James 1:13-18

Spiritual endurance is not built on testing alone, but it is built each time we withstand temptation. Temptation is a strong urge or desire to have or do something, especially something wrong or unwise. Listen to how James describes temptation: 

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”-James 1:14-15

Where testing is something we contend with outwardly, temptation is an inward battle and although the tests we face may come from the Lord, temptation never does. God is holy, and therefore will not solicit us to sin when it comes to temptation.

If we sin, it is because we choose it. James declares that we are drawn away by our own desires. Satan and this world may provide the outward enticement, however we choose whether or not we will pursue it. Satan doesn’t plant or create desire in us for that which is sinful, he simply entices what is already there. That means we alone have the power to choose to do what is right. 

Endurance, however, is not simply about doing the right things, but it is also important not to do the wrong things. You can choose to exercise your body to stay healthy, but if you don’t eat right too, then you will never achieve the ultimate goal. We must choose do the right, while resisting doing wrong. It’s spiritual resistance training. Resisting temptation builds endurance. Each time we resist the desire to pursue that which is sinful, we build our spiritual endurance. Each time we suppress our desire, that desire begins to have less and less of a hold on us. However, suppressing desire all at once could prove difficult, so initially we may have to put boundaries in place to avoid sinful actions. 

Ultimately, temptation is another avenue by which to divide our loyalty. We can choose to sin or we can choose God. We can pursue our own desires, or we can pursue righteousness. That is why the passage describes it as being: drawn away. Temptation is designed to misdirect us from God’s path onto another path.

When it comes to building endurance: testings are to be endured and temptations resisted. Together they have the potential to build the kind of spiritual endurance in us that will carry us to the end. 

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church 

Putting feet to our faith: Endurance (Pt.1)

(Part 1 of 2)

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”-James 1:2-3

Let me start by saying that if the Christian life was easy, there would be no need for endurance. Endurance is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially: the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity.

Most of the time we think about endurance in the context of athletics, especially those activities that make a prolonged demand on the body; such as a marathon, triathlon, a century bike race or basketball tournament. Endurance is important in those activities where you are pushing yourself physically and mentally to reach a goal that is not easily attained. However, unlike the sporting events I mentioned, the Christian life does not have a predictable ending point.

A marathon ends in 26.2 miles, a century bike ride is 100 miles, a basketball game lasts four quarters; but the Christian life could last 30 minutes or 90 years. So how do you build endurance for something that does not have a predictable ending point? Although inspiration and initiative may help you get off the starting blocks, endurance is what keeps you in the race until the end.

When it comes to building physical endurance you have catalyst that help you build endurance: resistance, intensity, and frequency. The book of James tells us that we have two catalyst that help us build spiritual endurance: testing and temptation.

“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”-James 1:12

James identifies testing and temptation as having the potential to build the type of spiritual endurance in our lives that will carry us to the end.

According to James 1:2 when our faith is tested our endurance has a chance to grow. How we approach a time of testing in our lives will have a tremendous affect on our ability to endure physically and emotionally to the end. So how does God test us? Some may look at testing as facing an illness, marriage problems, loss of job, or a financial crisis. However, listen to James 1:5-8:

“But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”-James 1:6-8

The things that will test your endurance the most are those that divide your loyalty. You cannot finish a race being drawn in two different directions. It creates instability and inconsistency in a person’s life. What is robbing you of being consistent in your devotions with God, what is robbing you of being consistent in your church attendance, what is robbing you of sharing your faith with others, what are spending your finances on that is robbing God of His tithe? What is dividing your loyalty?

A test is given to evaluate what you have learned. My wife always says that the difficult thing about tests is that God will keep giving them to you until you pass it. That means that each test we face is an opportunity to express our understanding of God’s truth.

Pastor Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church