Beacon Sunday Service: April 28th 2024

If you guys uh look here, so just uh quick recap. Last Sunday, uh, some of uh are the members of your leadership team. We went with a pastor named John Kim, and I'm imagining you guys can guess which one's John Kim. Um, but this brother has just been an awesome influence for us. He has uh really just been someone who is sort of you know shepherding us and encouraging us as we are in this transitional phase of finding a head pastor, and um, he's affiliated with uh the Master's uh seminary fellow the TMA or TM the TMF, the Masters Seminary Fellowship, and really just trying to help us get connected with potential candidates as well. So this is just a friendly reminder for you guys to continue to pray on behalf of your leadership team and the pastoral search team.

Um and with that, I just want to invite you guys to to rise and greet one another with grace and peace this morning. All right, and as we just return to our seats, I just want to invite you guys to remain standing and turn your attention to the screen for our call to worship this morning. Today's call to worship comes from Psalm seventy-one as well as uh chapter eighty-one.

It says this, my lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you, my soul also, which you have redeemed. Let us sing out loud to God our strength, and let us shout for joy to the God of Jacob.

Praise the Lord, his mercy is more stronger than darkness, new every morn, our sins they are many, his mercy is more.

What love could remember no wrongs we have done, omniscient, all knowing he counts not their sum thrown into a sea without bottom or show, our sins they are many, his mercy is more. Praise the Lord, his mercy is more stronger than darkness, new every morn. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more. See, what patience would we? What patience would wait as we constantly roam?

What father so tender is calling us home. He welcomes the weakest, the violence the poor. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more.

Stronger than darkness, knew every morn. Our sins they are many, his mercy is more that sing what riches of kindness, what riches of kindness he lavished on us, his blood was the payment, his life was the cost. We stood neat the dead, we could never report our sins, they are many, his mercy is more, praise the Lord, his mercy is more stronger than darkness, new every morning, our sins, they are many, his mercy, praise the Lord, his mercy is more stronger than darkness, new every morning, our sins, they are many, his mercy is more, our sins, they are many, his mercy is more.

Continue to sing our songs today this morning as we just worship our heavenly fathers. Let's sing together. Come, let us sing a song. So come, let us sing a song, a song declaring that we belong to Jesus, He is all we need, Lifa.

Sing now with voices raised to Jesus, sing to the king. Sing to the King, and sing to the King who is coming to reign, glory to Jesus, the Lamb that was slain, life and salvation, his empire shall bring joy to the nations when Jesus is king.

So come let us sing a song, a song declaring that we belong to Jesus, He is all we need, lift up our heart of praise, sing now with voices raised to Jesus, sing to the King Sing for His returning for His returning, we watch and we pray We will be ready the John of that day will joy in singing with all the redeem cain is vanquished, and Jesus is king.

So come let us sing a song, a song declaring that we belong to Jesus He is all we need live up a heart of praise sing now with voices raised to Jesus sing to the king come let us sing a song come let us sing a song a song declaring that we belong to Jesus He is all we need Live of praise sing now with voices raised to Jesus sing to the king Amen Brothers and sisters this morning we will confess our faith using the new city catechism we've got two questions and answers and today we're going to confess the law's requirements and purposes the first question asks what does the law of God require and together personal perfect and perpetual obedience that we love God with all our heart soul mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves what God forbids should never be done and what God commands should always be done and the second question here asks since no one can keep the law what is its purpose and together that we may know the holy nature and will of God and the sinful nature and disobedience of our hearts and thus our need of a savior the law also teaches and exhorts us to live a life worthy of our Savior Amen and brothers and sisters what a beautiful reminder for us this morning that even though there is this perfect law of God that we are commanded to follow each and every single day that the sinful creatures that we are simply cannot do as such and so we need a savior we need Jesus and so as we just sing this next hymn together my prayer for us as a church this morning is that we just continue daily just to strive step by step breath by breath just to strive after Jesus each and every single day Jesus I cross have taken all to leave destined dispersion thou from hands all shall be perish embition all I've sought yet our reach my concept God and still let the world leave me.

They have left my savior to human hearts, and looks thee. Thou are not like them true. Oh, while thou dost my God of wisdom love and foes may hate and friends dison me. Show that face and all his bright. Go then earthly fame treasure.

Come disaster pain in thy service pain is pleasure with thy faith gain.

I have stayed my heart on thee.

And all must work for me. So then no thy salvation rise or sin joy to find station something still to bear. Think what speech dwells within thee. Think what father smile thy think that Jesus died, child of heaven has the from grace to glory on by faith by prayer, heaven's eternal days before thee.

God's own hand shall guide thee there.

Shall change to glad fruition faith to sight and pray to pray. Good morning, everyone. At this time, we're going to have our confession of sin. It's a reminder in which the way that Jesus commanded us to pray, that we acknowledge that our Lord is the King of heaven and on earth, and that we, as his people, know that we struggle with our sin and that the Lord will forgive us of our debts. And so let us all pray together this time. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, and lead us not in temptation, but deliver us from evil, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Please be seated. Let's now take in a time of private confession of sin to our Lord.

Jesus bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Amen. Today's prayer requests are twofold, uh, both for a couple members of our church. First one is for our brother Albert Chang, um, who recently got accepted for his new position at the LAXPD. He's starting in a week or two. Uh, and um he didn't ask me to pray for him, but we know that in his last job as LAPD, he had a lot of worries and concerns that cause him to step down from that position and take this one. Let's pray for God to direct him and guide him in his life and his new job, for his career, and ultimately for safety, even though it is LAXPD, there are opportunities for him to be put in situations where it's gonna be tough.

So let's ask that the Lord is blessing him and his wife Kathy and his two children. So let's pray for Albert.

He got engaged to his longtime girlfriend Christopher. A lot of planning will come into play for them. Most importantly, we know that there's a lot of just future things that they have to go through and discuss. Their wedding is actually going to be in September. So that's it's coming quickly. Let's just pray for guidance upon them. Let's pray that everything that they discuss and plan for will be in just like-mindedness. Ultimately, that they would follow and listen to the will of the Lord, where their life will direct them, where they're going to live, which church they're going to go to. Things like that that we've know our discussion points and just even uh just parts of maybe contention as well.

So just ask for the Lord to bless them during this time to guide them through all of their planning as they get ready to be married. So let's pray. Father, Lord, we lift up members of our church to you.

We pray for the Chang family. We pray for Albert. And just um this new job that he's taking, Father, we pray for blessing upon him. That we know how much how much strife and trial and tribulation he went through with his last job and how much it affected his time at home and even just with Kathy and Theo and Lois. We pray that you bless them. We pray that this is the job that you've wanted him to have, that he would glorify you in the way that he he works and interacts with those around him. We just pray for his protection. We pray for his blessing, Lord. And we just pray that you uh will allow him to be successful here in what he does the next few years serving here at LAXPD. And we we also want to pray for our brother Philip and our sister Christopher, Lord.

We pray that you will bless them in their planning as they uh get ready to be married. Uh, we pray for the unification of their thoughts and all of their plannings and all of their decision making, or that they would be like-minded in the things that they decide, um, and that they would lovingly and willingly compromise for each other and in unity. Uh, and ultimately, Lord, we pray that this union uh will be blessed, Lord, um, as with a foundation of you of their faith. And we know that, Lord, um, they truly love you, and they we just ask that you will just watch and bless them over this time as September will come soon, and we know that it can be stressful, but Lord, we just pray that you give them a lot of encouragement, that you lift them up and refresh them each day.

We thank you, Lord, and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Uh, children, you're dismissed. Please follow Teacher Tiffany Sunday school with Teacher Harold as well. Okay. Um, as the children are being dismissed, uh, we have a few announcements. Oh, first announcement that's actually not up there. Um, we are actually, it's kind of uh was a spontaneous thing. Um, our brother Stephen was able to get uh just group tickets to Dodger Game for Korea Night, uh Korean Heritage Night. Uh it's actually what May 22nd. Uh and so we've already purchased tickets, but if you would like to join us, they're not sold out yet, so please come. Let us know if you want to, you know, join us, and we could maybe try to sit together.

Uh but let Stephen or myself know, and we happily would love to just have you join us if you haven't already. Uh, and then our second uh announcement is just our offering options. Uh, if you're a member of our church, we ask that the Lord to give us. The Lord has blessed you in your life. If you're visiting today, please don't feel obligated to give. We have Zell Venmo Cash and Check. With that, I'm gonna welcome Pastor Madison. Hey, this church certainly has a lot of music talent. And I am just thrilled uh in worship even this morning uh to sing songs and to learn some new sections of songs and just uh praise the Lord. We have been going through the book of James, and this week we're getting to the end of James chapter one.

We'll actually spend a couple of weeks uh in uh verses 26 and 27, but on the screen you can see uh this kind of U-turn sign. Uh and what God allows is for U-turns in our lives. We're going the wrong direction, and we come to know about him and his forgiveness, and he just completely turns us to himself. We turn from sin and to God. Uh 1 Thessalonians 1 says in verses 9 and 10, how we turn to God from idols, and we we worship everything but the Lord almost. And then he turns us. And you've been uh I've been uh on streets where you you see the sign, and I want to make a I want to make a U-turn. I'm at the stoplight, and it it has no, and then it has this big turn. And there are times that I watch people, and that's exactly what they do.

They're there it's against the law at that point, but they still do it. God permits U-turns and turns us away from sin into himself. Perhaps the best verse in scripture that tells me that is in 2 Corinthians uh chapter 5, verse 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new what? New creation, all things are passed away, and look, new things have come. I would say to you into my own heart, if I think I've trusted Christ, and there's no change in my life, then I probably haven't really trusted Christ. I haven't made him the Lord of my life. I I know him about Jesus. Oh yeah, this boy that was born, and and we celebrated at Christmas, but I haven't allowed him to be Lord of my life where he makes changes in my life.

Let me show it to you this way. This is in the Christian Standard Bible. Um that's used by many Southern Baptist churches. It was actually created uh by the Southern Baptist denomination years ago. Uh well, years ago, 10 10 years ago or so, and they have used it to just pin things down. And so it's tried to be as literal as possible, but there are still times that words get used that if I said this to kids, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. What on earth would our little kids begin to understand by a new creation? And so we have various translations of the Bible, and these various translations of the Bible allow us to just say, okay, how what's another way to say this?

What's another way to understand this? And just so you know, I've reminded you several times the the New Testament's written in what language? Greek. And Aramaic some, but basically Greek. And what happens is when we translate that into English, and then our English language keeps changing, we go, okay, well what do we mean by that? I think I said to you a few weeks ago, we use words like, oh man, uh, he really looks sharp today. And we know, we know because we grew up in in this culture that that means, man, he really looks good today. But we use the word sharp in so many ways. We say, well, that knife is really sharp. Oh, we say that copy machine was made by sharp. Or we say, oh, that cheese, oh, that's really a sharp cheddar.

And so the problem is we use all we use the same word to say, describe different things. And so when we come to this, we get different translations at times. I would say to you, listen, there are some translations that are just terrible translations. They they've left out things or they changed things, they kind of fudge on things. But many of the translations are just trying to get us to understand a little more what God's word is saying. So let me drop this down and let me put the new living translation on the screen. I told you a few weeks back that the living Bible was written years ago by Ken Taylor. Ken Taylor, I told you, had about eight kids, and they were as he started to do this translation.

It wasn't a translation to begin with, it was just a paraphrase. And so he wrote it so his 16-year-old and his two-year-old could have devotions with him and all the eight kids in that age range. And so what he would do is every day when he rode the train from Wheaton to Chicago, where he worked at Moody Bible Institute, he would take a passage of scripture, and he would try to write it in a language that is 16-year-old, he's 14-year-old, his 12-year-old, all the way down to his two-year-old. So when he had devotions that night with the kids, they would they would begin to understand it. And so he started with all the epistles. And when he did the Romans, he wrote it something like this. Hi, this is Paul.

I'm writing you people at Rome. I want you to know. And so he's putting it in language that the kids could understand. The difficulty with that is it was a paraphrase, and he wasn't literally taking the words that were used at times, and he was just kind of paraphrasing it. For instance, if I if I had trouble with my car and I was trying to describe the carburetor or something, uh I might not completely understand it. But if some guy said, you know, it's just a place where the gas goes in, and and if it doesn't get enough gas, it choked, you know, and they he tries to put it in language that I understand. He paraphrases it. The New Living Translation moved away from the paraphrase of the living Bible to become a translation, where it was more literal, not just a paraphrase, but trying to say what the text says.

Read what it says there. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. Look at the lower one. He is a new creation. So if you're trying to teach your kids, I think I would try to go back to some language that puts it on their level. They're a new person. Now, what do I mean by what do I mean by a new person? Well, before I trusted Christ, I live for myself. Before I trusted Christ, uh I was selfish at times. Before I lived for Christ, I I wouldn't control my tongue at times. I might say things to people that that weren't good. Once I trusted Christ as my Savior, I people go, wow, they kind of scratch their heads and go, he's he's different now. Now, I I would confess to you, I was seven when I trusted Christ.

That just goes back a few years. When I trusted Christ as a seven-year-old, I did seven-year-old sins. I I wasn't tempted to gamble, I wasn't tempted to get drunk, I wasn't tempted to do major stealing kind of thing. I was just a little kid, and I wouldn't obey my parents all the time, or I wouldn't do. But what I want you to understand is when anyone belongs to Christ, he's a new person. If you haven't become a new person when you trusted Christ, you probably haven't trusted Christ. As a seven-year-old, I even began to realize, wow, I shouldn't be doing this. As a seven-year-old, I there were times that after I trusted Christ, I thought, maybe I didn't trust Christ. I I sinned again. And I'd say, Lord, I will you forgive me.

I sinned again. And for a while, I would keep inviting Christ into my life. I said, Look, you know what, because I thought I haven't completely changed. And what you need to realize, what you need to realize with your kids, is once they trust Christ, yes, Christ is in them, and they're a new person, but that whole process of becoming more like Christ is called sanctification, where you become more like the Lord and less like the world. And the question I have for you has that started to take place in your life. How do you know? You ought to know there's a change when you trusted Christ as your Savior. Let me let me say it this way: think of the ways God reveals to us and to others that we have a new life.

How does he let other people know that your life has been changed because you came to know Christ? In James chapter 1, he gives you three ways that God begins to allow you to reveal that there's change in your life. The first way is when you go through trials.

But you ought to be able to take those trials to the Lord and say, Lord, you're in charge. Lord, you've got this. You know, I just yesterday I was with uh one of the ladies in our in our church in Palmdale, and her husband just passed away. Matter of fact, ten days after he got the diagnosis that he had cancer, he was gone in ten days. They'd been married for 44 years. He was 77. Wonderful godly man. And, you know, when they went home, they went to the hospital, and they had an exam. They said, You're just filled with cancer. And they sent him home on hospice. And 10 days later he's gone. But you know what he said? They got home, and of course they cried because they're gonna be, hey, you know, they just find out.

And then 10 days later he's gone. They got home and he cried, but when we got to talk with him, you know what he said? I'm gonna see Jesus. That was his response. His trial, yeah, it was a trial, and he's gonna die. And his wife's gonna be all alone. But both of them rejoiced. And yesterday, she was rejoicing. Yeah, he's with Jesus. And I'm gonna see him again. Because trials reveal whether you have a new life. And instead of running from them and saying, Oh God, why? Why me? Why did this happen to me? He says, uh, you know, whenever you have trials, the Philips translation is an old, old translation. It says it this way. When any of you have trials, don't resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends.

What a way to understand trials. But that's one way to reveal whether something has changed in your life. There's a second way. First way is through trials. The second way is through temptation. Do you want to know whether you've trusted Christ as your Savior? When you're tempted to do wrong, does the Holy Spirit say to you, What are you doing? You don't want to go there. And you kind of fight it. You're gonna, and Satan keeps trying to pull you away. If you don't have any sense that when you're tempted to sin, if you don't have any sense that this is wrong, you probably don't have the Holy Spirit in your life. Because the Holy Spirit's job is to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment.

And so the Holy Spirit's in you. If you've trusted Jesus as your Savior, He came to live in you. Poor, I always felt sorry for the Holy Spirit, because He has to live in each one of us 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 366 on Leapier. He doesn't get any break from our waywardness. But he's right there all the time, going, Don't do that. Hey, you belong to the Lord. Hey, you ought to be living this way. So how do we reveal to ourselves and others that we've trusted Christ? When trials come, I can turn to him. You know, I started to tell you about the guy that just passed away. He worked for MGM. He restored all these old films. That was his job. And after years working there, he was still too young to retire, the whole place closed down.

And he thought, oh, what am I going to do? And he has his buddy, who are both believers, went outside, raised their hands and said, Lord, you're in charge. We don't know what you're going to do. He thought, who wants who wants my job? Who wants to hire me to review film? Really remake these old films and make them new. All of a sudden, he got a call from Disney and all these other corporations. And all of a sudden, he was in charge of worldwide restoration of all these films. And he said, God's in charge. Because trials reveal whether you trust God or not. There's a third one in James chapter 1. Through trials, through temptation, and through obedience to the word of God. How does he say it in James chapter 1 verse 22?

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves, because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. Be doers of the word.

Philippians chapter 2. He says he's not only in you to will, but to do of his good pleasure.

But he lives in you to do the will of his Father. So he says, be doers of the word. He goes on in verse 24, for he who looks at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it. Remember what we looked at last week? Looks intently into the perfect law of freedom. Intently was where you bend down and lean in. I said, you know, sometimes when you lose things in your house and you go looking for it, you bend down and you look around, you lean in. That's where you intently look at God's word. You don't just brush by it. You look at it and you say, God, what's this verse mean to my life today? Lord, how's this verse going to change my life today?

We have one guy, Dr. Harry Hall, who uh is the chaplain at the Masters University. Every day, he makes it, and he's in his 60s. Every by day he makes it his goal and desire to memorize one new verse of scripture.

This person will be blessed in what he does. So here's the sermon. When someone becomes a believer, that person's life will change. The question I have for you is, has your life changed. Look, there are three areas that you begin to have evidence of that change in your life. In James 1, 26 and 27. First area that's going to change is your conversation. Your conversation. And here's how it's worded in the text. If anyone thinks he is religious, and by the way, let me just focus here for a second. Religion occurs about five times in the Bible. The word religion or religious. Not a lot of times for 66 books. Because God's not really focused.

But this is this is James' way of throwing a broad net. He's going to say, if anybody thinks he's religious, he's going to hit the whole gamut, whether you're Jewish or whatever. Every man thinks he's religious. If anyone thinks he's religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless. Read what is just in the yellow there. Without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless. Well, then how do I know whether I've trusted Christ as my Savior? Well, one way is by my conversation. I ought to be able to control my tongue. I ought to be able to control my speech. What I say.

James chapter 2, verse 12, speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. Speak. This is what I want you to do. I want you to speak. James chapter 3, verses 1 and 2. He says it this way. Not many should become teachers, my brothers. By the way, this goes to pastors, people that are going to teach the word of God. And he says it this way. Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he's a mature man who is able, he was also able to do what?

So what is he? How is he saying? If I trust Christ as my Savior, what's what's going to change in my life? My conversation. That's why he says, well, in Ephesians, he says, you know, they do away with the filthy talk. Your tongue ought to reveal the purity of your heart. And what he says, let me just slide that down and go back to James 1.26. What did he say in James 26? If anyone thinks he's religious without doing what? Controlling his tongue. So what's the emphasis in 126 in chapter 3 verses 1 and 2? Control. Control. You know, it's interesting. I have five grandkids, and uh two of them have not yet trusted Christ. One's only three, one's only one, you know. But we still pray. And you know, I I would even say, uh, there are times that there are times in my life when my oldest son was getting ready to be a dad, and and their little one, their less than one year old, who'd be one on May 3rd, their one-year-old was still in the womb.

And you know what I prayed? I prayed, Lord, would you do to that little guy what you did to John the Baptist? And do you remember what John the Baptist was? He was full of the Spirit from the womb. While he was still in the womb. And I said, wait a minute, Lord, I don't understand that theologically. You know, because let's see, I have to trust Christ as my Savior, and then when I trust Christ as my Savior, he baptizes me with the Spirit, puts, you know, the Spirit comes into me. But I thought, you know, if it was good enough for John the Baptist, and he was uh a man that was had wisdom and really godly in character. Lord, I want that from my grandchildren. Would you fill them even from the womb so that they somehow have that from the Lord?

What he's saying here is control. Control over what? One main problem in our bodies. Right here. Look at me. I'll stick my tongue out right there. That's that's a problem. And if I can't control that, then I can't control my whole body. But if I can control that, what does God's word say? If he controls his tongue, he controls what? His whole body. Right here. Who also, who is also able to control his whole body. Do you want your kids to control their body? Then teach them. Don't let them get away with just talking back and using language and using their tongue in ungodly ways. You know that little song we used to teach kids, be careful, little mouth, what you say, old tongue, what you say.

For the father of above is looking down on love, so be careful, little mouth, what you say. You know, be careful, little feet where you go, be careful hands what you do. You know, just teach the kids. If you trust Christ as your savior, there'll be some change. If you have no change, you have not trusted Christ as your Savior. Hold on. I'm not saying perfect. Let's be clear on that. I'm just saying change. You will never be perfect until you get to heaven. Ah, but you are perfect before God. He says you're holy and without blame before him in love. Ephesians chapter 1. But you know something? I don't see myself as holy and without blame. But that's how God sees me. Because in Christ, what has he done?

He's changed me. And that's what you want for your kids. You want that change. A controlled tongue means a controlled what? Body. So let me talk about the tongue for a second in these areas. Gossip, lying, slander. Boy, we we think, hey, I need to, I need to control my tongue, gossip. You know what gossip is. You're you're spreading, you know, these things that aren't necessarily true. You're passing on these things about other people, slander, lying. You say, but you know something? When I looked at these, I thought, Lord, I I I don't, I don't do, I don't do that. And then uh, let me give you another one. You boast. I don't do that. I I don't live that way, Lord. And he's saying, yeah, you you do at times.

You you're you're you're not really letting other people know. Hey, they you have those sinful struggles just like they do. If any man's in Christ, he's a new creation. But also, there's no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. So the the same temptations that Alex might have, I might have, you might have. And if I if I say I don't have it, I boast, oh, you know, he says, don't boast about it. As a matter of fact, the way he words it in James chapter 4, verse 16, but as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Because he's right back to the what? The tongue. And what is he saying? If you have trusted Christ as your savior, you're going to have a new life. And that's going to involve new conversation.

You don't want to talk about the things of the Lord. He also talks about boasting in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 14. I love this one because this is what Paul is saying, but as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross.

How Christ died for my sins. If there's anything I want to boast about, wow, look what the Lord did for you and for me. And I need to be cautious on my boasting. Colossians chapter 4, verse 6 says it this way. Your speech should always be what? Gracious. Seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person. Let me give you an illustration of someone. Well, he's the pastor of a church.

This isn't what God wants. And if he doesn't repent, then you should say, you know, if you we need to have you step down. Okay. But so this is a guy, pastor in Oklahoma, the Baptist church. He's ranting and reeling. Listen, I'll even give you a hint where he's going with it. You know, somebody's falling asleep in his congregation. Listen, you can never keep everybody awake. You know. They get inside, especially when there's a lot of people and it's they're sucking up all the oxygen. You know, and before you know it, they're starting to get a little a little sleepy. So he gets upset. And he makes it about him and not about the Lord. And he's gonna say, hey, hey, hey, you listen to me. I'm important, is what he's gonna say.

So here it is. Listen to it. Uh Abraham, make sure you have it up, okay? Son, don't go to sleep while I'm talking. Hey, hey, hey, don't don't don't you lay your head back. I'm I'm important. I'm somebody. I'm important. I'm somebody. No, you might do your English teacher that away. But I'm not teaching English. I'm teaching eternal life here. I love you. You know I love you. Have I convinced you I love you? No. Yeah. You better say you better not your idiot. Sorry. Come on, put it up there. All right. You stay awake and you listen to me. You say, well, he may never come back. Well, he ain't here now. And where have you been? Mr. Underwood. And I noticed on the calendar, I'm supposed to marry y'all.

What makes you think I'd marry you? You're one of the sorriest church members I have. You're not worth 15 cents. And you want me to marry you to her? And you want to marry him, and he don't even know where he belongs, and you don't even know where you belong. Now, let me tell y'all everybody here how much I love these kids. Do you know I love you, sir? Stand up, big boy. Do you know I love you? All right. All right. Give me a little love. When I look at that, I just go, oh my goodness. You know, is that what we is that what God says? Listen, you almost say, is is that I hardly know what to say. That pastor certainly didn't demonstrate any of what the Bible teaches. If any man's in Christ, he's going to have a new what?

Conversation. You don't go at people. You're your speech ought to be seasoned with grace. A soft answer turns away wrath. So God throughout his word, what's he saying? If you control, he said, look, all sorts of animals have been tamed by mankind. You go to SeaWorld and you watch the dolphins, you know, jump up in the air and do all the things. You can train almost any animal, but the tongue can no man tame. But who is able to tame it? Are you listening? Who is able to tame the tongue? The Lord. Because he changes your heart. And he changes your speech. And you begin to have a changed life. Look, in every church, I'm going to give you three kinds of people. Actually, there are only two kinds of people.

I'll tell I'll tell you clearly, right? There are only two kinds of people in church. Saved and unsaved, right? But I'm going to give you three for now, okay? The real believers, unbelievers, and make believers. Because there are people that want to make you believe their believers. When they're really unbelievers.

Well, for instance, let me say if I had if I made counterfeit money. The counterfeit money you make, you want it to look as close as possible to the real thing, right? I don't try to pass out monopoly money at a restaurant and think they're going to take that money and use it. Because it doesn't look at all like the real thing. But how I think that yeah, how somebody fakes them out is if you can come as close as possible to the real thing without being the real thing. Judas was one of those. He hung out with Jesus, he hung out with the disciples, he kept the money for the people, he did everything that everybody else did. But he wasn't a believer.

So when someone becomes a believer, their lives will change. And there are three areas that he's going to give us in verses 26 and 27 of James 1 that ought to change in our lives. The first one is in our conversation. Second one is in your compassion.

Here's what the text says.

And to try to make money. And so he's saying here, look, there are orphans and widows in your congregation. Now the question I have is this what does God's word say we're to do? Look after. Got it there? I highlighted it. Or to look after orphans and widows. Let me ask you this. Can you tell me one church that you know of that takes care of, provides for orphans and widows? I only know of one church. And by the way, uh, if they're under sixty years of age, yeah, God's word says, hold off, don't take care of them on the on the widows, because it's likely that she will do what? Do you know what scripture says?

It's likely that she'll remarry because she's under 60. But otherwise, if they have no children, no family members to take care of them or to take care from of the widows, and if they're younger, we help them with the orphans. I only know one church that does it, and when I mentioned it, even to our church in Palmdale years back, I I said, you know, I don't know anybody. And we we had two two ladies in our church that were widows, and one of them said, I you know, but I I don't need any help. I'm you know, but one church, and I talked to our guys about uh about Dr. Brian Murphy, uh, who is a professor at Masters, and he te and he is the pastor at Roosevelt Community Church in Lancaster, their church, he and when he told me, I just went, wow, we need to be doing that in our church.

If we have orphans or widows, we need to be helping them.

You must not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will burn, and I will kill you with a sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless. If you don't want to help them the way God says, he said, if you're gonna mistreat them, listen, I'm gonna have to discipline you so that your family will learn how to how to care for people. Let me just slide that up and go to this the story about Brian Anderson. I'm gonna read this one, okay. Brian Anderson is gonna help. This happened in Belton, Texas. One evening, a man saw an older woman stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of the late afternoon, he could see she needed help.

So he pulled up in front of her fancy car, it was a Mercedes, and got out. His old pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her car. Even with a smile on his face, she was worried. More than an hour had gone by, and no one had stopped to help her. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe. He looked poor and hungry.

Standing out there in the coal, she was fearful. He said to her, I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? And by the way, uh I'm Brian Anderson. Just introduced himself. See a flat tire. Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for older people, that was that's bad enough. Brian skinned his knuckles a time or two as he crawled under the car, looking for a place to put the jack. Soon he was able to change the tire, but he had gotten dirty and his hands had gotten scraped. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him.

She told him she was from St. Louis and was only passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Brian just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Brian never thought twice about being paid. This wasn't a job to him. This was helping someone in need. By the way, what's James talk about? Your life is gonna be if you're changed in Christ. What do you do? You have a new compassion. You help people. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him, Brian, um, a hand in the past.

He lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed. And Brian added, and think of me, Brian Anderson. He waited until she started her car and drove off. It'd been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed home, disappearing into the twilight. A few miles down the road, the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip to St. Louis. It was a dingy-looking restaurant. Outside there were two old gas pumps.

Someone with a Mercedes and money. The waitress came over to help her. The waitress had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant. But she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The older lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so warm and friendly to a stranger. Then she remembered Brian Anderson. After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for the one hundred dollar bill, but the older lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back.

The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady had written. It said, You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here's what you can do. Don't let this chain of love end with you. Under the napkin were four more bills. Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve. But the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written.

How could that lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be financially hard. She knew how worried her husband had been. And as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a light kiss on the cheek and whispered softly, everything's going to be alright. I love you, Brian Anderson. Did you catch that? The guy that had helped the lady with the flat tire was the guy that the lady helped down the road. You never know how God's going to work. You can't outgive God. You know, I'll tell you, just on a side note on that, and we're we run out of time.

Let me just keep going. I won't go on another. Jesus said, Hey, you helped me, you helped me. And they said, when did we help you? Matthew 25, 38. When did we see you a stranger and take you in? Or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison or visit you? And that king will answer them, I assure you, whatever you did for me for one of the least of these, my brothers, but these brothers of mine, you did for me. We're gonna look at this next week. In our conversation, there ought to be change. In our compassion, there ought to be change. In our conduct, there ought to be change. We'll look at this next week, but here's what the text says: pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Your conduct ought to be such that people know. See, you're in the world. Let me say it this way. You're in the world, but not of the world. We're like a boat in the water. We're in the water. You know, when the boat's in the water, is there any problem? No, when the boat's in the water, there's no problem. But when the water gets into the boat, there's a problem. So we're in the water, but the water's not in us. We're in the world, but the world's not in us. Our conduct ought to be such that people see a difference. And the question I have is, have you seen these changes in your life? In your conversation, in your compassion for other people, and your conduct.

Heavenly Father, we bow in these moments, asking that you speak to our hearts, and that we who are believers will know that change. That we'll see that change, that others will see that change in our lives as well. And that Father, uh, God as we hear your word. Your word will give us the strength and the power to live for your glory. For it's in Christ's name we pray.

Look for things of earth will grow in the light of his glory.

It's a it's a bit of a it's a different take on this old song here, but um I think if we just look at the chorus as well. If one of the brothers could flip to the chorus, it sings Jesus to you, we lift our eyes, Jesus our glory and our prize. We adore you, we behold you, our Savior ever true.

See you we live our eyes.

Behold you our savior ever true. Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to you upon Jesus, look for one full face and the things of earth will grow strange in the light of his glory and grace.

Turn your eyes to the hillside to the Hill Side when just his mercy embrace that the Son of God gave his life and amasure we live our Jesus our glory and our pride we adore you behold you our savior ever true.

Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to you. Turn your eyes to the morning.

And see Christ the life what a glorious son fear of death is gone. For we carry his life in. So you turn your eyes to the heavens.

Every knee will bow. Every time will shout. Oh glory to Jesus. Jesus to you we live. Jesus our glory and our pride as we adore you. Behold you our savior ever true. Oh Jesus. We turn our eyes to you. Just together with our voices, let's just sing, turn your eyes upon Jesus. Here we go.

Jesus.

And the things of earth will grow strange in the light of his glory. As we share these moments of communion, let me just read to you first Corinthians eleven. For I have received from the Lord, what I also passed on to you. On the night when he was betrayed. The Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, also he took a cup after supper and said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So then whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself in this way. Let him eat the bread and drink the cup. I'm going to ask you just to bow and to examine your hearts. To examine your hearts before the Lord right now. Would you pray and examine your heart.

Father, we understand, we know, we have confessed sin during the service today. But as we examine our hearts to ready for communion, we're asking in these moments that our hearts can be pure before you. That we confess our sins and your faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank you for this reminder of what you did on Calvary that makes our salvation possible. And so we take the bread and we take the cup. So we don't forget. For it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.

Take it back to your seat. We have an open communion here at the Vegan. If you know Christ as your Savior, we invite you to participate. And we're asking that you hold the wafer and the cup, and we'll participate together. You come as we prepare for communion.

Every week or every day. But he says, as often as you do it, do it so you don't forget. Do it in remembrance of how he died for us on the cross. This is my body, which is for you. I invite you to eat of it. In the same manner he took the cup and he blessed it. I'm going to ask God's blessing on this right now. Lord Jesus, made this cup picture for us your shed blood. Might we take it in a manner worthy of what you've done for us. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. This is the blood of the Lord. Drink yeah of it.

Amen. Once again, we can say with the Lord, we have done as thou hast commanded. And we are rejoicing because of that. Let's just close in prayer, shall we? Heavenly Father, you gave your Son. Thank you that you were willing to make such a sacrifice for our sin. And we're grateful now for what you've done for us. And we pray now, Father, that your blessing would be on these people, on our lives, as we leave here from this worship service to serve you on the mission field you give us this week. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. God bless. Have a great week.