Beacon Sunday Service: March 17th 2024

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Our call to worship comes from Psalm one nineteen, verse fifteen and sixteen. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes.

Amen. I don't know about you guys, but I long for the Lord's day because it's the day where we get to gather together to listen to God's word. And we get to worship God for all that He is and all that He has done and all that He will do and what a blessing. It's it truly is a blessing to be able to gather together as a family week in and week out without opposition. Able to walk in here freely with the Word of God without fear of getting arrested or thrown thrown rocks at uh rocks thrown at us and and uh what just what a blessing that we can do that and and we should take um every effort to take advantage of this freedom that we have in this country and um and I just ask and pray that we would as a church take this time absolutely seriously and and uh and that the Lord would receive all the honor and glory.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this blessed time uh that we get together um every week to worship you and to listen to your word, Father. Um I just asked that you would soften our hearts uh this morning. Um help us to recognize what a privilege it is to listen to your word preached week in and week out. Many in this world uh do not have that privilege. Um so be with us, Lord, soften our hearts, um, make it ready uh for the word uh to be implanted in our hearts, uh, Father. And would you just uh receive all the honor and glory at this time for your glory and pray all this in Jesus' name?

No wrongs we have done on this and all knowing he counts not their soul thrown into the sea without bottom or shore, our sins they are many, his mercy is more patience would wait, what patience would wait as we constantly room, what father so tender is calling us all, he welcomes the weakest, the vilest of poor, our sins, they are many, his mercy is more.

Stronger than darkness, new every more, our sins, they are many, his mercy is more what riches of kindness, what riches of kindness he lavished on us, his blood was a fame, and his life was the cause. We stood neath the dead. We could never avoid our sins, they are many, his mercy is more.

Endured our agony with gladness now, with gladness now. We bear your name, and worship at your feet, you are our song from made to age, our voices unite to recount your praise again.

You are our song from age to age. We will proclaim your power to save again and again, O God who surely guides our steps through tempest and through trials, our strep king your way is best through tears now veil our eyes, your steadfast love, our perfect our eyes are fixed on grace. We have no doubt your leave us all to finally see your face, you are our song from nature, our voices unite to recount your praise again and again, you are our song from nature, we will proclaim your vow to save again, O God of all of history, O God of all history enthroned in realms of life, what eyes of faith have strained to see will one day fill our sight with all the saints will lay our crowns before the Savior's feet and sing as all the heavens resound for all eternity, you are our song from age to age, our voices unite to recount your praise again again, you are our song from age to age.

Again, and again, Amen.

Question forty-two. The question is, how is the word of God to be read and heard? And the answer with diligence, preparation, and prayer, so that we may accept it with faith, store it in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.

See your words are wonderful, your words are wonderful, unholding like the dawn of else spring and the rock we rest upon, we trust your promises that keep our hope alive, they steady us through our lives. We recline. Where else can we go? Where else can we go? You have the words of life, the words of life. Come right your holy truth.

Uh longing hearts and strengthen us to shine against the dark, Lord God us from the lies.

No guilty mates for those you have redeem. Where else can we go? Where else can we go? You have the word life the words of life give us to hear to see help us in give us to heal and see help us in where else can we go?

Where else can we go? Where else can we go? You have the word of life, the word life make your glory know your glory known through all your words of life, your words of the life. We sing that as a prayer.

Where else can we go? Where else can we go? You have the words of life the words of life make your glory know make your glory know through all your words of life your words of life. Good morning, everyone. Our confession of sin is an opportunity for us to collectively just share before our Lord. Um just the things that we collectively struggle with. Um so just as we have done in the past weeks, we're gonna say our confession of sin together, so that in one voice as a co as a congregation, we will be sharing just the things that we've sinned before the Lord.

But also afterwards, we're gonna have a personal time where we can just share our personal struggles before our Lord. So together, most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. We have fallen short by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart, for we have been lukewarm, we are truly sorry, and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us. Cause us to delight in your will and to walk in your ways. Amen. Please be seated. Let's now take in the personal time of silent confession to our Lord.

Here's your assurance of pardon. If the Lord should mark our iniquities, O church, who of us could stand, but with the Lord there is forgiveness that he may be feared. Amen. Today's prayer topic is one that is connected to something special that our church is trying to do in a few weeks. Last week we announced that we're going to be inviting or trying to invite friends to our Easter service on Easter Sunday. And so take this opportunity to pray over a friend, family member, a family that you would like to invite.

Also, during this time, pray for boldness for yourself.

It's one of those things that if you're not even used to it, or even just feeling unassured that the words may not come out. You see somebody, you freeze.

Even in rejection, that the Lord will just give you encouragement to do so. So let's pray.

Father, I just ask for you to use us, your people to go and do our part in sharing the gospel message, even if it's a simple invitation to our Easter service. We pray, Father, for boldness. We pray that we would take the opportunity when given. We would pray over those who we know are not believers and the ones that we just care for, Lord. We pray, Father, for blessing upon those encounters, and Lord, that we would make the most of them. Lord, that we would not fear rejection, Lord, but we'd be filled with the hope and knowing that they would have the opportunity to hear your gospel message. So, Lord, we pray for those opportunities come that that Sunday we would have new faces here because they wanted to hear the message of this uh of your of your son.

So we thank you for this opportunity, Lord, and please use us, Father, to go forth and make your nation great. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Children, you're dismissed for Sunday school. Please have a good time with teacher Stephen and teacher Harold. As they're being dismissed, we're gonna go over our announcements for today. Uh, our church is going to continue on with our annual Good Friday service, which is March 29th. This year we're gonna try a little something different, um, which is uh historically we would start at like an hour where it was hard for parents and their children to come. So both parents being there with the children. So we're gonna encourage all of you guys to come by six o'clock.

We're gonna provide dinner so that we can share a meal together, uh, and then have a service at seven, and then hopefully end um not too late. Your children will not be in bed by your no their normal times, but uh hopefully an opportunity um to worship together on an important day for us as Christians. Uh and then as we just prayed over our Easter Sunday is March 31st, two days later later. Um, as we shared earlier, we do encourage you to bring a friend or a family that you've wanted to just invite to church. Uh last our offering options are Zell, Venmo, Cash and Check. Um, if you're visiting, please do not feel obligated to give. But if you're a member of the church, please give as the Lord has blessed you in your life.

Pastor Madison. Riley Ben trying to dig in to where he's going in chapter one. Do you recall that uh we we gave one word to kind of summarize the book of James? It was the word works, and we said, you know, let's take each letter and and make it what's in each chapter uh of the book of James. Right now, this morning, that we want to turn back to James 1 and verses 9 uh to 12, and we want to talk about uh the rich and the poor. And uh I don't know where you are, but let me uh put this on the screen. You ever seen Fiddler on the Roof? And you'll recall it's uh a Jewish background, and the fiddler is always on the roof, and and the the reason he's there as they go through and are chased out of Russia and the czar in Russia, wherever they go, the fiddler is always there, and the fiddler is said to be their traditions, so wherever they go, their traditions go right along with them, and that's really kind of true because when Jesus got in conflict with them, it was well the law says, and the tradition says, and tradition says we have to do this.

What do you say? But what I really liked about Fiddler on the Roof um ties in with our text today. What are we gonna talk about? The rich and the what? The rich and the poor. And what do you hear? Um, Alex, there's a little bit of music on this one. This is kind of the main part of tying in with what goes on. I'm not really complaining after all with your help. I'm starving to death. You made many, many poor people. I realize, of course, it's no shame to be poor. But it's no great honor either. So, what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune? If I were a retreat, all day long, beep. If I were a wealthy man wouldn't have to work hard.

So they're doing it for the broadcast. So what we do today is we just chase, we just chase after money if we're not cautious. But God's gives us so many warnings about money and not wasting all our time on money. I mean, obviously, we have to have something to be able to eat. But in that early church, James is writing the early church about the rich and the poor because there were some problems that were occurring in Jerusalem. So let me just take you back here and say, why was the early church so poor? What made the difference that he had to write and address them about the rich and the poor in their setting? Let me give you a few things to think about. One, there were many members who came from outside Jerusalem.

They couldn't do their job in the city. For example, Peter and Andrew were fishermen.

So now they're coming there and and they can't do they can't do the work that they were trained to do. Let me give you another one. There were many visitors who came to Jerusalem just because of Christianity. They had to be fed, housed, clothed, but a financial strain on the church. That's why Paul collected an offering for the church in Jerusalem. But now you got these poor people in Jerusalem, and you've got the people that grew up in Jerusalem, had their jobs, had a home, and they're starting to have some conflict in that early church. Let me give you another reason there were poor people there. Christianity always tended to appeal to poor and oppressed people. Prostitutes, thieves, and tax collectors were all attracted by the idea that they can get forgiveness.

And where did the church start? It started in Jerusalem. So now thousands of people come to know Christ. And all of sudden, this church, this church that didn't even exist before before Pentecost, all of a sudden the Holy Spirit comes down and people get saved, and people get baptized, and the church starts to grow.

There are some people that have money, and there's some people that don't have it. And people are starting to show favoritism.

And did you know after they did the burnt offerings?

And that's what they ate and lived on. But now they're no longer priests in Judaism. And oh, where they're gonna minister and help is three thousand people who trusted Christ, and five thousand people trusted Christ, and man, it's growing like wildfire, and without any jobs, they without any place to live, and they didn't have food to be able to give to any priests that came out of Judaism into Christianity. You see this, this actually is in Acts chapter 6, verse 7. And it says this. So the preaching about God flourished, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith. So again, they left everything, and now where are they gonna get the food they needed?

So let's go back again and say, so why was the early church so poor? Well, there's another reason. Let me put it on the screen. Persecution. Now, persecution. The Lord wants to watch over his people. But last week we learned that God sometimes permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves. Does he like it when Christians are persecuted? I mean, he's not going up there, oh, this is fun. Let's have no, but he permits it. Why did he permit it back then? What was going on? Thousands of people came to Jerusalem. And what did what was the what was the last we we call it the Great Commission? What was the last thing that Jesus said to his disciples? Go into all the world and preach the gospel.

And they weren't doing it. They were just going to stay right in Jerusalem because wow, the Holy Spirit came down and people were selling their possessions. That's why in Acts chapter 5, Ananias and Sapphira, they lied about selling their house and what they sold it for. But people were saying, hey, if there's a need and I have something over here, let me just sell it and I'll give it to the church. I want to help people.

We're poor beggars. We're sinners that needed that salvation. So the persecution came. Why did God allow persecution? Because of his last commission. He said, I want you to go into all the world. And they weren't going into all the world. But when persecution came, where'd they go? To all the world. So sometimes God allows persecution in your life and mine, so that we'll realize that we need to keep going out into all the world. That's why we have missions. You see, people without Christ in this life spend an eternity without Christ in the next. That's why we go. Some of the Christian schools around our uh nation, it's so sad to see where they don't even believe that people are going to hell without Christ.

I sat in one class, and I was probably one of 50 guys in the class. These were guys that they were going to talk about going into the ministry. I was already in the ministry. And they said, How many, you know, what do you think happens to people that have never heard about Christ? Will they make it to heaven? I was the only one in the class that said, no, they're not going to make it in heaven. Everybody else said, I said, well, what? And they said, Oh, well, they're going to make it to heaven. Yeah, sure, they're going to make it to heaven. You know what if they, you know, and I said, why do you send missionaries? Why do you spend money and sending missionaries? Why, why does God's word say that faith comes with a hearing and hearing by the word, and how can they hear unless somebody be sent?

So we send people so that they can get saved. And without Christ, they'll spend eternity without Christ. So he says, I'm going to give you persecution. I'm going to send you into all the world. So let's go back to James. And here's what here's the text for today. The brother of humble circumstance should boast in his exaltation. But the one who is rich should boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass.

In the same way, the rich man will wither away while pursuing his activity. Let me give you verse 12.

Because when he passes the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those that love him. Now let me give you.

Can you read that? Oh, I've got good accent. Okay. This is verses 2 through 12. When you open up God's word, what you want to do is to say, what is he talking about in these verses, in this group of verses? You need to put it in its context. So now he's talking about rich people and poor people in verses 9, 10, 11, 12. But what's the context? Well, let me say, here's nine through twelve. Okay. The brother of humble circumstances should boast in his excultation, the poor one. But the rich one, here's how he should do. Now let me take verse 12 and slide it right up here. So verse 2 says, verses 2 and 3, considered a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience what? Various trials. By the time you get down to verse 12, what's he say?

The man who endures what? Trials. So what is the context that he's putting rich people and poor people in? Trials. Now he's going to define it even poor even more. So again, what you're going to do as you open up God's word, it's not, you don't read a verse and say, Oh, you're going to say, What? If I'm going to interpret this verse correctly, let me put it in its context. So if I'm going to talk about rich people and poor people, I'm going to have to put it in the context of trials. And he even says it further in verse 3. Knowing that the testing of your faith. And what does he say in verse 12? A man who endures trials is blessed because when he passes the what? So what is he calling a trial in your life both times?

They're tests. They're opportunities for you to be tested. Ducky Madzo is a Greek word that's used. And it means that you anticipate and you pass this test. It's what if a doctor goes on to become a medical doctor, and he goes through a dissertation, he goes through a testing. It's a dokimadzo. He gets a chance to be tested with the understanding that they expect him to pass. Because he studied and studied and studied and studied and studied. And God gives us opportunities to pass a test. Here's the trial I'm going to give you. And I expect you to pass. But right now, he said there's some problems in the church in the book of James, in the in the church at Jerusalem, because you're all there and people are poor and there's no housing, and you're facing a test right now.

And I want to talk to you about these trials. So let's get to the sermon. Whether you're rich or poor, you're gonna what? You're gonna face trials. And I want you to say, oh, there's some lessons I need to learn. You know, in a church our size, you all know everybody. You know, you and you probably even know the jobs they have, those kind of things. In larger churches and in the church in Jerusalem, when you have 5,000 people there, they don't know the people. But they can see people that are poor. They're not dressed as well. And they have no home. They're on the street, they're in MacArthur Park. And we're supposed to reach them. So first lesson I want you to see is that being poor is a trial.

You say, yeah, I know that. I've had to put up with not having enough money. I've had to do without that. Being poor is a test. It's a trial. And so let me give you some ways that God uses it to test you in this trial. You're always having to depend on God. You're poor. You don't have the money for this. You don't have the money for this car part. You're praying that your car keeps going. You're praying that the job comes through. You're having to depend on God. Isn't that what God wants? He wants, He wants us to begin to say, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not, King James, I shall not want. I had a hard time with that as a kid because I thought, I want the Lord. What does it mean? Thou shalt not want.

No, I it means the Lord is my shepherd, and he's providing for everything I need. And I won't have any wants in my life. The problem that we have is most of the time we don't know the difference between our needs and our I want. I want this, I want this, and I want this new car, and I want this new house, and I want this, and I want this new coat, and I want this, I want this new iPad, I want this new whatever. And he said he'd meet all our needs. Philippians 4.19, my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory. All your needs.

And just our needs. One trial, one test is we're always having to depend on God. Another one is you are tempted to covet things. When you're poor and you see what everybody else has, what do you do? Oh man, I wish I had that. I wish I had those new Jordan gym shoes or whatever, you know, when you were a kid in school. Or I wish I had. And what's interesting is the Lord knows that when we're tested, he wants to see if you're able to depend on Him. And you're not panicked. God's going to supply all your needs. I would tell you, let me just give you a personal illustration. When we came out to California to start a church.

Our kids were three and six. And we're going to come out to plant a church. So there's no congregation. There's no salary. There's no money coming in. We're just going to plant a church from nothing. It was the biggest decision that we ever made. And while I had pastored for 10 years in Indiana, the church there, the community there went from 38,000 people down to 33,000 while we were there. Because everybody was saying, I don't know why we would live up here in the north. It's so cold. And oh, we just live right near Gary where all the steel mill stuff is coming over and all the pollution. And oh, by the way, air conditioners are really great now. We can move down to Texas and we won't be hot there.

And so 5,000 people in that 10 years left our community, leaving a lot of homes for sale. So when it came time for us to leave that area, we had a home that hadn't gone up one penny in value in the years we'd owned it. And the house there was 45,090.

So we had a home for 45,900 and a lot of homes on the market. And we're gonna have to sell that. But we said, you know, God is calling us to come out and plant a church. So I called a realtor and I said, hey, if you can you just let us uh will you handle all the financial stuff for us, but let us sell it. We're not asking you to find a buyer, give us a couple of weeks. Oh no, by the way, um, yeah, let us try to sell it. So on a Sunday morning when I announced my resignation from the church to go to California to plant a church. We hadn't listed our house yet. Because if you're a pastor and you're going to leave to go someplace, you don't usually put a sign in your front yard so that your people say, Well, hey, Pastor, how come you're selling your house?

Well, because I'm going to California and started a church. So we waited until that time. Matter of fact, I really struggled when I announced that resignation. I'm up there crying like crazy because I didn't want to, I loved the people, and ten people had come forward that morning. And I said, We're going to be starting a church in California. Two of the people that came forward that morning actually ended up coming out with us to start the church. And what they people were crying, I was crying, but that couple, they were excited. And they came up and they said, Oh, this is terrific. We came forward this morning because we we knelt before the Lord and we said, Lord, uh, if you want us to go to California to get the job, you know, lead us, you know, but we we don't know why we would go to California.

And so when I announced that we were going to California, they said, Oh my goodness. They'd gone back to their seat and they came up all excited, we're gonna help you start the church in California. And when it came time to sell a house back there, that Sunday night. I announced it Sunday morning, Sunday night. We had a service. That Sunday night, another young couple came to us in our church and said, Hey, would you be willing to sell us your house? And they bought the house. Less than 12 hours after I had announced it. Because God uses, He asked us to make decisions and depend on Him. Not on how much money you have. We didn't have any money to start a church out here. But after 34 years, we had nine pastors at that church and thousands of people.

And God grew the church. Why? Because of obedience. And so why? Why is being poor a trial? Because you have to depend on God. You're tempted to covet things. Oh, I wish I had that. Let me give you another reason. You're tempted to think you can't afford to give to God. I mean, I'm so poor. Wow, how can I afford to give? And you're going to trust God with what He's given you. And you're going to give a portion back to Him. All of it's His anyway. Let me put this on the screen. Listen to one of the biblical statements James makes about the poor. Because now, in the context, who's he talking about? The rich and the poor and the trials they face. So what does he say about the poor? Listen, my dear brothers.

Didn't God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith? Not the rich of the world, but the poor of the world.

Reveal to you that God, you know, everything you have, he's given you. And that the poor people of our world still need to know the Lord. Because they're going to be rich in faith more easily than the rich. Because the rich have learned to depend on themselves. So let me put the rich up here on the screen. And they kind of have a in Jerusalem church, they had a high appraisal of themselves. And what'd the poor people? Where were they? Well, let's put them down here. And what is James doing as he addresses this rich and poor in the church in Jerusalem? He's saying, look, in Christ, we're what? We're equal. We're all level. We're all sinners. We all need to learn to depend on God. Because the ground is always level where?

At the cross. If people have extra money and they come to Christ, is that a that gonna give them any benefit? No. If you're poor and you can't afford anything, is that gonna give you a benefit? No. Here's what James says. Verse 9: the brother of humble circumstances should boast in his exaltation. But the one who is rich should boast in his humiliation. He's been brought down. So whether you're rich or poor, you're gonna face trials. And here are the lessons you're gonna learn. One, being poor is a trial. I don't know if you're in that area. Are you passing the test? Is the question I would ask? But being rich is also a trial. And I can hear somebody saying, but let me have that trial. I'll volunteer.

I'll take that trial. Huh? Give me more money. I'll take that test on. But what does God have to warn them about? He says, look, it's a it's a test. And so being rich is a trial also. You're tempted to depend on what? Yourself. It's just the opposite trial. That's the poor. They're struggling to depend on God. They have to learn to depend on God. The rich have to learn not to depend on themselves. Because they have all the money they think they need. They can buy the car. Let me. Last Sunday, we prayed together the Lord's Prayer. Do you remember that? And in the Lord's Prayer, what does he say? Give us this day our daily bread. You know something? The trouble with us in America. Is we never have to worry about what you're going to eat for lunch today.

You have enough money. We're one of the one of the richest nations in the world. And compared to every other nation, we own so much more than them. And once in a while, just once in a while, it would be good for us not to have the money. So that we have to say, Lord, give us this day, our daily bread. When I just finished college, way back at the 1970. Okay.

And I got a job. The job paid once a month. $680 once a month. And I worked, uh I worked at a Christian organization. Got paid once a month. So the first month was really difficult. And there were days that I didn't have any money for any food. And you know what my prayer was? Lord, give us this day, our daily bread. And it became a reality. And it taught me that God was always going to provide. So when we came out to start the church, I said, God's going to provide. And he did. You know what I ended up having to do? I went and built homes while we were getting ready to start the church. So I was building homes all day long. And in the temperature was 110 degrees in Hill Valley.

And it was just rough. But God provided. Because I wasn't tempted to depend on myself. Everything I had had to depend on God. Let me give you another reason. You're tempted to love things more than God. When you're rich.

I have the nicest car. I have the nicest whatever. And you begin to love those things more than you love God. Let me put this on the screen. I hope that this is one that you'll jot down and begin to think. We should love people and use things.

Use your car for God's glory. Use your home to have people over, to be given a hospitality. You love people, and you use the things to love people. But here's the problem. I'll put the rest of it on the screen. Instead, we love things and use people. You know what we said in our church in Palmdale? You never use your church. You never use people to build your church. You use your church to build people. Who did God make first? The family or the church? And he put the church there to give you a body of believers to come right alongside that family. And you use your church to build those families. You use your church to build those people.

And it glorifies God. We should love people and use things. Instead, we love things and use people. So let's go back up here again. Being rich is a trial. You're tempted to depend on yourself. You're tempted to love things more than God. You're tempted to boast of your work rather than his work. Oh man, I did this job and I handled that, and I got this money, and I got this contract, and I got. And it was who are we talking about here? I got this, and I got this, and I got this. And so in the church in Jerusalem, what is he having to say to them? Look, here's the rich, you're the poor, and wow, they're all messed up. However, listen to what the Lord says about the rich. James 1, 9 and 10. The brother of humble circumstances should boast in God lifts him up, provides everything he needs.

Yeah, you're down here in the dirt, and God's gonna pick you up. But the one who is rich should boast in his, God's gonna do what? Gonna have to knock some blocks out from underneath of him. So he learns to rely on God. The one who is rich should boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries the grass. Its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance is destroyed. In the same way. Here's what he has to say about the rich. In the same way, the rich man will wither away while pursuing his activities. Catch that. You'd almost say, man, I don't know if I want to be rich. Do I want to wither away in all my activities?

You know these people. You probably never heard of these people, have you? Anybody? A lottery winner. I'll give you the details right from the start here. They were lottery people. By the way, just so you know, everybody that's won the lottery has ended up with a horrific destruction in their family and life. Books have even been written about it. Because they got all this money, and everybody knows about it, and everybody's asking the money, and they're there, and they have more money than they need, and they give it to the kids, and the kids waste it and go drugs and you name it. These people did the lottery. But what does it say about the rich person? Umbe I'll take you back one more time.

The rich man will what? Wither away while pursuing his activities. So now I can go back here and talk about these people. They went after the lottery. They won the lottery. Oh, but here's what it says. A lottery winner has been stripped of her money after it was revealed. She hid it from her husband and the court during their divorce proceedings. California resident Denise Rossi took home one point three million in December 1996. But kept her good luck a secret. Denise Rossi lost all her 1.3 million lottery winnings to her ex-husband after it was revealed. She failed to disclose them in her divorce proceedings. Denise Rossi lost all her 1.3 million lottery winnings to her ex-husband after she went to divorce him.

She won the lottery. Nine days later, she filed for divorce. Because now she's got all this money. And she didn't want to share it with anybody. And it's against the law. When you divorce, not to divide the property and reveal what you have. All 1.3 million. Was taken from her. What does the text say again? I'll just back it up. The rich man will do what? With her away. One day, she's as rich as can be. And she's going to make, she's going to depend on the riches now. And what does God's word say? Don't depend on those. Who are we depend on? The Lord. And so these people, Denise, Thomas, he didn't even have any idea he was going to have a lot of money. Is he just going to dump him?

Listen. This is what the Lord says, Jeremiah 9 23. This is what the Lord says. The wise man must not boast in his wisdom. The strong man must not boast in his strength. The wealthy man must not boast in his wealth. But man, what happens in our society? Our money should go no place when it comes to our value. Our value comes from the Lord. This is Jeremiah 9 23. Jeremiah 9 24 says this. But the one who boasts should boast in this, that he understands and knows me. That I am Yahweh, faithful, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth. For I delight in these things. This is the Lord's declaration. Go ahead and boast in the Lord. You know, God forbid, Paul says it this way, God forbids that I should boast, save in the cross.

I can boast about the cross, because that's what got my salvation. Mark 10.25, you know this one. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. You know that. We talked, you talk about that all the time. But we're still chasing. Why are we still chasing riches? Look, whether you're rich or poor, you're gonna face trials. Here are the lessons. Being poor is a trial. You're gonna have to depend on God. That's a good place to be. Ah, being rich is a trial. Oh, yeah, you're gonna depend on yourself. Being in Christ makes rich and poor equal. Do you see that? The lesson that he wants you to catch from this. Let's go back here. The rich and the poor.

Remember where the poor were. But in Christ, it's like this. Because what? The brother of humble circumstances should boast that God has lifted him up. The rich, oh, what should they do? The one who's rich should boast and say, I'm so glad that God brought me down. So I have to rely on him as well. Galatians says it this way. There was a problem in the Galatian church between the Jews and the Gentiles. And so Paul had to write them, and he said, You are the sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, no slave or free, no rich or poor. He said, no male or female.

By the way, just let me be very clear on this. This is the verse that people who want to have women pastors use to try to go around what God's word says. And they said, but it says it right there. Look at the last two lines. There's no slavery free, no male or female. So, hey, you know, a female can be a pastor as well as a male being a pastor. This text, remember, we always put it in its what? Context. And what's the context here? And especially in Galatians. It's about salvation. And how you get in Christ. When you put on Christ. And if you want to know how to run a church, then you go to 1st and 2 Timothy and Titus because that's instructions on the church. And that's why in that passage it says, I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over man.

Not because they're any better. That has nothing to do with it. God just gave this order so that there would be order in creation in our church. Can women do? Hey, my wife is probably smarter than me.

What did God say? The head of Christ is God, and the head of uh man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man. And he just gave that order so that, but that doesn't give us a right. We don't treat our wives like doormats. We love them. We elevate them higher. Husbands, love your wives like Christ. Love the church. They get the highest honor. But I wanted you at least to see this. That there's no rich or poor in the church, no slavery free. But don't misinterpret it to say that other passages of scripture, you can't negate another passage of scripture by something, so you have to say, what does this mean? And what's the context? Proverbs 22 2 says it this way. The rich and the poor have this in common.

What do they have in common? Lord made them both. And so we don't go after the rich and become, you know, if you're poor, don't go after the rich person and make sarcasm after them. And who made them? God did. And you want to win them to Christ. The sad part is they're relying on their money, probably. And so don't go after them. But don't go after, if you if you have some money, don't go after poor people and put them down. God has given both of us this opportunity. What does he say in James 1? When he passes the test, what test? Being poor. What test? Oh, being rich. Which test has God put you in in your life? I you know something? I I grew up in a very, very, very poor family.

The house that I grew up in, my parents bought in 1945 or 46. They paid $3,500 for the house. When they sold it, that's $3,500. Just to make sure. You can't even buy a car with that. Okay. They lived there from 1946 to 1998 or so. They sold it in 1998 for $4,000. It was a shack. But you know something? Because of that, as a pastor, what did I do when somebody came to our church and they couldn't afford anything? And they'll say that in our church today in Palmdale. Look, if you can't afford money's no object here. If you can't afford it, just let us know.

We'll see that you get. Because why? Camp, we were we're charging fifty dollars a week for kids to go to camp. That's food for the week. All the cost for the week. When other camps are five and seven hundred dollars for the week. Why? Because poor people need to hear about Jesus too. And because I was poor, I want to help the poor. And the question I have for you today is when James talks about this trial in verse two to twelve. The question I have for you is this which test has God given you? The one with riches.

And how are you doing on a test that he's giving you? If you had been at the church in Jerusalem and five thousand people were there without homes, and needs. Would you have jumped in with the early church and sold your possessions and had things in common so you could provide today? We got a lot of people and I'll I'll say the the term that uh I've heard sometimes. We got a lot of people in K Town that are poor.

Would they really be welcomed right here?

And we'd be excited that they're here. Because the ground is level at the cross. And they need Jesus.

And you know Jesus. And he's saying to you, I've met your need. Now take this as one beggar handing it to another beggar about this. Let's pray together, shall we? Heavenly Father. We're asking right now. In the background, we're hearing so Jesus.

This morning we've been reminded that at the cross.

And then thank you, Pastor Madison, for that message. Sobering message that we are all equal before Christ, before God. On level ground, whether rich were poor. The Lord gives us trials without partiality.

And in our trials and in our tests, God promises that he would be with us. So if we can all stand together and sing this song together, uh remind ourselves that God is for us. And uh even when we let go of God He will hold us.

Let's all stand together. When I fear my faith will fail.

For my love is often called.

For my Savior who loves me so He will hold me fast.

Those he saves are his the life. Christ will hold me fast. Precious in his holy sight.

He'll not let my soul be lost.

Rump by him at such a cause.

He will hold me fast. He will own me fast. He will own me fast for my Savior who loves me so fast. For my life he blood and die. For my life he bled and die.

When he comes at last, he will meet fast.

For my Savior loves me so he will hold me fast.

He will hold me fast for my Savior that loves me so he will hold me fast. Such a thrill to know that He's the one that's got a hold of us. As you go this week, I'm gonna challenge you again with what we talked about today, only using the words of Jesus. Give, and it shall be given unto you. We have, let's make sure we're giving the words of eternal life in Christ to those around us. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I would ask that you pour out your blessing on these people. Pour it out on us so that we this week will just be overflowing. And like the songs that we used to sing as little kids, my cup is full and running over.

Father, we pray that your blessings will just spill over from our lives to people this week. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Have a great week in the Lord.