Open up: Open Heart

Matt Redstone

OneChurch

Open Up • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago • Presented 3 years ago • 39:40

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There are ways that the world can restrict us, but there are ways that we restrict ourselves. One of the ways to step into God's freedom is to open our hearts to others through confession.

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Intro

We are in our series called Open Up. If 2020 is characterized by ways things were locked down and restricted, then lets start 2021 by looking at the ways we can open up.

I’m not talking about sticking it to the gov’t and violating guidelines. I’m talking the ways to open up that can’t be restricted by the ways of man. We can experience and share an openess that can’t be found anywhere else, and as we walk step into the openess, then others can follow.

So last week, we looked at how God is an open God, and that he has shared his heart and his will with us through his word. Because of the openess of our God, we can follow his example as we step into our own openess.

Question #1: Have you ever been around someone who shared too much? How did that make you feel?

there are people out there who are just too open with everyone. I had such an experience. At our last church, it was late in the day, the secretary had gone home, so this guy came in. He was starting up a new ministry in town and was trying to drum up support from the churches. Somehow we went from talking about the ministry he was starting to talking about his sex life. I never met the man before. Why we went there is beyond me.

When I talk about opening up, there is certainly some wisdom and discretion required. Don’t go around airing your dirty laundry to anyone who has ears, but we do need to open up our hearts a little bit

we will be in James chapter 5 this morning. As you find your way to James 5, a little set up for the passage. James is considered the Proverbs of the New Testament. The book is full of little nuggets of wisdom. It is written to share lots of wisdom in a short amount of time, in little sections to make it easier to remember.

Scripture:

James 5:13–20 ESV

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

James doesn’t sugar coat or beat around the bush, he just puts it out there as clearly as possible. Are suffering, then pray. Are things going good? Then sing God’s praises just a little bit louder. Are you sick? Ask the leaders of the church to pray for you, because the prayer of faith will see you healed and your sins forgiven.

But lets stop and ask some different questions. If you are going through a hard, are you asking for prayer? Are you reaching out to people you trust to bring your hardships before the Lord? If you aren’t, why?

If things are going good and you have reasons to praise God because of the good things happening in your life, are you sharing God’s goodness with the people around you so they can share in praising? If you’re not, why?

Are you sick? Have you asked the leadership for prayer? If you are struggling with sin, have you reaching out to your spiritual leadership for help with those sins? If you haven’t, why?

See James is reminding us that when we enter into faith in Jesus, we don’t do things the way everyone else does. The world tells us to hide our errors, to keep our failures to ourselves. We are even told not to celebrate our successes too much otherwise we may come across as bragging, or our success might offend someone who isn’t experiencing the same level of success. If you’re sick, just go to the doctor, or go to Dr. Google, and figure out what the best way to handle the situation

This idea of hiding aspects of our life is only cemented by the ways we use social media. When you look at Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, it is all the same thing; you post what is going to get the likes and the traction. We post only the good photos off our phone, we only post the articles that won’t make any waves, or the ones that make the most waves depending on your angle. We post the version of ourselves and the truth that we want people to see, but it is never the whole truth. It is never all of us, only the parts we want people to see.

Question #2: How different would social media look if people posted real life, not just the parts that look good?

In all honestly, I might actually use social media more if people were more real. One of the reasons I don’t like social media is because some people are just fake, or they only give one side of the story. Unfortunately, I think it is too late. I think there are people who bear all on social media, the good and the bad, but the damage is done. There is still a level where even the most transparent people hold stuff back, and so the stuff shared is still only the stuff we want people to see.

So how can we become more open? How can we remove the awkwardness of openess?

It is at this point in the passage where James brings in the prophet Elijah. Here is the story that James is referencing:

1 Kings 18:41–46 ESV

And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’ ” And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

Israel has been suffering through a drought, a drought caused because Elijah prayed and the rains stopped for 3 years. And now Elijah kneels down and begins to pray again. Meanwhile, his servant is standing there, watching over him. Seven times, the servant goes to check and see if there are clouds. Elijah already said, there is the sound of rushing rains. Not a cloud in the sky, but Elijah hears rain. OK

Seven times, the servant checks and on the seventh time he see huge rain clouds coming over the horizon. No, he sees a cloud, about the size of a man’s hand.

So Elijah stays and keeps praying… no he gets up and starts moving. Why? Because the small cloud turns into ominous black clouds, and heavy rains come.

Bridge the Gap:

James references this story because he is using Elijah as an example of what a righteous person can accomplish when they pray in faith. The man stopped the rains for three years!

Jesus talks about how someone whose faith is the size of a mustard seed can pray and cast mountains into the sea.

What does this have to do with an open heart? Because of this one line in the James passage:

James 5:16 ESV

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

the reality is that each and every person hearing my voice is righteous if they have declared Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. You are righteous, not because of anything you have done, but because of what Christ has accomplished and declared over you.

The problem is that when we allow the things that are contrary to God’s word and his heart to remain in our lives, the guilt, the shame, the regret; these things quickly begin to create a sense of disqualification. We can be so quick to disqualify ourselves and never give God or the Holy Spirit the chance to actually use us to accomplish his will in other people’s lives.

The greatest strength and gift that God ever gave you as a new believer is other believers. How many times does Scripture tell us to bear one another’s burden? How many times does Paul finish his letters, asking the churches he has planted to pray for him, either while he is on mission or in prison? Paul even says that we are at our weakest, that is when God’s strength is truly put on display. There is strength in numbers, and the strength of the church is ability to be open about our weakness and lean on the strength of others and of God to carry us through.

Question #3: How does the idea of being opening make you feel?

I know the idea of bearing all is really intimidating, and I have a story to share to really bring it about.

A few years ago Michelle and I took a team of interns to a church renewal conference. We were really excited. We were going to a church that was very large for the size of the community it was in; excited to see what was going on and what they had figured out.

What we didn’t realize was the renewal conference was tacked on to another conference called Set Free.

At the beginning of the Set Free retreat, we were given a booklet. In the booklet was a very long list of different sins.

We completed the first session, and the leader of the session told us that we were going to move to a different room, we had to find 2 people we didn’t know, and we were going to work through the first section of the list. What we had to do was open up about the sins that we either we struggling with or had struggled with in the past. Then we had to identify if we felt if those sins were things that had been passed onto us by our parents or grandparents.

We were going to do this 6 times in the span of two days. We may not have known each other before these sessions started, but we sure knew each other afterwards.

Needless to say, this was scary. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve got things in my past that I’ve dealt with and have no interest in digging up again. Going into the first sharing session, it felt unnatural, it was scary. What have I gotten myself into?

The first session, I shared something that was safe. It was personal, but not super personal, and generic enough that everyone had struggled with it at some level.

However, even in sharing that, I felt better. So next time I opened up a little bit more. Each session, I shared something that was more personal, something that could hurt my reputation, and each time I felt a weight come off my shoulders. By the end, I honestly felt like a new person.

I understood on a whole new level what being a new creation in Christ really meant. I understood what freedom in Christ really is. I understood that all of us are sinners in need of God’s grace, and I understood God’s grace deeper.

I appreciate James’ words. We need to be open about our struggles and our celebrations. We need to remember that our righteousness comes from Christ, and because he makes us righteous, we can do amazing things through prayer and confession.

I have two challenges for you this week.

Find someone who can be completely transparent with. Find someone you can bear your sins, your struggles, your sickness to, and allow that person to be the voice of God’s loves and affirmation in your life.

The second challenge is for those who are ill. If you are sick, whether it is big time sick or something small, reach out to the leadership of the church and let us pray for you. We are in 21 days of prayer and fasting, so add to our prayer list and lets see God work in power and might in your life.