Living God's Word

is that you will just Continue to bless us and guide us. Lord, as a church and lead us where you would have us to go Lord, be with Bryce, as he's on his.

Have good connections with the soldiers. He's ministering to in or just continue to bless him in that Ministry. Bring him back safely and Lord. We pray for Mary Jane and Lord that she's not feeling. Well Lord. We pray, that doctors will be able to figure out what's wrong with her and Lord that you would just guide them. But Lord, give her your peace and continue to strengthen. Lord, we pray for Mark is he's going to be facing surgery coming up soon. Lord. He's been dealing with this in this job for a long time and Lord, we pray. Give the doctor's wisdom as they do the surgery. Lord that you will just take care of him and take care of this entire situation. Thank you and praise you. For the kids were saying on Wednesday nights. Lord. I pray that you will bless those kids and largest continue to grow that Ministry and largest. We pray that you will use it to plant seeds of your gospel. Truth in their hearts or we pray for the Youth on Sunday nights Lord. We pray that you keep them safe and Laura de continue to bless that Ministry. Also and Lord. We lift up, Darren to you. And Lord. We're so happy for the progress. He's made the Lord. We know, he's got a little ways to go, yet. You pray that you will continue to bless him and strengthen him, Lord, and use him. And you see how you've brought him through this floor, to be a testimony to others. And Lord. We thank you for Judy and how you've been working in her life and reducing the size of her tumors. Lord. We pray, you will just continue to do that. Guide her through this healing process Ron. Also, Lord, who needs your strength. We pray all these things in your name.

Help us all to learn what you brought us for here today. We pray that your most. Holy name. Amen.

I get started, you know, warning to Colton and savior down here. The amount apple juice. You drink. I don't know if you're going to make it through my entire message, but you know, it's okay, if you don't, if you need to go out, it's okay.

You know, as I went around the church's, this last week, he had talking to him about the kinship dinner, that we're going to be hosting a. There was one verse that kept coming to mind and it was James 1:27. I went to them at just in conversation with them just in my own heart and mine just kept coming back to that verse. So I thought well, you know would be good to dig a little deeper into that verse and talk more about it today. So that's what we're going to do. We're going to break this first down a little bit. James 1:27, the very first part of it, says religion. That God, our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this. To look after orphans and widows in their distress.

You're part of what we can learn from this passage of scripture. Is that a proper reaction to the word of God, is the willingness to apply it to our lives without selfishness.

You know what? We are. I have a genuine concern for the welfare of others. And especially those who we know are in great, need those who we know are facing struggles.

You know. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God. Our Father is for us to serve these people that we know are in need with great love and compassion. Yeah, Jesus said in John 13:35 to his disciples that by this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. You know, he wasn't just talking about the disciples loving other disciples, but he was talking about them, loving all people. James brings this up and tells us to look after those who are in need, you know, James isn't. Speaking of, you know, what may seem best to what may seem best to the World by its standards, or even best to our fellow Believers, but, you know, It's what is best in the side of our God and Father. that's why we're to do if that's what he's trying to push us towards is to see that because, you know, the true test and Something that shows the genuineness of our faith is how well we love others, you know, it's not determined by all these other things that we can check mark off. The list that we've done is a Christian, but it's God's standards for what we need to be doing. Cuz, you know, the greatest spiritual, all of those who oppose Jesus was replaced. God standards. In the law with their own man-made traditions.

Any of that sound familiar? Unfortunately, it's something that almost every Mainline denomination is struggling with right now.

You enough such men. Jesus said, Matthew chapter, 15 verses 6 & 8. It says, you know, by the word of God, for the sake of your tradition, you Hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me to look after widows and orphans, in their distress, carries the idea of helping them and whatever is needed. You know, we're not to look at them and they're just stress and just simply passed by and go about our usual routine thinking. Well, it's because of poor choices that they're in this situation or it's not my responsibility.

No one. We see the need. We need to be willing to do whatever God leads us to do in order to help meet the needs of those who are in distress and alleviate some of that distress.

And you know, the reason Jesus uses these people in his illustration and what he saying is because generally in the early church, the neediest people in their society widows and orphans welfare system, to take care of these people. So if they didn't Cared enough to intervene or someone else that they could turn to for help. They were stuck in a very bad situation. And often jobs were hard to come by for those two different categories. So it could seem like a very hopeless situation that they didn't know how to get out a situation that they felt powerless to change.

And, you know, for us, as children of God, we need to be the change that we want to see in the world. So if we want to see these people living a better life.

We need to do whatever we can to help them when we see that they are in distress. You know, God is always had a special concern for Orphans and widows and we see that time and again and you know, he is commanded us through scripture in multiple places to share that same concern that he did for those who are in distress.

No, really, the principle applies to anyone and me not just widows and orphans. It's anyone we meet that we see a need. And we try to do something to help them. Another critical thinking about widows and orphans in the situation that they're in means most likely to reciprocate helping you.

Mentioning them part of foot. When we choose to help somebody, we help them, because it's the right thing to do. We help them because it's what God, commanded, us. Not because we think, well, if I help them, now they can help me later down the road. So even when we know that the person were helping has no chance of paying us back or no chance of doing something to help us. We still do it. And it's that sort of caring that truly demonstrates sacrificial, love the type of love that Jesus is calling us to have four others. Does he know? True Christianity is manifested from a pure and loving heart, by the way, Believers talk, by the way, that they act.

You know, a lot of times we can talk a pretty good, talk is Christian's, but it when it comes to actually acting we fall short. Do we have to realize that you know, our faith is manifested by how well we love and care for those in need.

Yeah, it's not manifested by how we love and care for those that we prefer or how we love and care for those who are close to us or how we love and care for those who are most like us.

It's all about how we love and care for those that God puts before us who, we know, our need and love is supposed to be one of the most visible things of our Salvation. It should be apparent to everyone love for God. Cannot be separated from love for others.

A truly redeemed, heart reaches out to others regardless of who they are. And, you know, any professing Christian who doesn't show compassion and love for others? In distress, seriously needs to take a look at their own life and repent, from whatever it is, that is keeping them from loving and caring for others.

You know, we need to figure out why we are struggling to live that out and we have to realize that it's not a problem. It's a me problem, if I can't reach out and love. Compassion to these people.

Matthew 5 verses 43 to 47, says, You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your father in Heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get are not even the tax collectors doing that and if you drink only your own people, what are you doing? More than others, don't even pagans do that. Or John chapter 13 verses 34 and 35. It says a new command. I give you love one another as I have loved you. So you must love one another by this. Everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

You know, another Parts in the second half, as we look at it.

It says and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

You know, another proper reaction to the word of God is a willingness to apply it to our own life without moral or spiritual compromise.

You know, that's the thing. We shouldn't have to compromise our beliefs in order to love people the way that God wants to love them.

But the problem is we live in a fallen world. And since we live in a fallen World, keeping yourself from being polluted by the world is really a nun ending. For every Christian. Our beliefs are assaulted every day with how the world tells us. We need to love people how the world tells us. We need to do things. And for those who belong to God, you know, we're supposed to be characterized by love, but we can't forget that. We are also characterized by moral and spiritual purity. So for us to have to sacrifice our morals or our spiritual Purity in order to love someone. We have to realize that that's not what God is talking about here. When he tells us to love the Widow and orphan in their distress, her to love anyone in distress.

You know, it's only by the blood of Jesus that we can even hope to achieve any sort of Purity and we have to realize that it's that Purity that God is wanting to offer to others. That's what he wants. The ultimate result of that. Love to be.

Is for people to be changed?

Peter admonishes Believers in 1st Peter, chapter 1, verses 17 through 19. It says conduct yourselves and fear during the time of your stay on Earth. Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile, way of life inherited from your forefathers, but was Precious Blood as the lamb unblemish and spotless the blood of Christ. That's from The New American Standard Bible, and I liked that. Translation of it just because of the way it works. Some things there during your time of your stay here on Earth. Temporary Home in this world. Our true home is in heaven with Jesus Christ, and that's where we'll be one day. And that we need to realize that the things of this world, the stuff of this world, the stuff, the world values. Is not what's going to redeem has it's not what has given us a chance at being unblemished and spotless that comes only because of the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Edwin James talks about it and Peter talking about you. They are talking about sinless, perfection. You know, there's some who claim that they have risen to such a place spiritually that they are now morally and spiritually. Perfect. Well, they're not by simply saying that about themselves. So for them to think that but we can But what they're talking about is that, because of what Jesus did on the cross?

Like he sees Jesus. when we surrender Our Lives to him, when we strive to learn his word, when we strive to live the way that Jesus wants us to, Then we can be characterized as unstained, unblemished, and unpolluted by the world, but only because of the blood of Jesus. Even the Apostle Paul who I think we would all agree that the Apostle Paul could have claimed. Hey, until this day in my life. Since my conversion. I have lived a good life before God. I have done my best. I have strived everyday to live as God wants me to live but even though Paul could have easily claim that. Paul readily admits that he struggle that there were days, that were a challenge for him, and it's one of my favorite passages in scripture Romans chapter 7 verses 18 and 19.

Search for I know that good itself does not dwell in me. In my sinful nature, for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.

For I do not do the good. I want to do, but the evil, I do not want to do this. I keep on doing.

This is the same struggle faced by every believer, everyday. I guess the truth is every believer falls, short of the Lord standards and like Paul, we find ourselves doing the things that we know that are wrong. The things that we know we shouldn't do. And not doing the things, we know that are right, the things that we know we should do the things. We know we should participate in.

Even the most faithful and loving believer does not always show as much compassion as they should.

you know, that love of his fellow Believers or We've just fall short of loving people, the way that God would love them or the way that God would want us to love them. But you know what? James is speaking about, In this passage is the basic orientation of Our Lives. You know, where is our main commitment? Allegiance. To the world or to God. Because if that Allegiance is right than our deepest, desire will be to love and to care for others.

Like, God would want us to You know, will confess that we are selfish that we are sinful Fallen people. And without the Lord's help, we can't love people the way that he would want us to do.

Because the truth is, you know, the genuine Christian cannot be happy or content when he falls when he fails to show compassion, for others.

You know, regrettably. We've probably all had those experiences where we see a need in front of us.

We know we should do something to help that person in that situation, but we don't.

Do you know we act like we didn't see it and we just proceeded on to our car get in and leave and go about our life.

But we regret that later, don't we, as we sit there and think I probably should have done this sir. I should have turned around and went back and help that person, but we don't.

That is our sinful nature. That is our selfish pride. And that is what Paul was talking about of knowing the good that he should do, but not doing it and knowing the evil that he shouldn't do. But yet continuing to do it.

Cuz you know, it's not our Perfection that proves our Salvation that proves our faith to others, but it's rather where we hate our own imperfections and we are working as hard as we can every day to overcome those by the grace of Jesus. That's what really shows our faith. That's what really shows people that we are trying to walk, as God would have us to walk.

You know, in our most inner self.

you know, the Genuine Christian just lungs to speak the way we need to speak in to do the things that we need to do. We want to live a holy pure. An unstained wife, we don't want the world to be contaminating, us everyday. But on the other hand, you know, a person who does not have compassion for others, and who is not concerned about living righteously and their sinful nature. They're just fine with it.

You can't live that way and be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Some people like to think they can that they can live. However, they want to live.

That's not what God calls us to do. You know, we find this warning in first. John chapter 2 verses 15 and 16. It says do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world love for the father is not in them. For everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life comes, not from the father, but from the world.

Your love of God and love of the world and the things of the world are totally incompatible.

Yeah, they cannot coexist in our hearts are in our minds, just like light and dark can't feel the same room.

It just can't happen that we can't, like certain things in this world, that we can't really enjoy things of this world. It just means they can't be our reason for being

Because he know when it says anything in the world, it's not pertaining to you know, a business that we might participate in or the business. We run her being involved in social activities or I mean we still have to function in this world.

But where is your focus?

You know, we have to engage the world to a certain degree to function within it and that's what makes it a struggle everyday for the Christian. Because we're still here in this world, but me or what this phrase is talking about. Is that overriding priority or where does Your Allegiance fall?

Is your priority God and the things of his kingdom and thinking how he can use you to advance his kingdom, or is it simply, how can I acquire more of the things of this world?

Godly religion. That is you know, another thing that we could replace that with net scripture would be biblical, Christianity. Is a matter of holy obedience to God's word and it's reflected. By the way that we live our life. It's reflected. By the way that we love others.

That's the true thing is that to love others and to put ourselves out there. So to say and react to them and show, compassion isn't a part of our sinful nature. That is something that comes only from God, and we need to realize that. And the only way that we can do that. It's one, we know and study God's word. You're then, we can reflect that. Selfless regard for ourselves as Jesus. Did that sacrificial? Love that he? Live. The way that God truly challenges is to. And then we can realize that we can live in a way where we can honor God, love others, but not have to sacrifice and earn anything morally for spiritually. If we truly love the world as God loves the world.

Please pray with me. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blessings. You give us and Lord. I pray that. You will help all of us to search our hearts. Lord and asked us, if we are truly loving other people, or when we see needs in front of us. Do we ask you, Lord?

Or do we whisper to ourselves of? Oh, I hope they don't see me.

Lord help us to have a where to live our life in a way that reflects your love. For others through us. Lord use us to reach out to those who are in distress and those who are in need Lord. And Lord, find me. See those opportunities in front of us. I pray that you will give us the courage and the wisdom to step up. and to do our best to meet their needs and

Lord I pray that the world will know us by how well we love others. We pay the salt and your most. Holy name. Amen.