Spiritual Strength in Everyday Battles

This episode explores the genuine nature of faith and the call to action within the Christian community, particularly amidst distractions like the Super Bowl. It emphasizes the importance of living out true faith through tangible deeds, inspired by teachings from the book of James.

• Discussion on the cultural impact of events like the Super Bowl on church attendance 
• Mission statement of Christian Warrior Church reinforcing spiritual education and action 
• The necessity of tangible acts of kindness as evidence of faith 
• Analysis of biblical figures like Abraham and Rahab exemplifying faith through action 
• Encouragement to reject superficial beliefs and engage deeply with scripture 
• Call for practical steps to serve others and lead spiritually within families and communities

Christian Warrior Talk is Sponsored by Trident Shield, your trusted ally in violence preparedness. Trident Shield helps safeguard your loved ones with expert training and consulting. Trident Shield, defending faith through empowered preparedness because together, we save lives."

Chapters

• 0:00 Christian Warrior Church Mission Statement
• 14:21 Powerful Prayer and Practical Faith
• 22:02 Serving God Over Cultural Distractions
• 31:55 Living Out Your Christian Faith
• 39:33 Faith Without Works Is Dead
• 49:29 Living Out Faith Through Action
• 1:00:33 Reflecting on Communion and Service
• 1:05:09 Armor of God Fellowship Prayer

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:39

We are in the book of James today. Happy Sunday to you, and if you're watching this and if you're in church, you are the minority today. Today is one of the least church attended days out there Super Bowl Sunday and we're going to talk about that. Yeah, we don't even like as a former sports junkie. Today was my second Christmasmas, right, typically, because one I was a new england patriots fan during all the dynasties and so every year we were in it. You know probably what the kansas city chiefs feel like. Now I'm proud to say I think I only know two people who still play in the league. I think that's patrick mahomes and the kelsey dude, and I don't even know his first name, but, um, that's it. That's the only two I know. I used to know every roster forward and back, which is disgusting. So we're going to cover this today, but we're in the book of James and we're going to be in James 2 today. So if you guys want to get your Bibles out and I've got a gift for you guys here you go. Yeah, yeah, those were donated to the church by a veterans organization. So, and those were donated to the church by a veterans organization, so it specifically speaks to vets, but just to let you know it didn't cost me anything. Somebody else made sure that that happened and we got here because I know we spoke to veterans and stuff. So welcome to Christian Warrior Church, a home church, community ministry and farm that forges Christian Warriors for Today's Challenge. This is going to be the last day I read our mission statement. Everyone in here will be reciting really my mom's heard it like 6,000 times now, but it's going to be the last time I read it. That'll be the short one from now on.

Speaker 1: 2:13

But we've gotten so many new subscribers and so many people checking us out online. I mean we just crossed. I mean it's nothing but like 20,000 followers on Twitter. You know we've got another 700, I think, on YouTube, which YouTube has been the bane of our existence. You know they try to censor me for anything I say or do. Every time I try to boost a video, you know if you think it would get better, it's not, but even there we're gaining traction. We're getting, you know, a lot more traction there. Rumble doing well, facebook doing. Facebook didn't mess with us much. They might have. They might have suppressed our reach, but I never got a hate mail from them saying that you know you said something that violated our trans rainbow flag coalition, satanic Bible thing, so anyway. So let's get into our mission statement.

Speaker 1: 3:08

Christian Warrior Church stands as a training ground for discipleship and a forge for Christian Warriors, uniting faith and purpose in every step of the journey. Our mission is to transform men, women and families into fearless Christian Warriors through discipleship, biblical truth and hands-on training. We are building a fellowship of believers united under Christ, living out a biblical worldview and advancing his kingdom with strength and purpose. We are committed to forging men into biblical masculine leaders, protectors, providers and disciples who stand unshaken in the faith of spiritual and worldly challenges. Likewise, we stand in the supreme minority of churches out there and organizations like myself and ministries like myself. We train women as Christ-centered shield maidens embracing biblical femininity while standing steadfast in faith and purpose, fighting alongside their family.

Speaker 1: 3:58

In the Christian church, we have a massive problem in the soft, beta male church and we think we need to wrap our women in bubble wrap and our kids in bubble wrap, and I completely disagree with that philosophy. Our roles are different, but your wife should be able to fight alongside you, because who's there when you're not there? She is. Who's defending the family. When you're not there, she is. Who's defending the family when you're not there? She is. But no, we only want to teach them how to sew and cook and whatever. No, we need to teach them to be able, because we're all going to fall. Trust me, I have fallen, I have been broken, I have been shattered, and lauren always stands over me with a shield and covers me and fights to get me to my feet. So if you don't have that, you have no idea what it's like to be married to a biblical woman who knows what she's doing. And there's nothing like it. That is how we were made to be in the garden. Imagine Garden of Eden. After, you know, adam and Eve get cast out. Who do you think protected the kids? Well, the only man on the planet was gone. You know the wife did right. So this isn't new. You know everyone. You know there's this thing where women just don't have to know how to make dresses. No, no, they need to be competent, just like the men need to be competent, and that's what we do here. That's what we do here.

Speaker 1: 5:36

So, at Christian Warrior Church, we prepare warriors for both spiritual and kinetic warfare, equipping them with the armor of God, the courage of faith and the skills to prevail. Through fellowship, the refining fire of God's word and the bonds of united brotherhood. We are creating a godly, loving and resilient community, forged to stand boldly for Christ, advancing his truth, love in every battle and every season of life. Everybody wants to call themselves a warrior. In fact, we got away from calling ourselves Christian Warrior Mission because I was so disgusted with everybody throwing that title around and think, because you read a couple Bible verses, you're a warrior. No, no, no, no. You have to be physically dangerous to be a warrior. You have to be physically and capably dangerous to be a warrior, all right. So, and mama bears, nobody's more dangerous than you and your kids are threatened, and you know and that's how it should be right when your family's threatened and men, it's our job to acquire those skills and pass them on to our family, to our sons, our daughters, our wives, whoever, and that's what we do here. So again, just because you went to a boot camp and they called you a warrior for whatever somewhere, somehow doesn't mean if you're not in this way of life, not lifestyle, way of life where you are training in the gym, you are learning how to shoot. You're learning how to defend yourself. You're learning how to provide for your family with homesteading, with how to grow stuff, how to raise stuff, how to process, how to hunt, how to do all those things.

Speaker 1: 7:11

You guys remember I was a silly city boy. You know, when I grew up I didn't know how to do any of those things until I got out. You know, being in the sale teams they taught me a lot of stuff, but all the farming stuff. They taught me a lot of stuff, but all the farming stuff. We came here, lauren and I had not a day one of knowledge to do this and we have been drinking through the fire hose to be able to pass it on to you, because this is the only way to live, maybe not at the scale we're doing, but having your own eggs, having your own chickens, having your own beef, having your own dairy cow. Like you want to know true wealth it's a dairy cow. Now it's also a prison. True wealth is having people that'll help you have a dairy cow, having friends in a congregation or neighbors that'll come over and milk for you so you can go away for a weekend.

Speaker 1: 7:58

But in fact, lauren may vanish at any time. She's on the other side of this wall right now, I believe. If you are, lauren, bang on the wall. We'll hear it in like five minutes when she hears it. But Mocha, who is a week past due at this point a week for jerseys they typically go sooner. So I think she's only a day or two over what an Angus was.

Speaker 1: 8:24

She's half Well, she's one quarter Angus, or 33. I don't know how to do that. She's got Angus. She's well, she's half Jersey, half Holstein. No, her mom's half Jersey, half Holstein, and her dad was all Angus. Figure that out, do the math. Whatever that turns out to be, the fractions aren't my Jersey, half Holstein, and her dad was all Angus. Figure that out, do the math. Whatever that turns out to be, the fractions aren't my thing, man. So all right. So 30, some odd percent, or maybe I don't know, but so that could happen at any moment.

Speaker 1: 8:56

I'm going to have to suit out, get my chains and pull the calf out, which, wow, wouldn't that be something on YouTube? So, anyways. So this is the way, and it's a lot of work and it's exhausting and there are days that I want to quit. There are a lot of days I want to quit that, like we learned last week in James trials and hard times and all that stuff they will strengthen us. They are what build stuff. They are what strengthen us. They are what build faith. They are what build endurance. I remember we've heard Paul talk about that in the past as well.

Speaker 1: 9:31

So one thing you're going to learn being a farmer and being, you know, raising animals is it's almost completely in God's court, right you are, you do what you do, and then the animals do what they do, which is as God programmed them, and then you put the chaos of weather and critters and predators and everything else in the mix and you get total dependence on the Lord, which is why you know, before modern irrigation and everything else going on there, I mean, if it didn't rain, your crops died and you starved, right, that's the harsh word. If it didn't rain, the grass didn't grow and your animals starved, right? So this level of dependency yes, we can reach outside it now and buy things that will bankrupt you. Trust me, it gets expensive. Everyone thinks they're going to start farming and they're going to save money.

Speaker 1: 10:29

It is a never-ending money pit. You don't do it to save money. There's only one time you save money. That's with a calf that was born on your property, you're raised on your property, you process it on your property and then you make great stuff because all you had to pay for food grass, some food as you finished it, and there, because the price of beef is insane, you actually make out on that. Okay, if you go to a butcher, you're going to do 70 cents a pound or a dollar a pound, depending on where you're going for them to process it. And again, so you got a thousand pound cow, you get, you know, 1100 pound hang weight, something like that times 70, do the math? Okay, but it does work out.

Speaker 1: 11:11

And knowing, here's what I can tell you the more I work with God's creation, the closer I get to him and the more I am blown away by his brilliance. That my little brain, my little great brain here you know, was made in his image and I can probably, I can probably only understand, and even Elon Musk can probably understand one trillionth of a percent of what God may know. Right, and that even that, how do you know? Infinite, infinite is a number you can't even understand. Trying to say you can understand infinite, it breaks our brain, it's really that. So a couple of announcements and we'll get into the sermon.

Speaker 1: 11:57

Christian Warrior Talk has moved to Sundays at 9. We didn't do one last night just because of a lot of stuff going on. But starting next week we actually hired a YouTube consultant to help us. That's why you'll see branding changing. You're going to see some stuff going Because people who are investing in this ministry they're all online and if they're funding the ministry, then I'm going to meet them where they're at and I'm going to try to give them the best product I can. Then I'm going to meet them where they're at and I'm going to try to give them the best product I can, and it's the only way I can reach veterans in Massachusetts, california, seattle, detroit. You know these hell holes where they're completely isolated, alone in their own enemy territory.

Speaker 1: 12:39

So that's our Christian Fellowship show, where we do Christian life, talk about all things Christian life, prepping, homesteading, tactics and news stories that affect us all. We talked about Mocha she might be in labor right now, who knows. And then I will be announcing our fellowship fires again. Once a month we're going to do a fellowship fire here where we go up to the cross up on at Warrior's Rest. The cross at Warrior's Rest up there on the hill where we have a giant fire pit, a pavilion, and we're going to do fellowship up there and hang out, sit around the fire, adult beverages for those who want to do adult beverages, non-adult beverages for everyone else who does not want to do adult beverages. But it's, bring what you want and we'll have some. You know some stuff to eat, but it's getting around the fire. You know, as God intended, like I, just I'm so jealous of the disciples sitting around the fire with Jesus on the wilderness, like that's the original caveman TV guys, there's one channel, it's the best channel ever. It's snap crackle pops, it's surround sound, it's got smells, it's got everything. And getting up there and doing some stuff around that. I really want to do that. And what I find is the more you spend time around the fire with somebody, the better you truly know them, the better you truly know them. So we're going to be announcing those dates here. We'll be doing them on Friday nights, right, because a lot of Friday nights I'm traveling now with Trident Shield doing the security work, consulting and emergency preparedness for schools and Christian organizations. But that's why we're not doing the Saturday night the show that time, because once a month I can schedule around that All right. So be looking for that.

Speaker 1: 14:21

So let's go to prayer, dear Heavenly Father. Lord, we thank you today for your day. Lord, we ask that you embolden us. Lord, today we talk about one of your champions, james, who his faith was legendary, unshakable, even unto death. But, lord, he was also taught and walked out. Practical faith, lord, real faith, lord, on this day, that's money called Super Bowl Sunday. It's not by accident that it's on your day. It's not by accident. The most popular sport in America is on your day. To pull men out of churches and then distract them. Lord, lord, open your people's eyes to see the war that has been waged upon you with entertainment and distraction. Lord, give me the words to offend the sin in those, but not the person. To offend the sin in everyone who's not walking it out, but not to offend them personally, because I'm not attacking them. They've been misled, they're confused, they're lost. So let this message today go out and be a resounding siren to call them home, to light a fire in their chest for you and only you.

Speaker 1: 15:54

Lord, we are so grateful that we hit the lottery when you blessed us and made us citizens of the United States of America. By birth, we were born in the most prosperous nation and the most prosperous of times in history. And with great privilege comes great responsibility. But every American can reach out and touch the entire world with social media, never mind the circle that's at their feet. World of social media, never mind the circle that's at their feet. Lord, put up the burden of responsibility of that privilege, that power, that strength that we have here to use it not for our glory, but your glory.

Speaker 1: 16:51

Lord. The light of fire in us to have a heart to see people not burn for eternity. Fire in us to have a heart to see people not burn for eternity. Lord again, help us be doers and not just talkers. Give us a faith that's alive. Lord, we thank you for your creation the heavens and the earth, the moon, the stars, the sun, everything from the tallest mountain to the ocean and everything in between, all the critters and all the plants and everything. We thank you. We treasure the relationships of those who are in our life. Lord, help us maximize every moment when we're with people. Help us be present and not distracted with our entertainment and devices. Help us to look in each other's eyes and connect, because we never know when the next time we may ever see them again. Lord, help us to remember those who are no longer with us in the times that we store into their eyes and we're present with them. Lord, when we look at each other's lives, it's direct reflection of the heart and it means everything. So, lord, may this time glorify you, serve you and only you. May we proclaim you with every breath of our lungs and serve you with every beat of our hearts. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Speaker 1: 18:22

Now, that was a whole bunch of gobbledygook. I just said there in that long prayer, you don't have to do that. When you pray, many of you are learning to pray for the first time, or you're new, and all you've got to do is when you pray, many of you are learning to pray for the first time, or you're new and all you got to do is a couple things. One, you can pray like a simple child. Pray like you're talking to your Heavenly Father. Jesus gave us a model when his disciples asked in Matthew 6, 9-13.

Speaker 1: 18:42

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, our Father. That's who we're talking to, our Heavenly Father. And even though all of society today has mocked and degraded fathers to the point where they're the punchline of every talk show. They're the punchline of every comedy. They're the useful Al Bundy slobs, right, the useless Al Bundy slobs on the couch. This is your heavenly father. This is the father of the universe, father of all creation. So you go there with respect Our father, which are in heaven, our father who's in heaven.

Speaker 1: 19:16

That's who you're talking to. Hallowed, be your name, holy, be your name Separate, right. God is. Everyone says God is love. Yes, god is love, but God is many things, but there's only one thing that he's three times and it's holy, holy, holy. Separate times, separate times. Separate, that means set apart different times. Infinity times, infinity times, infinity, right. That's what that is. That's how different he is.

Speaker 1: 19:45

So, hallowed be thy name. Gives him his props, his respect. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. So we want your kingdom, as it is in heaven, to come down here. We want sin crushed. We want people to turn to you. We want you to come back and reign over us and to reinstate Eden. Give us this day our daily bread. Give us what we need, not what we want. Give us what we need, for you know what we need far more than we ever do.

Speaker 1: 20:19

Forgive us our debts, forgive us our sins, but there's a catch, as we forgive our debtors, right? So as much as you forgive, so as much as you forgive is as much as you're going to be forgiven. That's the measuring stick. So you better be like me and forgive everyone, because I need a lot of forgiveness, right? No matter what you've done to me, you ask forgiveness. Boom done, it's good to go, because I know my bill in heaven, right? I know what God died for me and it's a terrible list and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Speaker 1: 21:01

Now, that's one way you can read it. Or you can just speak to them plainly, simply, alone, in your room. Get on your knees and show them. Get on your knees. That's a universal sign, that's a sign to the universe that you are respecting God. That way, there's no arrogance, there's no pride. You are coming on your knees to God and that is a cosmic symbol that you are surrendering to him and watch it change everything. All right.

Speaker 1: 21:33

So we are going to be in James 2, and I want to recap a little bit from James 1. All right, but first let's set the tone. All right, many professing Christians claim to believe in Jesus but live as though he has little influence in their daily lives. This mindset, which I call fire insurance Christianity. What is fire insurance Christianity? That is a cultural Christian. That means you say you believe in Jesus so you won't go to hell, but you don't take any time to read this.

Speaker 1: 22:02

So do you really love him? It's like saying, oh, I love my wife and she wrote me a letter and I'm just not going to read it because I really don't care, right? No, what do you do when you're in the military or you get a letter from a loved one? You can't get it open fast enough. You know, back in the day we used to send it through snail mail, right? Something came in and you treasured every letter. How many of us treat the Bible like that? Or is the Bible more like duty, where something came in and you treasured every letter? How many of us treat the Bible like that? Or is the Bible more like duty? My friend Ken Graves said God loved you so much that he texted you his word. He texted you his word, he gave you his word. People died to get you this. Lots People died to get you this. Lots of people died to get you this.

Speaker 1: 22:59

And how many of us is it just a thing that sits on the nightstand while we binge watch whatever Netflix series are out there, or watch endless sports and everything else? So fire insurance? Christian is what the world may call also a cultural Christian. They were told they were Christian. They're probably baptized once, or they said a prayer once and then didn't do anything else. Christian. This occurs when people want to avoid hell, yet remain untouched by Christ transforming power. Their faith functions like an insurance policy pulled out only for spiritual emergencies, instead of blazing a fire that reshapes all life. Let's look at today as an example of the Super Bowl, an example of cultural distraction. Consider the Super Bowl, an event that enthralls millions. It's estimated, according to CBS, that 120 million people are going to watch the Super Bowl live. Is an estimated, according to CBS, that 120 million people are going to watch the Super Bowl live.

Speaker 1: 23:53

People devote countless hours to analyzing teams and commercials. Right, I know that when I was a sports addict and you were talking to a former sports addict. Why? Because I was miserable when men don't lead from the home and men aren't leading in their life and they're just subject to the winds. Typically, what happens if you're in a marriage is the man, the woman takes over the role of leadership in the house and the man completely checks out. He comes alive in two times During his entertainment, or three times During his entertainment, his hobby or hanging out with his friends. The rest of the time, he is just doing time, doing time and, trust me, I was miserable.

Speaker 1: 24:36

So guess what? I studied every single stat. I knew what Tom Brady had for breakfast when he was 11 on game day, right. I knew every team of every roster. I knew what they played. I used to watch preseason football being typed into the play-by-play when I was at Iraq at 3 in the morning, players that would never play to find some value, some distraction from the pain and suffering. And here's what I learned None of those players knew me and none of them ever cared about me. But Jesus knows everything about me, but I don't have time to read his Bible.

Speaker 1: 25:19

Yeah, I think about 37 years as an atheist. And then you know, I don't know how many years after that, wandering trying to find real men and real faith. How many times I sang music at the top of my lungs that was absolutely abominable, whether it be Slayer. My favorite song when I wanted to lift heavy weight was to sing a song called God Hates Us All by a band called Slayer. Nothing more vile, right or other heavy music, even the fun stuff that was on pop.

Speaker 1: 25:55

You go back. It's funny. Now there's things on social media and all that stuff where it's like when you criticize your kids for listening to music with horrible lyrics and all of a sudden you start reading the lyrics that you used to sing and you're horrified at what you used to sing. Or you used to sit and you're horrified at what you used to sing. Or you used to sit there and think it was a funny song about roses and then all of a sudden it's not so funny when they're really talking about something else and all these other things. And you see, it's always been filth, all the way back to Elvis and you know Jerry Lee Lewis, great Balls of Fire what do you think they were talking about?

Speaker 1: 26:30

Right Now, again, I love music and I'm in a constant quest to find good, particularly hard music to work out to, and luckily the Christian music, which used to be terrible, has gotten really good, just like Christian movies used to be terrible and they're getting better, praise the Lord. But how many times did I sing these godless songs with passion, with all my heart, going down the highway and then I remember when I first got saved and I'm in church and I'm the guy and I'm singing Hands on my Bargain, that's for all them. Wait a minute. I would sing for the devil at the top of my lungs, but I'm too proud to sing for God who bled and died for me. B devil at the top of my lungs, but I'm too proud to sing for God who bled and died for me. Bore, the wrath of all my sins. What is wrong with me? That's cultural right, that's the cultural contamination.

Speaker 1: 27:23

So people devote countless hours analyzing teams and commercials and all these useless things. Video games, all these things. I love video games as much as anyone. I love first-person shooter and role-play games and all that stuff. They will take over your life and they're another form of escape. You've got to find the right balance. You've got to find the right balance to where you're serving and, yeah, maybe you have a time where you get to have a little bit of fun and do what you got to do, but it's after you have served your wife, your children, your community. Men are meant to go to bed smoked. That's what we're made for. That's why we have testosterone. That's why we have all these things. We're made to be smoked.

Speaker 1: 28:06

Neglecting family worship, leaving their Bibles unread, abdicating the call for spiritual leadership Ah, youth pastors got that. Well, what are you talking about? We go to church every Sunday. I turn them over to a bunch of other kids his age, her age and they run around doing all kinds of crazy stuff and drawing things and doing whatever. But are they seeing it in the father and the mom at home? That's where true wounds happen and why people fall away from the church when they go off to college. They were walking, they were talking one way and they never saw it role modeled at home appropriately and we didn't train them up to be able to handle the arrows and the darts and the attacks that are in accompany when you go off to college, when you go away from home.

Speaker 1: 28:57

And all sudden you have to. You believe what? Yeah, I do, and here's why, in fact, you're the moron who believes that this all started from nothing. Show me somewhere where something started from. Nothing ever doesn't exist. Show me how a one-cell organism, if I just leave it alone the whole amount of time, becomes everything we have now. It's ridiculous. I can't believe. I used to believe that stupidity. So here's what it boils down to no one can serve two masters. This is Matthew 6, 24. For he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth or the world. God demands all of you. He won't tolerate leftovers.

Speaker 1: 29:48

Our culture is flooded with entertainment that can lull believers into a state of spiritual apathy. Think of how hard it is to be a good Christian today. Back when we were on, the show was only on when the show was on. If you wanted to watch Saturday Night Live which I'm not saying you should it had to be on Saturday Night Live. Now you can watch 50 years of Saturday Night Live endlessly. You can lose years of your life watching, pretend and never run out of content while you die inside, while you isolate, while the devil keeps you comfortable, fat and happy. Here's your Grubhub, here's your Instacart. You don't have to leave your house anymore. We'll just keep feeding you, leaving you on that couch, pulling you further away from God.

Speaker 1: 30:44

Warnings from history, cs Lewis, the Screwtape Letters. If you have not read the Screwtape Letters or done the audio book, there's some great audio book versions where there's different versions of voices and stuff, which is really, really good, but this is from the screw tape letters. Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one, a gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. Foot without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts. And then Tertullian in 155 to 220 AD.

Speaker 1: 31:22

On entertainment, the entire apparatus of the shows is based upon idolatry. What is there that is not based upon the idolatry of demons? Neil Postman wrote when a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as perpetual round of entertainments, then a nation finds itself at risk. Culture death is a clear possibility. Such endless diversions can lead us into complacency, a condition James forcibly addresses in his epistle, and a complacency a condition James forcibly addresses in his epistle a faith proclaimed but never practiced.

Speaker 1: 31:56

How many Christians do you see like? And they're out there and they're like you're a Christian and nothing about their life is Christian. They don't use Christian verbiage, they don't act like Christians, there is nothing in their life that you would see if you're a Christian. If you're that person, you are failing. I don't even know. If you're, you're not even saved. If people can't look at you and know, one of the first things they say is a Christian. That's how powerful being a Christian should be, because, oh, he's a good person. Well then, who's getting the glory? There we are. Everything you do is for Christ and service to Christ At the command of Christ. You were made by Christ, born by Christ, chosen by Christ, groomed by Christ, the whole thing. So who gets the glory? Christ, when you do it, who's it for Christ? So if they don't see Jesus, christ, you got issues. So I'll recap of James 1.

Speaker 1: 33:01

Who was James? He was a brother of Jesus. He introduced himself as a servant of God and the Lord of Jesus. Christ Humble Could have said yep, I came from the holy womb of the same womb that Jesus came out of. I'm in that. He's my bro. I knew him longer than all you guys.

Speaker 1: 33:19

He was a foundational leader in the early church, known for his uncompromising commitment to practical living faith. That's what we've lost Church. You know, in the Reformed Church we want to talk about the original word in the Greek and this, that and the total, and then we send them out and it's like no application. What do I do with that? How does that help my marriage? How does that help me raise my kids? How does this help me deal with the second? I leave church the full automatic machine guns that are being fired at me from the enemy, from all sides.

Speaker 1: 33:55

James dealt with this when the church was truly persecuted. He was murdered, martyred. He also wasn't one of the first 12 apostles, because he didn't become an apostle until after Jesus came back from the dead. He thought he was a complete idiot before that Crazy. He was revered for his wisdom and moral integrity in a time when the church was forging its identity in a hostile cultural environment. The Jews wanted to kill him, the pagans wanted to kill him. Everyone wanted to kill Christians. James addressed his letters to Jewish believers scattered amongst the Gentile nation.

Speaker 1: 34:37

People facing social division, persecution and everyday challenges that you know demanded their faith be unmistakable, visible in every action, and we see this in Matthew 13, 53 through 58, mark 6, 1 through6, and in Galatians 1-19,. Paul calls James the Lord's brother. So there's no doubt in who James was. James was an unbeliever before Christ's resurrection. In John 7, 1-9, it states James, along with his other siblings, doubted Jesus' ministry during their earthly life. Which means James grew up with Jesus but did not initially believe in him as much as the Messiah. He became a believer after seeing Jesus resurrected. 1 Corinthians 15.7 tells us Jesus appeared specifically to James after his resurrection. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. This encounter was likely the turning point of James' faith. James became the pillar of the early church.

Speaker 1: 35:30

After Jesus ascension, james became a key leader in the Jerusalem church. Paul names James, along with Peter and John, as pillars of the church. He led the Jerusalem council and this is important In the first major doctrinal debate in the church, where the Gentiles must follow Jewish laws, james rendered the final decision based on Scripture, affirming salvation by grace, through faith, apart from the works of the law. Now we're going to talk about works today. That is what this whole thing is about. Today, apart from works of the law, we're going to talk about works, but he's saying that faith saves you, not your works, which is what we all believe. James was known as his holiness and devotion. He was called James the Just and he was martyred in 62 AD, thrown from a temple and stoned to death.

Speaker 1: 36:16

Okay, the key themes joy and trials. Consider it joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials. Knowing the testing of your faith brings about perseverance, being doers of the word James 1.22. But become doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. And then three pure religion involves action, which we are going to talk about extensively today. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this to visit orphans, widows and their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. These are the themes that foreshadow the thrust of James 2. Genuine faith must result in tangible deeds. So let's read James 2, 1 through 26. It's not a long chapter.

Speaker 1: 37:00

My brothers, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with partiality. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dresses in bright clothing and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the bright clothing, you say you sit here in a good place and you say to the poor man you stand over here or sit down by my footstool. You've not made distinctions among yourselves and become or sorry, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and they themselves drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the good name by which you have been called?

Speaker 1: 37:57

If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to Scripture the royal law according to Scripture you shall love your neighbor as yourself you are doing well. You love your neighbor whether they're poor. You love your neighbor whether they're rich. You love your neighbor whether they're rich. It's not what they can do for you. That is the consumerist, transactional nature of society today. We like people based upon how valuable they are to us, which means they're serving us, which is completely backwards from Christianity. Where we're called to serve them is completely backwards from Christianity where we're called to serve them.

Speaker 1: 38:30

You know that old Janet Jackson song I'm going to show my agent. What have you done for me lately? Right, it's not that we are to be in constant service. What are you doing, girl? Can you close the door? Thank you? Yeah, you just went to go get an apple. We'll wait for you, don't you worry. Go on over here. Your mom must be delivering a cow. Go on over to Nana over there. You guys can't even see the ponytail, just a little ponytail drifting around like a shark fin. Okay, sweetie, you need to be quiet. We're doing church, okay, where you got to go. Oh boy, so again we have it backwards. What can you do for me instead of what I can do for you?

Speaker 1: 39:34

If you think of the world as you're a soul doctor out there, right, you are a trained up disciple of Christ. You are a soul doctor. You know the answer. You know what to prescribe this. And if everyone around you is sick, are they serving you or are you serving them? You'll be serving them. Right, because you know the answers.

Speaker 1: 39:54

But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and being convicted by the law as transgressors. Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at one point has become guilty of all. For he who said do not commit adultery also said do not commit murder. Now, if you do not commit adultery but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act, as those who are being judged by the law of freedom, for judgment will be merciless to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Speaker 1: 40:27

Now, verse 13 is really important for those of us who have been injured in our lives. We all go throughout our lives and we all acquire wounds. Some of us have horrible stories that no one knows about and others of us people know about it because, well, it was really bad and when the news found out. Or friends or family, whatever. We all have wounds People have. We all have wounds. People have to be human is to be wronged by humans.

Speaker 1: 40:52

Okay, that is coming down the pipe. Your heart is going to be broken. You're going to be betrayed. You're going to be failed. I'm going to fail you. Please forgive me when I do. I'm just a man. Okay, nothing special. I fail 100 times a day.

Speaker 1: 41:12

You have to forgive your deepest, darkest enemy or else you won't be forgiven, because you are the deepest, darkest enemy to Christ. That is very, very, very, very, very hard. But what you'll find when you talk to psychologists like Jordan Peterson and all that forgiving someone is not for you. For them, it's for you. The day you forgive someone and I've forgiven plenty of people that weight is gone. It's no longer a bag you're dragging with you you have to put it down and move forward and you're lighter. It's poison taken out of your system. And know that if you don't forgive, by the end of days when you stand naked before the Lord, he will know. He will know there is nothing kept from him.

Speaker 1: 42:13

What use is it, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but has no works? Can that faith save him? For brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food and one of you says go in peace, be warm and filled, and yet do not give them what is necessary for their body. What use is that? Even so, faith if it has no works is dead by itself. But some will say you have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without the works and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Now you believe that there is one. You do well. You believe that there is one God. 3 in 1. The demons also believe in shudder. So you say you believe in God. Well, even the demons and devils believe that and we know where they're going. But are you willing to recognize you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? And he's going to give us two examples here.

Speaker 1: 43:13

Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works when he offered up Isaac, his son, on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works and, as a result of the works, faith was perfected. If he didn't have faith he wouldn't have done it. And the scripture was fulfilled, which says and Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness and he was called a friend of God. Now, no one has been harder on Abraham than me.

Speaker 1: 43:36

I have gone after Abraham with everything I have because of a lot of different reasons. One you know using his wife as a bartering tool and saying his sister so he can have a posh life and, while you know, she's a concubine, or be married off to Pharaoh or whoever. And then, lo and behold, the sons do the same thing. There's a lot of flaws in it. But if he's a friend of God, god knows him better than I do. I need to get out of my own way and just say if he's a friend of God, so be it. That also shows you that God can be friends with some pretty horrible people, as he redeems them.

Speaker 1: 44:18

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? Justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also is faith without works is dead. So let's break this down, my brothers.

Speaker 1: 44:42

Do not hold your faith in glorious Lord Jesus Christ of partiality. In a world obsessed with status and celebrity, believers must reflect on God's impartial love. Partiality destroys the poor and fosters disunity, favoritism. You want to see a family destroyed? Favor one child over another Right you want to see that'll sow discord for generations. You want to see a church torn apart or an organization apart? Do not treat everyone equally. You know, go Belichick, who's football on this Sunday. I hate to bring up football, but he treated his stars the same way as he treated his grunts. I remember there was a player who nobody knows, but Randy Moss, was late to practice one day. Randy Moss was the best receiver in the NFL and he benched him. Either everyone plays by the rules or they don't. We all are under God and we're all under God's rule. Do not be just because somebody nicer to someone, just because they can do something for you. Remember whoever was, was kind or did something for the least of these did them for me. That's jesus's own words, talking about visiting people in prisons and orphans and widows. Augustine, a great father of the church on true honor Distinguish the faithful from the unfaithful not by wealth or poverty, but by their faith and their works.

Speaker 1: 46:15

Faith without works is dead. This is the main part of this whole thing. The central argument for James is, even so, this is 217,. If it has no works, it's dead by itself. And then, in 219, you believe that God is one you do. Well, the demons also believe in shudder.

Speaker 1: 46:35

Mere intellectual assent is insufficient. Like I remember when I first got saved and I went from atheist to agnostic and I'm like, okay, something did this. There is a creator, but that's not me surrendering to him, that's not me knowing him, I'm still going to hell, okay. And then when I became a carnal Christian in my walk, where, okay, I know just enough Christianity to be dangerous, I'm just going to pray clear my slate before I die and I'll be good to go Right. No, even demons recognize God's reality. It remained a rebellion. Authentic faith compels godly actions, and I'm going to mispronounce this.

Speaker 1: 47:18

John Chrysostom, 347 to 407 AD. Faith and works must act together. One cannot stand without the other. Who believes and does not act together, one cannot stand without the other. Who believes and does not act is no better than demons, some other church fathers and a modern reflection. If faith this is again from St John Chrysostom, someone's going to crucify me online for that.

Speaker 1: 47:50

If faith is genuine, it must be active. It is like the sun that not only shines in theory but warm, but warms and enlivens all it touches. A faith uncompanied by works is as empty as a left lamp, left unlit. That really struck me hard, being a farmer now and knowing that I need the sun to grow my plants out there. It's got to be real light. It's got to be real light, and light when you're freezing to death that doesn't have heat is useless.

Speaker 1: 48:26

St Augustine, again, true faith, like a seed planted in the heart, naturally bears fruit. Without the fruits of righteous work, what is professed faith but a barren tree incapable of sustaining life or bearing witness to God's grace? St Jerome, do not be content with a faith that speaks in silence. Let it resound in acts of so modern reflection. I say A living faith is like a roaring fire. It warms your heart and illuminates the darkness. Let your deeds be the evidence of the truth you profess. So we already know about biblical examples of this, where Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac. Rahab, a prostitute risked her life by hiding the Israelite spies in Jericho and helped them get out, proving her sincere faith in God and help them get out, proving her sincere faith in God.

Speaker 1: 49:30

Additional, supporting scripture of judgment by works. James isn't alone in teaching that our deeds reveal the reality of our faith. Paul and others in the Old Testament teach the same truth. This is going to jump out at you and it's going to convict you, like whoa, 2 Corinthians 5.10, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Every action, good or evil, will be examined as evidence of our faith.

Speaker 1: 50:06

Now we have a way to get out of that. Repenting and owning it, confessing our sin, giving it to Christ and turning is the repentance part. If you keep doing it, are you really repenting? You're not turning away from it. You're still walking towards that sin. Romans 2, 6 through 8,. He will render to each one according to his works. 2, 6-8,. He will render to each one according to his works. For those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, there will be wrath and fury. Once you know Christ, you cannot serve him. You fall in love with him.

Speaker 1: 50:45

God's impartial judgment is based upon our works, not on superficial declarations. 3 Galatians 6-7. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. Our actions have eternal consequences. A faith that yields no works is ultimately barren Meaning your fire insurance policy is canceled. It didn't work, it was fake.

Speaker 1: 51:15

Ephesians 2, 8 through 10, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is a gift from God, not of works so that one may boast, for we all. His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, and the last New Testament one is 1 Corinthians 3, 13-15. Each one's work will become evident, for the day will indicate it, because it is revealed with fire itself, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one's work. Jay, that's just the new test. What about the old Psalm 62, 12.

Speaker 1: 52:01

Also to you, o Lord, belongs steadfast love, for you repay each one according to his work, jeremiah 17.10. I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind, even to give each one according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve. Last one Ecclesiastes 12.14. I could have went on all day, for God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. These scriptures affirm that God sees every deed. Our lives must be lived in constant awareness that nothing escapes his judgment, which is great because we can confess them to Christ, turn from our sin and be saved.

Speaker 1: 52:56

So what's the application? How do we live out faith that works? We must reject the fire insurance Christianity. We must not be like those who profess Christ yet exhibit no evidence of him or change. James compels us to assess our hearts. Revelation 13, 16. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. God condemns lukewarm faith that fails to manifest in real works of love and obedience, fake love. So what are the practical steps? How do I do this? Lead your family spiritually, dedicate time for scripture, reading, prayer and openly discuss about faith.

Speaker 1: 53:48

Read, lead and do the next right thing. You heard me say that through a lot of things, read this so you know what to do according to his will right, lead by example and do the next right thing. So if you want to put them in correct order, I guess you could say read so you know his will, do the next right thing, which causes you to lead by example. The most effective way to lead there is only one, and it's to lead from the front and by example. Everything else fails in the end.

Speaker 1: 54:23

Serve the poor widows and orphans. Pure and undefiled religion before our God, our Father, exists to visit the orphans and widows in their affliction. It's in James 1.27. It doesn't have to be orphans and widows. Serve people. You know people in your life right now that need help. Why are you not helping them? And this one's going to hurt Basil the Great, 329 and 379. He who does not feed the hungry, clothe the naked or shelter the homeless is as guilty of as many murders as people he could have helped. I read that and I almost fell out of my chair. He who does not feed the hungry, clothe the naked and shelter the homeless is guilty of as many murders as people he could have helped. Lastly, stand firm against cultural pressure. Even if ridiculed, let your integrity and good works testify to your faith is genuine. Now, this is shift. Now this is shift. No-transcript. They will shift again. They will shift again. They will shift again, and we must push back against that.

Speaker 1: 55:55

It is never okay for us to allow someone to say something that contradicts the Bible. It's not good. If it's not in here, it doesn't exist. Every answer is right here. It's not a science book. It doesn't contradict science. Where science and the book collide, there's either a couple problems there. Either we don't understand it the correct way, there's a misinterpretation, we're not taking the right context.

Speaker 1: 56:28

God is the author of science. He doesn't contradict himself. The reason why gravity works is because God says so. The reason why any theory works or why any physics law is there, is because it had an author, and that author was God. So, as we find out, oh, there was no great flood. Oh wait, I guess there was a great flood. Oh wait, I guess there was a great flood. Oh wait, there was enough water. Oh wait, there's more water under the earth than there is even in the oceans. Oh wait, science is always catching up to what God said.

Speaker 1: 57:02

Now, I am not a seven-day creationist, you know, supremacist. The Bible doesn't say the book was created in seven 24-hour days. It was in seven days according to God, whatever that is. And then, when you listen to, in the beginning there was you know I'm going to misquote it, but there's what's called the gap theory, where it starts off with that and there's an indeterminate amount of time. So basically what it says, you could be a young earth or old earth or all that stuff and guess what? You're still going to heaven. It doesn't matter. It's not salvation based, so let's stop fighting about it.

Speaker 1: 57:35

It's fun to talk about, but don't call someone a heretic because they don't believe that God is as impatient as we are and he has to do it in seven 24 hour days. Why do it? Why don't I just do that? Then, right, god is patient, a guy who has no time, no space, no barriers. Do you think he even cares about a second or a moment? No, he's going to use whatever processes he wants and when we get to heaven we'll find out. The arrogance sometimes is astounding that we think he's going to do it our way. He's just writing it so we can understand it in a way that relates to us in my thought. Conclusion a call to repentance in action.

Speaker 1: 58:17

James' message is unequivocal Faith without works is dead. Faith without works is you're not saved, you're not saved by your works. I want to say this You're saved because you believe and if you really believe, you're going to do works Right. I hope that's clear and I'm going to you know I might have to do some cleanup on that next week. I will get into it, but I know we're running late.

Speaker 1: 58:44

We cannot declare Jesus as Lord. Everybody wants the Savior, save me, but nobody wants the boss, the Lord, and that's what he is we're living like. He has no claim in our lives. He paid for our lives. He owns them. Our modern society offers endless amusements, but Scripture demands an active discipleship marked by mercy, love and obedience.

Speaker 1: 59:10

So, is your faith alive or just idle policy? Just an idle policy? Will you forsake distractions to serve Christ wholeheartedly? So let's go to prayer. Lord, forgive our complacency. Ignite us in vibrant faith that overflows in deeds of mercy, justice and humility. Transform our hearts so that our works align with your will. May our families, churches and communities witness the power of a living faith that brings glory to your name, in Jesus' precious name, amen.

Speaker 1: 59:45

All right, so we believe here and doing the Lord's Supper every week. If you're a baptized believer, this is for you, and we'll go over that again always, because there's always somebody who has a question online. All right, we're checking reflexes here. There's one for Lauren, if she needs it. That's my girl. Look at that. She's already got it peeled and prepped for me, because I know how much of a fool I'm up here. Snap it down first. All right, that's the trick. All right.

Speaker 1: 1:00:34

So why can't everyone do this? I'm going to explain In 1 Corinthians 11, 27-32,. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. He'll be guilty for what happened to Christ. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks. Judgment on himself. Okay, so go ahead and close your eyes. Look at your life.

Speaker 1: 1:01:19

Let's reflect back on the message today. Are we living a life of action? Are we serving others? Are we the servant or are we being served? Now see where you're not serving. Commit to serving Repent, turn from that selfishness and turn it to selflessness.

Speaker 1: 1:01:54

Now remember our Lord and Savior, who humbled himself to come down as a defenseless babe, who lived a perfect, sinless life, who went willingly to serve as a sacrifice for all of our sin. The perfect lamb, without blemish, without spot, god himself made flesh. And not only did he bear the insults and the torture and the whipping and the lashing and thorns and the nails, but he did something that none of us could ever do. He paid the price from the wrath of God poured out on him, for all of us, and then he rose from the grave three days later, victorious, defeating death, to sit at the right hand of judgment, for God, to give us the gift of grace. So let us rejoice in that, in this victory toast, in this victory feast, in remembrance of what he has done and what he is doing, and commit back to him what we are to do, which is to serve him.

Speaker 1: 1:03:24

Now, as they were eating, jesus took the bread and, after blessing it, broke it, gave it to the disciples and said Take, eat, this is my body, go ahead and eat. And he took a cup and when he gave it thanks, he gave it to them saying Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins. Go ahead and drink. Heavenly Father, we thank you, you, we thank you for your son, we thank you for your creation, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the book of James. Lord, help us, light a fire in us so we will be like him that we will walk the talk. God, people will know us First as Christians. Him that we will walk the talk. People will know us first as Christians and then as everything else.

Speaker 1: 1:04:16

Lord, I pray a prayer of protection over this fellowship congregation online, now and later, the persecuted church, for our troops overseas, our first responders at home and our veterans of yesteryear. Lord, I pray for the whole world that we wouldn't go. Protection for the whole world that we won't go into World War III. And I pray for our leaders. I pray for Donald Trump that you would give him wisdom and that he would do your will and not his will, that you would use him as a righteous instrument to fix the corruption of this world, this country. And I pray that America would turn from her sin, humble herself, hit her knees and seek your face that you would see her and heal her, so that we could once again be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Speaker 1: 1:05:10

Now I call this fellowship to attention, to put on the full armor of God, to strap on the shield of the faith, pick up the sword of the Spirit and to boldly step forward to join the shield wall locking our shields of faith to the left and right. As we march forward to take ground for your kingdom, for your glory. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace. God bless.