9/11 - Ten Years On (Genesis 11.1-9 and Luke 13.1-5)

Introduction

We’re taking a little break from the letter of James this morning and we’ll pick up again next week.

As I’m sure you’ll have noticed in the media this week, exactly ten years have elapsed since the terrorist attacks in the United States; an event that both shocked and changed the world. Shortly after the attacks I heard an excellent Christian response from the Baptist minister David Pawson and so much of what he said then is still relevant today, so I'm using his talk as the inspration for much of this one with some new insights that could only have come with the passage of time.

In one decade, much has changed. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed the alleged principal architect of the 9/11 attacks, is in custody awaiting trial. Osama Bin Laden, the figurehead of Al Qaida at the time of the attacks is dead. There have been controversial wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. And the Arab Spring this year has shown that across the Muslim world people are choosing democratic rule and not global jihad as the means of advancing their interests.

And yet September 11th has become perhaps the most haunted date on the calendar. The mere mention of this date immediately brings to mind newsreels of a visibly horrified crowd watching a vast fire rage in the north tower of the World Trade Center, only to see another airliner slam into the south tower.

I expect everyone here this morning can remember where they were when they heard the news and watched TV reports about it. It was a pivotal event in world history and it still commands access to primetime viewing ten years on.

In the days and weeks following the tragedy, the media, politicians, philosophers and artists tried to find meaning in all this. Christians too. Many opened their Bibles and asked, “What was God doing that day?” And “If God is all powerful and perfectly loving, how can he have allowed something so dreadful to happen?”

These questions are not new, of course, but in the aftermath of September 11th 2001 they were raised again with a new intensity. Some Christians raised another question. “Does God have something to say to us through this disaster?”

And I think, even ten years on, three themes stand out; things that were written down in Scripture long ago but still speak with resonance and authority now at times like this. And I’m going to take them in turn.

1) The Tower of Babel – Pride and Prestige

I think, first of all, that God speaks into the issue of human pride. What vanity is this competition to construct iconic skyscrapers that rise ever higher! The World Trade Center measured 527m high (including the antenna of the north tower). The Sears Building in Chicago surpassed it soon after, but the twin towers were the tallest building in the world at the time of their inauguration. This construction was one expression of an ancient ambition to build the tallest structure on earth. The current record belongs to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 828m tall.

Where does this drive to build ever higher come from? Is it just that humankind likes an engineering challenge? That may be a factor but I think a big part of this aspiration is to do with the pride of the human heart - and its origins go back to the cradle of civilization. The first trace of it is found in the Bible, in Genesis 11.4 where men say, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves.”

Genesis 11 tells us that the project of building a tower that reached the heavens was essentially an expression of human arrogance. That is to say the tower of Babel was not a building designed and built to the glory of God, as cathedrals in the Middle Ages were. The Tower of Babel was rather an icon of human prestige. It was a monument to the glory and greatness of man.

At the end of the 19th century the New York skyline was dominated by church steeples, which honoured God, pointing to the heavens.

But the 20th century saw a renaissance of the Babel aspiration - and the World Trade Center was part of that drive. Today it is almost impossible to see one church steeple on the Manhattan horizon, overwhelmed as they all are by these buildings erected to the glory of man.

Of all these skyscrapers, the twin towers were perhaps especially symbolic and representative of the confidence that people place in money, in wealth, in the projection of their own importance.

Listen to the words of its architect Minoru Yamasaki (who, believe it or not, had a fear of heights). “The World Trade Center should, because of its importance, become a representation of man’s belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness."

That the World Trade Center was such a spectacular monument to human pride is perhaps one reason why God allowed this attack.

I do not mean to say that God was the author of the tragedy of 9/11, and please don’t hear that. Let me be quite clear that God is never the instigator of evil and the Bible says he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, let alone the innocent.

But God’s word says repeatedly that “He gives grace to the humble and resists the proud.” Pride is the worst sin of all according to God, for it lies at the root of all sin.

Sometimes pride and human arrogance peak so alarmingly that God permits a sobering corrective before even more damage is done. That is the message of Genesis 11 and the tower of Babel. Think how human confidence in the greatness of man was shaken when the Titanic, a ship that God himself could not sink, plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyage. The collapse of the twin towers constructed to the glory of man had a similar effect. “God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud.”

In the late 20th Century there was a dizzy euphoria amongst bankers, financiers and entrepreneurs, who imagined that they could create prosperity at will.

But listen to what God says in Deuteronomy 8.17; “You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…”

It’s very moving to read the testimonies of those who survived the attacks on the World Trade Center, as we have had opportunity to do this week again.

9/11 happened when I was ministering in an international church in Paris. One member of that church, JFR, lost his first wife on Pan Am flight 103 that exploded over Lockerbie in December 1988. He married again and in September 2001 his second wife was working in New York – in the World Trade Center. She was driving to work that morning and was just about to descend into the underground car park at 8:46am when she heard a noise, looked up and watched the first plane hit the north tower. She backed up and thought “I’m not going to work today.” These events had a profound effect on JFR and many others directly affected by the attacks. They changed his value system because they forced him to re-evaluate what is important in life and what is not.

One international banker who survived, but whose close colleagues perished, gave up his career in high finance saying “I’ll never again live for the pursuit of material things.”

God’s word speaks to us with clarity and insight about what matters in life and what doesn’t. The Bible shows how ephemeral, how vapour-like, wealth is. Mammon promises more than it delivers and the pursuit of money (symbolised if you like by the World Trade Centre) is vain.

2) The Fall of Babylon – Reminder of Ultimate Reality

In the weeks that followed September 11th 2001, several Christian websites and magazines asked the question: “Is this the beginning of the end of the world?”

Why did they ask that? Was it because the sight of New York City engulfed in smoke looked like a scene from an apocalyptic disaster film? Possibly.

But most of the fuel for those questions came from the fact that the description the fall of Babylon at the end of time in the book of Revelation bears a startling resemblance to what happened in New York.

David Wilkerson, author of The Cross and the Switchblade, and the then pastor of Times Square Church, one of the churches closest to the disaster, told about a reporter who said on TV “In just one hour these symbols of great wealth have been totally brought to ruin.” And Wilkerson remarked at once that the journalist quoted the Bible almost word-for-word without knowing it.

In Revelation 17-18 there is a description of a great city built by the sea. This city, is codenamed as Babylon. We know it’s a symbolic name because in reality Babylon is nowhere near the sea. The city is personified as a prostitute because the two great vices there are money and gaudy pleasure. Prostitution of course brings those two things together. This Babylon is also a global exporter of godless culture and values​ and it’s a center of world trade. The prophecy of Revelation 18.19 states that it will be destroyed in just 60 minutes.

“Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!”

I remember thinking about that passage at the time of the attacks and wondering if this was indeed the beginning of Armageddon. It sent a shiver down my spine.

It is clear now with 10 years’ hindsight that September 11th 2001 was not the end of the world. But I believe it was an anticipation or prefiguring of it for those who have ears to hear.

In the last days a global figure the Bible calls the Antichrist will pursue and persecute all who are faithful to Christ. It will be heavy and persistent - but brief. Today, says the first letter of John, there are many ‘antichrists’ who attack believers on a local level so where we see persecution of believers it’s a prefiguring, if you like, of what’s to come. Many antichrists now. The Antichrist at the end.

In other words, what will happen at the end of the world, we already experience now in miniature. September 11th 2001 saw the demise in one hour of a World Trade Center in a city of money and pleasure. But the demise in one hour of the global centre of trade, of money and of gaudy pleasure will surely come at the end. We’ve already seen it in miniature. And it is frightening.

The warnings about the end of the world in the Bible are not given to arouse our curiosity or to fascinate our imagination but to concentrate our minds on getting our lives right with God. And so to my third point.

3) The Tower of Siloam - Call to Repentance

The last point I want to make comes from our second reading.

September 11th 2001 serves as a sober and stark reminder that our life here is the only opportunity we get to seek God and to accept the salvation he offers freely in Jesus Christ.

Life can be brief. But, however long we have to live, we will all face our Judge at the end of it. How prepared would we be if, like the 2,979 poor souls who perished on 9/11, our days were suddenly cut short and we faced Almighty God tonight?

The week following the attacks of September 11th 2001, people asked, “Why did God allow so much suffering to those innocent victims?” “It’s so random. Why did some survive and others perish?”

It’s a matter people asked Jesus to comment on in Luke 13. And I think it’s worth reading it again.

“Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them - do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.’”

Jesus refers here to two separate disasters: the first was an act of violence and the second was the collapse of a tower that led to people dying.

The first atrocity was committed by Pontius Pilate and it seems to have been an act of state terrorism if you like. He murdered in cold blood a group of ‘innocent’ Galileans who had committed no other offence than gather together for Sabbath worship. It was a brutal act that was totally unjustified. Not only did it senselessly end the lives of these men, it insulted and defiled their religion.

The second disaster was the collapse of a tower in Siloam. The fall of this building crushed and killed a random group of people who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe the architecture was flawed or the construction was poor. We don’t really know the reason why it fell. But it did fall and people died.

Two different events but Jesus asks the same question about both. Was it because the Galileans were worse sinners than everybody else that Pilate singled them out? Were the victims of the collapse of the tower guiltier than those who survived?”

In both cases, Jesus says, “No, they were no worse than anyone else. But unless you repent,” he says, “you too will all perish.”

Dying without accepting the salvation God graciously offers us will be worse than the foretaste of the hell we all had on 9/11.

Jesus says something very unpalatable here to modern ears. He is pointing out that everyone shares, not a collective innocence, but a common guilt.

Yes, of course it’s true that the victims of the attacks were innocent compared with the hijackers. They were ordinary people like you and me - and it’s heartbreaking that so many of them had to suffer such a harrowing end.

But I’ve got to be honest with what I read here; The Lord Jesus did not direct his words to Pilate or to the architect of the tower in Siloam. He clearly said that if we do not repent, we will likewise perish.

The reason why that sounds so shocking to us is because the secular humanism of the Enlightenment preached the false gospel that everyone is basically good.

But the Bible says the truth about human nature: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And “the [human] heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

In other words, we are sinners by nature, and capable of good only by the grace and mercy of God.

I remember first reading this in the Bible and thinking “No, it can’t mean that!” And then I had children. I discovered that even young children tell lies and torment their siblings and defy authority and refuse to share. I discovered that in order for my children to tell the truth, live in peace with others, respect authority and share nicely Kathie and I had to break my back training them to adopt a different course than the one they instinctively chose. Then I discovered that my parents had the same issues with me – only I was worse. Then it hit me; this goes all the way back to the first man and woman. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The tragedy of September 11th - even ten years on - sounds a wake-up call to repentance, not just for the citizens of New York City or the American people, but for the whole world, because none of us here today are more innocent than the victims of those atrocities were.

C.S. Lewis once said “God whispers in our pleasures but shouts in our pain.” And God does cry out to the world at times of crisis like this. Is anybody listening?

Ending

Despite the heavy tone of my talk today, I want to finish by saying that the gospel is good news not bad news.

The good news is that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

• If you’re not right with God this morning
• if you do not have the peace with him that he freely gives
• if you relate to the pride of the builders of the tower of Babel
• if you have bought into the values ​​of Babylon (the city without God)
• if you’re tired of living outside God’s will for your life

Come humbly before him now, return to the Lord your God, and seek the forgiveness, the cleansing and the salvation that he so wants to give our broken world.


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 11th September 2011

The Patience of a Saint (James 5.7-12)

Introduction

When Saint Teresa of Avilla went through a difficult period in her life, she complained to God about her mistreatment from so many different people. God said to her “This is how I always treat my friends.” Teresa never minced her words. She simply replied, “Well, that must be why you have so few!”

But Teresa of Avilla did eventually go on to acquire the patience of, well, a saint.

Have you ever noticed that whatever checkout queue you choose, it turns out to be the one that progresses slowest of all? Even if I take my time to study the different queues to identify the fastest moving one, once I join it, it grinds to a halt. Customers in front of me will have a problem with their debit card or their purchases will have barcodes that the scanner fails to recognise, requiring a long discussion with the checkout manager - who will happen to be at tea break, or the cashier will have to change the till roll - for the first time ever and will need assistance. Lord, teach me patience! Am I alone in this?

Here is the Oxford definition of patience. “Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.”

But the Bible says that irritating inconveniences and drawn out delays do not occur by accident. God’s word teaches us that they are permitted by God for a very specific purpose, (to grow character and fortitude and stature in us).

So next time you are held up by dithering drivers, incompetent cashiers or tea-drinking tradesmen you can say “Praise the Lord, that he is so meticulously concerned about my sanctification!”

How patient are you? (get interrupted by mobile phone and talk for several minutes, turning back on congregation)…

Now where was I? Uhm... Do you know I can't find my place. Sorry about that. Uhm... Let me start again. When Saint Teresa of Avilla went through a difficult period in her life...

See, how many of you found yourself getting a little bit annoyed just then?

Does it matter how longsuffering you are? It really does. God’s word says here that patient endurance is one of the keys to blessing.

Jeremiah and Job

What does that look like in real life? James says, “Well take a look at the prophets and Job. These people are really good examples of patient endurance. Let’s read v10-11 again:

“Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered.”

Take, for example, the prophet Jeremiah. When Kathie is trying to say something to me and I fail to listen to her, gracious and considerate as she is, she gets a little fed up with me. You can understand that – and possibly even sympathise with her from personal experience.

But Jeremiah takes that indignity to a whole other level. He was almost completely ignored and rebuffed his whole life. Try and put yourself in his shoes. How do you think that would have felt to go through life, week after week, month after month, year after year with everyone switching off and blanking you as soon as you open your mouth? No wonder he looks so thoroughly fed up in Rembrandt’s picture of him.

Word for word, Jeremiah is the longest book in the Old Testament. It contains nearly 40,000 words. (I counted this week – with the aid of a computer you’ll be relieved to know). But just hold that number in your minds for a moment; 40,000 words. The average sermon you hear at All Saints’ is 1,200 / 2,200 words.

Now let me tell you the story that you find in Jeremiah 36. It’s about a scribe who reads out Jeremiah’s urgent prophecy to wicked king Jehoiakim. Jeremiah pleads with him to heed God’s warning of imminent disaster, and lead the nation to repentance to avoid catastrophe. King Jehoiakim takes a penknife and cuts up the scroll inch by inch, as it is read to him, and tosses Jeremiah’s life work into the fire, piece by piece. (That’s how they shredded documents in the 6th Century BC). 40,000 painstakingly penned words - all shredded and burned in one evening. And when it’s all over, God says to Jeremiah, “Now then, I want you to take a new parchment and a pen and write it out all over again. Every word.” That’s an example of the sort of patience James is talking about in v10.

It puts waiting for a late bus or putting up with a delayed telephone engineer into perspective doesn’t it?

And then James says in v11, “You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.”

Job had to suffer more than Jeremiah, much more than Teresa of Avilla, and much, much more than a supermarket customer in a hurry. If you’re not all that familiar with the story of Job it goes like this:

Job is a good man, who loses in one day, his livestock (symbolic of his source of income) and all his servants, (symbolic of his wealth). It's already a bad day when you lose your job and your life savings. But there is worse. On the same day, shortly after Job prays for each of his children, his house collapses on them, leaving no survivors.

In a single day, he loses everything he has. And there is more to come. Shortly after all this, Job is afflicted from head to toe by a painful skin disease. He scratches his itchy festering skin with pieces of broken pottery and sits on a pile of ashes well outside the city, because nobody can bear to look at him. He is ugly and disfigured. People hide their faces.

It is at this moment that his wife begins to nag him. “You should curse God and die” she says. “Go on! Maybe he will put you out of your misery.”

Job probably just needs a little love and support, but in four little words (Curse God and die) his wife abandons her faith, washes her hands of her husband and wishes him dead. “Thank you darling, I feel better already.”

It's easy to criticize this woman when we read about it in black and white. But to be fair to her, she has just lost everything too. It is so painful when a loved one is really suffering and there is nothing you can do to help. It may be that Mrs. Job cannot stand seeing him suffer and just wants his ordeal to end. Yes, she is wrong to encourage her husband to turn away from God. But she is in shock, she is traumatized, she has lost everything.

But poor old Job. I guess after all this he probably just wanted to be left alone - which is when his four talkative friends turn up to offer him a bit of well-meant advice. Actually a lot of well-meant advice. And a fair bit of criticism too.

Job is so wretched, so disfigured by his afflictions, that at first they don’t recognize him at all. When they finally realize that it's him, the Bible says they “start crying loudly,” which was the custom at funerals. What an extraordinary blessing that must have been… How encouraging.

Without going into too much detail, Job’s four friends fill up thirty-three chapters with unfair criticism, simplistic platitudes and unhelpful advice. They end up basically saying that there is no smoke without fire. If you suffer, it’s because you must have sinned badly. Glenn Hoddle could have told him that…

Job’s friends did not see that there was a bigger picture. It was in fact an affliction visited on Job by Satan and was authorized by God himself. Suffering is usually much more complex than we imagine. If you’re going through the mill right now, it is not necessarily a spiritual attack, simply because it was for Job. But it might be. If you are going through a long tunnel of misfortune it is not necessarily a consequence of sin; in the Bible, it hardly ever is. It is, in fact, difficult to discern clearly what is going on spiritually when we, or someone we love, are struck by illness or adversity.

Joni Erickson, who as a teenager, was paralyzed in a diving accident and became a Christian some time later, has often received prayer for healing. Her condition has not changed. Some Christians have said that she lacks faith which just adds insult to injury really and Joni has had to learn to be patient with such people. She has become one of the most gracious, forgiving, joyful people you could meet. She once said, “When I go to heaven, I will fold up my wheelchair, walk up to Jesus, hand it back to him and say – ‘thank you, I needed that’.”

Take a look at the list of all Job lost. He was left bereaved, wretched, afflicted and penniless. But in the Bible here, it is not the poverty or the pain but the patience of Job, which is the important thing.

I read the book of Job back in June and I noticed then that, with all the grief he got, he was never aggressive or violent. It is true that he got very, very low and he did take his friends to task for being so simplistic and annoying. He was only human after all. But what does Job’s patience look like in the face of ignorance and provocation? It looks composed, even-tempered and gracious.

And what does Job’s patience look like in his prayer life? In Job 1.21 he says, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”

In other words, he says “God knows what he’s doing. He owes me nothing anyway. I trust him. He is always worthy of praise. Nothing else is more important than that.” Job didn’t understand at all what was happening to him, but he did know that God is good. All the time.

The Lord likes to give grace to patiently endure inconvenience, injustice, even injury - and to be victorious over it. Think of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus Christ showed matchless patience under intolerable pressure from excruciating pain. No suffering will ever plumb the depths of the torment that Jesus Christ endured for me and for you. He didn’t say “Excuse me, what about my human rights?” He took the full weight and the eternal consequences for all the wrong we suffer, whether we are innocent or guilty. He was completely blameless and yet he endured hell’s fury so that we might receive grace and forgiveness and life in abundance.

God does test our patience this way because he wants us to be like him – slow to anger and abounding in love.

God does test our patience this way because he wants us to be like his Son – remember the words of Paul: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst… that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense... patience.”

And I want to say this if you feel this is all a bit academic: The lives of Jeremiah and Job are absolutely relevant if you find yourself tested at the moment in any of the following areas:

• The exasperating waste of your time
• The humiliation and indignity of being ignored
• The pain of personal grief
• Stress to do with the family
• Strains in marriage
• Pressure and tension from work
• Worries about money
• The burden of relationships that pile false guilt on you

Let’s just put that list on the screen. Take a good look. That’s a pretty heavy list isn’t it? Those are the issues Jeremiah and Job faced, endured and overcame.

I say “overcame” because, in the end, both men triumphed over adversity by patient endurance.

Jeremiah was vindicated. He went down as one of the great characters of the Old Testament. In fact, such is the greatness of his legacy that when Jesus said to his disciples “Who do people say that I am?” they replied that some thought he was Jeremiah.

Job was also vindicated. At the end of the book of Job, God said that his friends had spoken foolishly and Job became twice as prosperous as before - and doubly blessed.

“We count as blessed those who have persevered… You have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”

I believe the Lord wants to minister his grace and power amongst us this morning.

Some of you here know that the Lord is speaking to you about things on that list on the screen.

• For some here this morning, today is a day of release and healing
• For others, today is a day to receive a new word of revelation from the Lord
• For others still, today is a day to receive grace to endure and be victorious
• For still others, today is a day to put down heavy burdens at the foot of the cross

Let’s stand to pray…


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 4th September 2011

Thoughts on How a Christian Dies (Hebrews 11.13)

Tribute at the funeral of Deirdre Shaw

It’s on occasions like this that I reflect on a story one of my favourite preachers once told about a church member of his who lived in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. He went to see his doctor and was given the bad news that he had only a few weeks to live. And so he went home and sent out cards to all his friends. He said “Come and stay with me.” (He lived in a fairly big house). He said “Come and see how a Christian dies.” What an invitation!

Deirdre showed how a Christian lives, but she also modelled how a Christian dies.

I was sitting in this church in early July (next to Deirdre as it happens, about three rows back) and I was looking at the carvings on the pulpit (perhaps I was drifting during the sermon, I don’t know…) But I was wondering what I might say at Deirdre’s funeral which was, it was becoming clear to all, going to be fairly imminent.

And a verse from Hebrews 11 flashed into my thoughts. It talks about a whole list of Old Testament worthies who walked with God through thick and thin. And then it says this: “All these people were still living by faith when they died.” Deirdre lived by faith all the way until she died.

I had called her in May to ask her if she felt she was still up to leading services here and she said “Yes.” She was willing to serve right up to the end. As it happened, when I visited her in mid July she said to me “You know I am due to lead a service on the 31st. Well, I don’t think I’m quite going to be able to do that now and I’d be grateful if you could make arrangements for someone to lead in my place.” So I said, “Certainly.” And then she had a faraway look in her eye and turned to me and said “And I’m also due to lead on 11th September - and I don’t know where I’ll be then.” I think she knew pretty well that she would no longer be with us beyond August and, sadly, so it proved.

That day, I talked with Deirdre about death and I asked her if she was scared. “No, I’m not afraid of death” she replied immediately. “I am a Christian. I have faith.” And then, with a tear in her eye, she said that her one difficulty would be in letting go of her loved ones. She loved life here on earth and thought she would miss it. But death itself had no hold over Deirdre at all.

Soon afterwards, Deirdre spent a spell in hospital. On my first visit there I noticed that her health had visibly declined. I took her hand, took a deep breath and said “You know, Deirdre, this is it. This is the Valley of the Shadow of Death. This is where you are now. But we’re right here with you and so is the Good Shepherd who walks with you every step of the way.” And then we noticed what the 23rd Psalm actually says about the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It says “Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” It says you go, not to the valley, but through it. That means that there is a way out to something new and better at the end. It seemed to be a lightbulb moment for Deirdre and she spoke about going through the valley to everyone she met in the days following.

It was so good that Deirdre was able to die at home in the back room overlooking the garden. Mike made arrangements to get a proper hospital bed and all the medical equipment installed. In the week she died, I was told about an evening where several souls picked a Mission Praise book and began to sing to the Lord with her. Deirdre was quite weak by then, and somewhat breathless, but she wanted to keep going. “No, let’s sing some more!” she insisted. I think they sang dozens of worship songs. Deirdre loved singing and music and she had such a heart for God.

The last words I spoke to Deirdre that I know she was conscious of hearing were on the Thursday of that week. I took her hand again and read her Hebrews 12.1-2 (which follows on from that thought about the people who were all living by faith when they died). It says: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

And I said to her “You’re on the last lap now, your coming up to the final bend and into the last straight. You can see the finishing line now. The crowd are rising to their feet. And they’re all cheering for you. You’re almost there now. Soon, you’ll hit the tape, your race will be run and there’ll be a crown of glory waiting for you.”

The next day she passed from this life into the next, through the valley.

"Come and see how a Christian dies."

Deirdre, you ran a good race and you finished well. And you were still living by faith at the end.

Sermon preached at Saint Mary's Long Newton, 25th August 2011.

A Spiritual Check-Up (James 4.1-10)

Introduction

When you go to the doctor for a check-up, he or she will take your pulse, measure your blood pressure, weigh you on the scales, assess your diet and check whether there are any aches and pains and if everything seems to be in good working order. It’s not a detailed consultation needing scans and blood tests. I’m talking about a basic but thorough once over. Well, there’s quite a lot in our reading this morning and I see it as a sort of spiritual check up with six areas for examination. And we’re going to take them one by one.

1. Inner Contentment

The first is to do with the health of the heart - our inner contentment. In v1-2 James asks “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.”

 

It looks like these verses are about relationships with each other. But they’re not really. Here you’ve got a presenting problem that has an underlying cause. Just as you might complain to a doctor about stress, only to find that the real problem is high blood pressure for example, here the complaint is fights and quarrels. But there’s a real issue under the surface that is causing all the friction; and it’s covetous desires.

The Bible says here that my relational friction with someone basically caused by unhappiness inside me. It’s the public face of my private envies.

James uses really harsh words to describe situations of human disagreement; verbs like to fight, to battle and to kill. It’s the language of war. What do you think about that? Doesn’t it seem just a little over the top? We know, don’t we, that whenever we get into a quarrel (however nasty it turns) it’s never quite on the scale of out and out warfare. We don’t launch air strikes on each other just because we fall out over an issue do we? So why does James use this inflammatory language? Because war is what it feels like to God; The Lord deeply grieves relational conflict especially amongst Christians.

Why? Because if the world will know we are Christians by our love, the world will conclude that our message is irrelevant and untrue by our lack of love.

Do you know people who like to fight? Some people just like a good slanging match don’t they? They fight at home. They fight at work. They fight with relatives. They fight with neighbours. And they fight at church. If you locked them in a room all by themselves, they’d probably fight with themselves.

So how are you doing on the inner contentment test? Are you argumentative and abrasive or are you a peacemaker? What about the underlying cause? Do you find yourself compare yourself with others, envying what they have? I wish I had his money or her figure or his confidence, or her talent – or whatever? Or have you learned to be content with what you have and who God has made you to be? Can you be happy for others better off than you?

2. Prayerfulness

The next item on the spiritual health check is to do with prayer. How are your knee reflexes? James says in v2-3 that our walk with God goes pear shaped when (a) we don’t pray and (b) when we do pray it’s self-seeking.

 

“You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

James had several nicknames. One was James “the Just” which might ring a bell. Another was James “the Less” which also may sound familiar. Paul called him James the brother of the Lord which you fins in Scripture so you may have come across that too. But he had another name that I bet you haven’t heard before. Tradition tells us that James was nicknamed “camel knees.” Why do suppose would anyone call someone camel knees? Have you ever seen the knees of a camel? They’re all nobly with dead skin. It’s because James was an absolute giant in prayer and his fervent dedication to intercession caused conspicuous calluses on his knees.

Some people feel a bit uncomfortable with the tone of James’ letter. It is a little direct, even severe in places. But I for one am always ready to listen to someone who has spent hours and hours on his knees before God.

The author and preacher John Piper once said “Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing… Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as all-sufficient.”

That’s why the state of our prayer life has to feature prominently on any spiritual health check. God is interested in the state of your knee reflexes. So how are you doing on prayer?

3. Values

The third thing a medical examination might evaluate is weight and height to calculate Body Mass Index - which gives us clues about whether our diet is healthy. Spiritual diet, what we’re taking into our system, is all about our values; what is important to us. In v4-5 James says:

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?”

When the obsession of my life is me, it can’t be Christ. God does not think his Son should take second place to anything in my life. He is not OK about Jesus being a hobby of mine.

Again, James’ choice of language is startling and shocking. This is how worldliness in our lives feels to God; it’s like adultery. He feels as upset as a faithful and jilted lover would. It feels like enmity to him. It feels like we have changed sides and are now training weapons on his Son.

Worldliness is any unhealthy centring of life around home, health, spouse, stuff children - it doesn’t matter.

Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City was interviewed on ABC News recently and he said this;

“Sin is not just doing bad things; sin is also turning good things into ultimate things. For example, if you love your children, that’s good, but not to the point of making your children’s happiness the very meaning of your life...”

It’s the same for hard work, success, money and sport. One of my biggest challenges in this area runs around in red shirts with white sleeves. They’re all good things – until they become ultimate things.

God Almighty is not OK about anything in this world that he created being elevated in my heart over his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus said “You cannot serve both God and mammon.” That’s money. God will not budge up and share his glorious throne with anybody or anything that is less worthy than him.

Sometimes you just want the doctor to tell it to you straight don’t you? Stop smoking. Start exercising. Eat more fruit. “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” says James.

So is there anything in your life today that is polluting your values, and challenging the absolute lordship of Christ in your life?

4. View of Self

Spiritual health check number 4 is about how we view ourselves. Believe it or not, how I evaluate myself in relation to others and to God will basically determine whether the grace of God in my life runs free or runs out.

I saw an amusing little ironic comment on my daughter’s Facebook page this week. It said “Try as you might, you cannot match my humility.”

But there’s nothing funny about pride. God actually resists proud people. In v6, the Scripture says: “‘God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble and oppressed.’ Submit yourselves, then, to God.”

How do I know if I’ve got a problem with pride? Well, if I often get frustrated because I know all the answers, but nobody bothers to ask me the questions, it probably means I’ve got an issue with pride.

God is completely and totally opposed to it. The word that’s used here is actually a military term. It’s the word you’d use to describe a full army lined up and primed for battle.

In the first Gulf War the Americans shipped military equipment and personnel to Kuwait via the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic, which served as a refuelling station. Overnight, those islands went from having maybe one or two planes to having dozens and dozens. Every square foot of tarmac in the airports was taken up by fighter aircraft. That image illustrates how God resists the proud. He lines up his entire heavenly army to stand in opposition to human arrogance and self-sufficiency.

But God gives grace to humble people, whose view of self is modest and unassuming. God likes humble souls because they correctly attribute greatness and glory and prominence and worth to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, and fittingly deflect attention away from mere human achievement – itself a gift from God anyway. Do you want the grace of God to flow in your life? God gives grace to the humble.

So how are you doing on the humility scale? How gladly are you submitting yourself to God?

5. Spiritual Resistance

The next thing a medical examination might look at is your temperature. The thermometer should read 37°. If it’s higher you’ve got a fever, probably caused by an infection. The immune system works when antibodies resist infection. The spiritual immune system works when faith stands firm and resists the devil.

James says in v7-8 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

So when the devil tempts you to sin - resist him. “Satan, get out of my thoughts.”

When he plays on your selfishness - resist him. “Satan, this is not becoming of a child of God, get behind me.”

When he accuses you of falling below the reach of God’s grace - resist him. “Satan, the Bible says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, so shut up.”

And when you do resist the devil, God promises here that he will flee from you. When under spiritual attack, draw near to God. Worship him. Tell him you love him. Exalt him. Pour out your soul to him. And he will come near to you.

6. Sensitivity to Sin

So on to the last examination in this spiritual check-up. Perhaps the part of the body most sensitive to pain is the teeth. I'll tell you a secret; my dentist gets on my nerves. Quite honestly, the dentist’s drill is not a barrel of laughs is it?

But, when you think about it, sensitive teeth are an early warning system against tooth decay. If we didn’t get twinges chewing toffee we wouldn’t know we needed to take preventative measures against losing our teeth.

In v8-10 James says “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

Just like a toothache, sensitivity to sin is unpleasant. Look at the verbs here; to grieve, to mourn, to wail. Grieving over my selfishness, mourning my prayerlessness, wailing over my apathy towards God’s word is essential. Taking a long hard look at my dark side does look gloomy. It’s not pretty, but if it drives me to repentance, it is a key to spiritual health.

When James says “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” it reminds me of when the kids were very small. I’d lift them up above my head and twizzle them around and they’d laugh and shriek with delight.

Oh, the joy of being forgiven, the blessing of a clean slate with God, the satisfaction of a restored soul are wonderful. Even better than waking out of the dentists – all done, all over.

So how are you doing on the repentance chart? How easily are you turning to God and keeping short accounts with him?

Ending

There’s a brilliant sketch that (I think it was) the Riding Lights Theatre Company used to perform. The sketch starts with a man sleeping in bed. He is all snuggled up under the duvet and his head is buried deep into his fluffy pillow.

Suddenly he sits up in bed looking startled and he shouts at the top of his voice: “I had a dream from the Lord. In my vision I was surrounded by angels going up and down a ladder.”

And he jumps out of bed, saying that he must proclaim this great revelation to the whole world. Seconds later his wife arrives. She looks at the empty bed with the pillow messed up and the duvet draped over the floor and says “Why is it that whenever men have amazing spiritual visions they never make the bed?”

I think James would have nodded approvingly. This letter, we’ve been seeing together, is not a collection of great spiritual abstractions; it’s essentially and unashamedly down to earth. And there’s nothing more practical than a medical check-up. And there are few things more necessary for spiritual vitality than a spiritual check-up.

So, as the summer draws to a close and we prepare to go into the busy autumn time – how’s your spiritual health? How are you doing on these six key indicators of spiritual fitness? Where do you need to tone up?


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 21st August 2011

True Wisdom (James 3.13-18)

Introduction

It has been estimated recently that, with the exponential growth of information technology, more data has been produced in the last thirty years than in the previous five thousand. I don’t know how true that is because it strikes me that it’s pretty difficult to calculate that accurately, but what is sure is that we have at our disposal today more access to information than at any time in history.

And with the Internet, certainly, we have more knowledge at our fingertips than we can possibly process. Somebody once compared accessing information from the Internet to getting a cup of water from the Niagara Falls.

Our world is a bounty of knowledge but let me ask you this question: Would you say that the world is a wiser place than it was thirty years ago? For all its education and access to information, is the human race wiser than it has ever been before?

Whether you’d say yes or no, I think we’d all agree that wisdom has not increased at the same rate as knowledge. It’s often lamented that we can put a man on the moon but it seems beyond us to bring reconciliation between two warring individuals.

I say this because there is a tendency in western culture to equate wisdom with study, knowledge and expertise. But in the Bible, wisdom is much more connected to lifestyle than to cleverness.

Knowledge is the accumulation of facts, imparted through education. But wisdom is moral insight with understanding about the right thing to do - and it is mostly gained through experience.

So, just to hammer home the difference between knowledge and wisdom, let me give you four quick examples of each. First of all, knowledge. Did you know?
· The hottest British summer on record is 1976 (when the average temperature was 17.8°C)
· To see the Great Wall of China from the Moon you would need eyesight that is 17 times better than normal 20/20 vision.
· Ants prefer the taste of boiled sweets to the taste of cheese.
· Trivia is the plural of the word trivium.

And now, listen to four pearls of wisdom, each of which come from the mouths of children:
· Nathan, age 9, says “Don’t tell your mum her diet is not working.”
· Alisha, age 8 says “Never try to baptize a cat.”
· Joel, age 12, says “Don’t pick on your little sister when she’s holding a cricket bat.”
· Ruth, age 6 says, “Never eat prunes.”

Each one of these children discovered their nugget of wisdom from bitter and indeed messy experience.

What about the Bible? This book will not necessarily make you clever but it will make you wise. Paul wrote to Timothy about the Holy Scriptures which, he said, “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3.15).

This is why we read this book; not to increase our knowledge about the ancient Middle East, though that may be fascinating and even rewarding. But the reason why we read and preach the Bible is to acquire wisdom to know God and to live well.

And James’ letter is deeply concerned with this kind of wisdom; how we recognise it, how we get it and how we use it.

How You Get Wisdom

How do you get wisdom for life? I said just now that you get it from experience but what if you need wisdom at short notice? What if you need it now?

It’s no good waiting for a lesson from the school of hard knocks when you’re in a crisis is it? James’ recommendation (in chapter 1, verse 5) is so simple it seems almost too simple. He says you ask for it.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Sounds too easy doesn’t it? You send up a lightning “Help, give some me wisdom!” prayer when unexpectedly confronted with an awkward situation. It’s amazing how God answers.

Here’s a true story. A young couple turned up on a vicarage doorstep looking very troubled and asking to speak with the minister. So he sat them down and asked them what was wrong. “Well,” they said, “we’ve been married for a couple of months and we’ve made a terrible mistake. We think we should divorce. We are just so different and we can’t get on. It’s a disaster. We drive each other mad.” And they went on to explain how their life together was a total mismatch, bringing deep unhappiness to both.

What would you say in a situation like that? As he was listening, the minister quickly prayed “Lord, give me wisdom” under his breath and immediately an idea flashed into his mind.

He said, “I’m going to ask you to go away and follow these instructions to the letter.” Turning to the husband, he said “For a week, you’re going to live her way;
· you’ll leave the lid off the toothpaste
· you’ll dump your clothes all over the bedroom floor
· you’ll save less and spend more
· you’ll sleep with the window open
· you’ll leave things to the last minute and then rush around before going out
· you’ll considerately put the toilet seat down
· and so on.”

Then, turning to the wife, he said “The following week, you’re going to live his way;
· you’ll carefully put the lid back on the toothpaste
· you’ll tidy your clothes away leaving nothing on the bedroom floor
· you’ll spend less and save more
· you’ll sleep with the window closed
· you’ll get ready with half an hour to spare before going out
· you’ll even considerately put the toilet seat up after use
· and so on.”

“And then I want you to revert back to living her way, but this time for two weeks, and then back to his way for two weeks, then each way for three weeks - and then come back and see me and let me know how you got on.”

Well, they came back a few months later with big smiles on their faces. “We’ve had such fun, we’ve learned so much about each other, we’ve learned quite a bit about ourselves… and things are much better.”

If you need wisdom, ask God for it.

Who is Wise? 

Looking at the passage we had read to us this morning now, James begins by asking the question in v13, “Who is wise and understanding among you?”

I could ask the same question and ask for a show of hands. Most of us would be reluctant wouldn’t we? We don’t want to look too full of ourselves. But no one wants to be seen as foolish or unwise. We all want to be perceived as intelligent and “in the know.”

So how do you know if you are a wise person? According to v13, the leading indicator is not how much you know, or how aptly you say things, or even how sound your decisions seem to be. The most reliable gauge of how wise you are, according to God, is how you live your life.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it (typical James, so practical) by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

People who are wise in God’s estimation just get on with unassuming acts of kindness. Salt of the earth people, we say.

Do you know people like that? They’re just good to be with aren’t they? We like people like that. And we like people like that because Jesus is like that and we all want to be around people who are like him.

Worldly Wisdom

But James tells us here that there are, in fact, two kinds of wisdom.

First, there is worldly wisdom which James says in v15, “does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

This is the so-called wisdom of the know-all. It’s competitive, quarrelsome, and hair-splitting, always wanting to have the last word.

Here’s how the Message version translates it: “Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.”

Heavenly Wisdom 

But there is also a heavenly wisdom, and in v17 we read, “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

Real wisdom begins, not with a top education, but with a pure life. “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure.”

Everybody here knows how to be on best behaviour when the boss comes in. The real question is who are we when no one’s looking?

Anyone can act holy, but God says “Be holy”, which requires true repentance - a complete change of mind. Real wisdom is pure.

Real wisdom is also… peace-loving and considerate.”

If you find yourself constantly in relational tension, find out why. I know my name’s John but let me be frank for a minute; constant anger and animosity does not flow being right with God.

I was speaking with a good friend once and he was telling me how people were so irritating and annoying and that his everyday situation was completely exasperating and infuriating. He went on for quite a while and I knew this was a repeated theme in his life so I said to him “What if the common denominator of all your adversity is you?”

Then I became irritating and annoying and exasperating – which kind of underlined my impression that I had correctly identified the source of the problem. Real wisdom is peace-loving and considerate.

Real wisdom is also… “submissive.”

Nobody I’ve met so far likes that word. But it’s not about letting yourself being pushed around, it’s to do with our openness to correction – it means teachable, it means willing to listen to reason. Proverbs 12.15 (Good News Bible) says, “Stupid people always think they are right. Wise people listen to advice.” Are you teachable or incorrigible? Real wisdom is submissive.

Real wisdom is also… “full of mercy and good fruit.

It’s one thing to show kindness to someone who is in trouble isn’t it? But this is talking about showing kindness to someone who is in trouble through their own silly fault!

Mercy doesn’t ask if the person in need is responsible or not. Mercy is just mercy. That’s why James says it is impartial.

I thank God he didn’t ask himself if the mess I was in was my own fault or not before he showed mercy to me! Real wisdom is full of mercy and good fruit.

And then real wisdom is also… “sincere.” The word is anypokritos, literally “without hypocrisy.” It’s not for show. It’s real. Let’s not do good just to impress others, let it come from a heart for God.

Ending

To end, what about Solomon? Was he wise? The Wisdom of Solomon is proverbial. There’s a story in 1 Kings 3 that is well known, even by people who aren’t familiar with the Bible. You remember the story?

Two women each have a baby. During the night, one baby dies and a dispute arises about which woman the living baby belongs to, so they ask Solomon to sort it out.

Solomon says he can’t decide, so he gives the order to cut the living child in two and give one half to each mother.

The real mother begs that the baby be given to the other mother to spare his life. The bogus mother, in her jealousy, says “OK, cut him in two!”

Then Solomon knew that the baby belonged to the first woman, for her maternal love was all the proof he needed.

So was Solomon wise? You would think so. But this was a man who went on to marry 700 wives and take 300 concubines. Forgive me, but would you call a man who brings 700 mothers-in-law into his life as wise?

We think of Solomon as wise, and God did give him good judgment, but he ended up depending on his own human understanding rather than the wisdom from above.

In fact, the bottom line is this: Solomon was wise for others. People came from all over the earth to hear his wisdom. But I’m afraid he lacked wisdom for himself.

Result: (and this is where we must beware) he grew distant from God. He became forlorn and weary, even despairing, as the book of Ecclesiastes makes clear. He went from being the world’s wisest man to the world’s most knowledgeable fool. Soon after he died, his kingdom was torn in two and Israel’s Golden Age ended for good. So much for human wisdom.

So how wise are you? And what sort of wisdom do you have?


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 14th August 2011.

Tame Your Tongue! (James 3.1-12)

Introduction

A young man was working in a supermarket produce department. And one morning a lady asked him if she could buy half a lettuce. “Half? No, I don’t think so.” But she insists. “I do my shopping in this supermarket for 20 years and you will not sell me half a lettuce? That’s an outrage!” So the young man says “Look, I'll ask my boss.”

So he goes and finds the manager. “You are not going to believe this,” he says, “but there is a crazy old bat asking whether she can buy half a lettuce!” As he is speaking, the manager, very embarrassed, is making faces and gesturing wildly. Because, unbeknown to him, the lady had followed the young man and had heard everything he said. The young man turns round, sees her, and says “…and this charming customer wants to know if she can buy the other half.”

Later in the day, the manager sees his younger colleague in the canteen. “Nice recovery earlier.” Tell me, where did you learn such quick wit?” “Well, he says, “I grew up in Liverpool, a city known for its great football teams and ugly women.” The manager shapes to hit him. “Hey! My wife is from Liverpool!” Sharp as a flash, the young man says “Really? Which team did she play for?”

Me and my big mouth! How many times have you heard that expression? Indeed, how many times have you used it yourself?

Is there anyone here this morning who wants to love life and who would like to see good days? It sounds like something we’d all sign up to.

So what is the secret to finding such happiness? The answer is found in 1 Peter 3.10 which says, “Whoever among you would love life and see good days must keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.”

1) The Indisputable Importance of the Tongue (v1-2)

What we say may not always seem very important for us or very interesting to others – but it is never trivial to God. Consider the words of Jesus:

“I tell you that people will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every idle word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12.36-37).

Kathie and I made a list this week of all the sins that are associated with the tongue. Out of the mouth come criticism, moaning, cursing, swearing, blaspheming, boasting, interrupting rudely, accusations, lies, exaggeration, quarrels, slander, gossip, insults, vulgarity, sarcasm, flattery, name calling and inappropriate innuendo. And spitting. And sticking your tongue out. Not to mention bad breath – which is not a sin, except perhaps when witnessing! Always carry mints for evangelism and prayer ministry. (If people keel over in prayer ministry it doesn’t want to be a reaction to yesterday’s onions)!

So the importance of the tongue is indisputable. That’s why James, at the beginning of this letter (and we saw it a few weeks ago), talks about keeping a tight rein on the tongue.

Here in Chapter 3 he picks up again on the same theme and he starts with a word for preachers. “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers and sisters, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”

Every preacher I know encounters the same temptation: to say only what people want to hear, to be popular and to entertain instead of commending truth and calling for a response. Well, God will call all Bible teachers to give him an explanation of the content of their teaching. Pray for the preaching team here because these are temptations we all face.

And then James says this: “Those who are never at fault in what they say are perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.”

In other words, if you get what you say and how you say it right you will have everything else together as well.

The standard is Jesus. We want to be like him don’t we? How did he speak? John 7.46 puts it very simply. “No one ever spoke the way this man does.”

Speaking graciously, truthfully, with authority, with love, each word bringing life – that’s what flows out of a deep and durable friendship with God through Jesus Christ.

2) The Disproportionate Damage of the Tongue (v3-6)

Someone might say that sticks and stones may break bones but words never really hurt much, and that we shouldn’t make a mountain out of a molehill. But that is precisely the point our reading makes this morning.

Words can do immense damage (much more than sticks and stones) and speech molehills can quickly morph into speech Himalayas.

In v3-5 James compares the tongue to a horse’s bit, a ship’s rudder and a match in a dry forest. Each image tells us how disproportionately damaging the tongue can be in relation to its own modest size.

When you ride a horse, you hold reins in your hands which are attached to piece of metal, called a bit, which is placed in the horse’s mouth. When you pull on the reins to the right or left, the horse moves accordingly. Without this system of steering, no horse would ever understand the rider's intentions. You’d say “turn left boy” and the animal would just look back at you blankly. But control over the horse’s tongue informs the direction it travels.

The point being that, for God, the way we talk says everything about what’s important in our life and where our life is going.

 

In v4 there’s a similar (but subtlety different) point about boats. The biggest supertankers weigh 630,000 tons and carry 500 million litres of crude oil. They are so vast and their momentum is so great that it takes them 25 minutes, to slow to a halt during which they travel 5 miles! But these gigantic vessels are steered by a ridiculously small rudder weighing just 0.005% of the total weight of the ship. The difference between a supertanker arriving safely at the refinery or hitting a rock to cause an environmental catastrophe is what the rudder’s doing.

The point being that what we say, and how we say it, can be life-giving or life-destroying.

We understand the woman who says her cheating husband, “The worst thing is not that you lied to me, but that I do not know if I can ever believe you again.” Lies don’t just conceal facts, they destroy relationships.

In May this year dozens of serious forest fires broke out all over the country.

The blazes took hold quickly because trees and bracken were exceptionally dry after the hottest April on record, which saw only 20% of the expected rainfall in England and Wales. The fires left a trail of devastation causing many families to be evacuated from homes. Many of these fires were caused by arsonists.

James says here in v5: “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.” Great forest, small spark. “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.”

The tongue weighs a few ounces, but what power! With our words we protect friends or we betray them. We affirm truth or we suppress it. Our tongues can make peace or declare war. Our words can be a blessing from heaven or, as James says in v6, can be set on fire by hell.

When you think about it, what we say, and the way we say it, gives people a window into who we really are. That’s why Jesus said “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” So if our words are always negative, or ungracious, or false there’s probably a lot going on within that God wants to change.

Take, for example, the archetypal fault-finding boss. You may have worked for one. You may have been one.

Well, I heard a story about a former US President (and I don’t know if it’s a true story so I won’t name him) but he had a reputation of being ultra critical and severe.

One day he walked in to his Press Attaché’s office and saw piles of papers, folders, open books, press releases, staplers and so on all spread across his desk – a bit of a mess, but nothing unusual for a busy office. The President said “Kilduff! I hope your brain is not as disorderly as your desk.”

So, naturally, as soon as the President left, Kilduff started to clear up his office. He sorted his papers, filed his documents, tidied away his pens and staplers in a drawer, put a whole pile of rubbish in the bin, dusted his phone etc. etc. until everything looked immaculate.

The following morning, the President walked in, took one look at Kilduff’s desk and said, “Kilduff! I hope your brain is not as empty as your desk top!”

You see what I’m saying? The problem wasn’t that the desk was tidy or untidy. The problem was that the President had a critical spirit and so only spoke disparaging words. It is from the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks.

But the opposite is also true. If you allow God’s grace to train your tongue to speak graciously, he fills your heart with goodness. Proverbs 15.4 says “The wholesome tongue is a tree of life.”

I’ll tell you a little story that illustrates that. Someone asked a couple celebrating their golden wedding, the secret of their success. The husband told his story. He didn’t find it easy to express his feelings. He had grown up in an orphanage and had worked hard for everything he had. He had never gone out with a woman until he fell in love with a young lady called Doris.

She fell in love with him and soon they were married. On his wedding day, the bride’s father took him to one side to give him a gift. He said, “this gift has everything you really need to know about having a happy marriage.” He peeled off the wrapping paper and inside was a beautiful gold watch. He looked carefully and noticed it was engraved. Every time he looked at his watch he saw the words “Say something lovely to Doris.”

So the tongue can produce an abundance of blessing – but it is also capable of disproportionate damage.

3) The Terrifying Truth about the Tongue (v7-8)

James doesn’t just say that the tongue is capable of doing great damage. He also says it is hopelessly unruly.

There were four vicars who often met up for a cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich. One day, one of them says, “Our parishioners open their hearts to us. But we have no one we can do that with so let’s share our struggles to each other. Confession is good for the soul.”

The other three agree that this is a really good idea. So one of them takes a deep breath and confesses that he is having an affair and is a closet transvestite. Another says he smokes home grown pot and drinks a bottle of vodka every day. Another admits that he gambles and lost last Sunday’s offering money on the 3.30 at Chepstow. They turn to the fourth vicar. “And what about you, what's your secret vice?” “Mine is gossip, and I’ve got to go now. Have a great week gentlemen!”

Verse 7 says “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by human beings, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

And that’s particularly true of gossip.

No one can tame the tongue? No one? Nobody.

But God can. Humanly speaking, the tongue is untamable but with God nothing is impossible. Do you want to come to God and lay your life before him and ask him to make your speech gracious, your language positive, your words truthful and your conversation wholesome? God is able.

4) Our Challenging Choice for the Tongue (v9-12)

In a moment we will express words of faith, profound truths about God. Then we will sing songs of praise, adoration and devotion to the Lord. But before singing one last thought.

Verse 9: “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

If you drink pure spring water mixed with dirty sea water, it's not the goodness of the healthy water you will taste.

If our tongues are not under the control of the Holy Spirit, it’s the boasting and lying and swearing and rumormongering - not the wholesome talk that people will hear.

Will we sing songs of praise to our God and then lack love when we speak to others? May the Lord give us grace to speak considerately and truthfully.


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 7th August 2011

Redeeming Personal Tragedy (Ruth 1.1-22)

Have you heard the one about the young man who had very firm ideas about the companion of his dreams, and who wrote to a dating agency in order to try and find her? “I am looking for a partner who would be small, cute, with dark eyes, sociable, who likes winter climates and enjoys water sports, especially fishing.” The agency staff typed all this information into their computer in order to find the ideal match. The machine started clicking, whirring, flashing lights on and off and finally, the printer produced a three-word answer; “Marry a penguin!”

Sometimes our woes are partly our fault too, let’s be honest.

What about Elimelech and Naomi, who we read about in Ruth 1? Was it just “bad luck”? Or had they made their own exit from God’s plan for their lives, only to reap the consequences afterwards?

Chapter 1, verse 1: there’s a famine. What do they do? They leave home and travel to another country.

Instead of
· hanging in there,
· living by faith,
· seeking God’s face,
· crying out to him for his solution,
they try to manage by working it out themselves.

We understand that. It’s human. Who hasn’t gone down that road before? But it’s a dead-end. Elimelech and Naomi were looking for a human answer to their difficulties.

Trust in the Lord, says Proverbs 3.6, with your whole heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will your paths straight.

But I think Elimelech and Naomi, lean a little too much on their own understanding.

Impatiently, they try and straighten out their path a little too much by themselves.

Both Israelites, they emigrate with their two young boys to Moab, a hot, dry, poor and pagan country, with false gods, situated south east of the Dead Sea. It was to prove a catastrophic decision.

They left God’s people and deserted the land of milk and honey that God had promised them, hoping to do better elsewhere.

But it’s not by leaving God’s people and abandoning the arena of his blessing that problems go away.

I have known many Christians, who have gone though a tough time, which has shaken their faith down to the bare essentials. Some stay on track. They look for opportunities to pray with others, they don’t quit God’s house, they make sure they enjoy quality time with other believers. Others let go and drift. Like Elimelech and Naomi, they try and manage on their own, far away from God’s presence and cut off from the community of his people.

Let me tell you about an evangelist who was disillusioned, tired and burned out, who walked into a church about 15 years ago. He didn’t really want to be here, not caring too much to get involved in a church like that one, but he felt instinctively that it was not good to get into a habit of missing church so he turned up. The service did him a power of good, good preaching (also from Ruth incidentally) and well led. He had wanted to be anonymous, but he felt he should thank the service leader and preacher for their ministry on the way out. Well, the leader managed to get him talking for a few minutes, and the conversation finished like this; “You know, we’re looking to hire a guy like you for a post that’s coming up in about three weeks, why don’t you send us your CV?” That church was St Michael’s Paris, the man was me and needless to say, I got the job!

And I learned something that day. When all is going against you, put yourself in the place where God is most susceptible to bless you, in a church, in his presence and among his people.

Back to the Bible; one day, bad news arrives. Elimelech is dead. His sons get married and slip into the pagan culture around them. They let go of their God, who had delivered their ancestors from slavery in Egypt, to embrace the idols of Moab.

Then one day, more bad news. In fact, it’s rock bottom (verse 5). The two sons die too. And the Bible says this; Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

You can’t imagine the scale of this catastrophe for Naomi. Her husband was her breadwinner and he’s dead. Her sons would have assumed the role of providing for her instead. They’re dead too.

She’s now too old to have more children who could, one day, look after her, her parents are probably dead as well, either from old age or in the famine. There’s no social provision for childless widows - at all. She has no savings, no income, and no pension. Apart from that, everything is great.

So Naomi prepares to go back home to Israel. Orpah and Ruth, her daughters-in-law, widows too, beg her to stay but Naomi’s mind is made up. Orpah stays in Moab, but Ruth leaves with her old foreign mother-in-law Naomi, refusing to entertain the idea of her leaving alone.

Naomi hears that there’s bread again in her native land. Verse 6 says Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them. Between v8 and v14 Naomi begs these women to stay in Moab, not two or three times, but five times.

Verse 8; Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show kindness to you.
Verse 9; May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.
Verse 11; Go home my daughters. Why would you come with me?
Verse 12; Return home my daughters!
Verse 13; No, my daughters!

Do you get the impression that Naomi is trying to tell them something?

Orpah gets the hint. She goes back to her home. Listen; that’s the last time her name is mentioned in the Bible. From that minute onwards, she left the sphere of God’s blessing and God’s purposes - never to return.

But Ruth made the right decision of binding herself to God’s people, to make her own all the promises of the covenant. She would become a forbear of King David and her name will appear in the genealogy of Jesus Christ himself!

Humanly speaking, Orpah makes the right choice. But never trust in human wisdom. Despite all appearances to the contrary, it’s Ruth who is the wiser.

So Naomi says, “Go back to your home.”
Ruth replies, “No, I want to back to your home.”
V9 - Naomi says, “Go back home, otherwise you’ll never be secure, you’ll always have to live off charity.”
Ruth replies, “Well, I don’t care about that, I’m sticking with you anyway.”
V15 - Naomi says, “Go back home. Go back to your gods.”
And Ruth says, “Look! I don’t want my gods anymore. I want your God. Wherever you go, that’s where I’ll go. Wherever you stay, that’s where I’m staying. Your people are going to be mine, and your God is now my God. I’m not going away. Get used to it.”

What is it that makes Ruth say that? What clinches it for her?

Why would she change a more secure future, where she has every possibility of rebuilding her life, for uncertainty in a strange country, where, because she is a stranger, a foreigner, she will most likely be disadvantaged until she dies? Why?

The answer lies in what Naomi says to her beforehand. She sends her daughters-in-law home. Why? Because she loves them.

Despite her dead-end decisions, her poor choices and her unwise running away, the God of Israel is still Naomi’s God. Naomi doesn’t believe in their idols, these Moabite gods. She says so in v8. “May the Lord show kindness to you” and in v9; “May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest.”

Naomi doesn’t think, “Oh well, all religions lead to God, it doesn’t really matter really.” She tells them that if they’re going to be blessed, the blessing is going to have to come from the Lord.

And yet she sends them back anyway. Why? Because she is more concerned for Orpah and Ruth than for herself. She’s got nothing. She’s desperate. But she is so full of love and compassion for her daughters-in-law that she is ready to reduce her own chances of survival for their good.

That’s why Ruth says, “I’m going with you!” She is saying, in effect, “If your God can give you a love so strong, so selfless, so sacrificial, so rich when you’re in desperate straits yourself, then I want your God to be my God too.”

Listen to these fantastic words from Ruth: v16-18. “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. And we can understand why; it was Mission-Impossible!

So they make their way to Bethlehem, Naomi’s home town, it’s a journey of about 50 miles.

At the end of chapter 1 Naomi is bitter, disappointed, poor, homeless and sad. Ruth is there, by her side, and it’s harvest time.

23 verses later, it’s harvest time still, but Naomi is full of hope, she’s got food on her plate, and she’s got a roof over her head.

Chapter 2 describes one day in the life of one obscure and young economic migrant, in one field outside one town about 1,200 years before Christ. But this one day changed the world!

Do you ever say to yourself that God never does anything much in your life? Or that things never work out like you hoped? Or that you never see miracles in your life, only hear about them in other people’s?

Look at Ruth, then. God is at work in her life but it’s through humdrum events and everyday happenings. You have to squint and look hard to discern the thread of God at work, sometimes.

The hand of God is almost imperceptible. At first sight, we see a young widow gathering corn at the edge of a field. Nothing special.

But God is actually blessing that young foreigner and her mother-in-law beyond their wildest dreams.

By the end of chapter 3, Ruth’s problems are all but resolved. As Ruth was faithful in the little details of her life, God was at work in the big picture.

Some people here tonight need to take a bit of a step back to get a proper perspective and see that God is at work in the boring, mundane rhythms of your life, when it is consecrated, committed to him.

You can’t always see it at first; it’s a bit like one of those magic pictures with a 3-D image. You have to look at it a certain way, you have to wait a bit, but it’s there - if you’ve got eyes to see it.

If I were to ask you the question, “Who are you?” how would you reply?

“Hi, I’m so-and-so, I come from such and such a town, I’m 25 or 75 years old, I’m a student, or a nurse, or I work with computers. You’d probably give me a kind of impromptu CV, if you like. That’s why employers ask for a CV when they want to hire someone; a summary of that person’s personal details, education, previous experience and interests. That’s how we say who we are in our culture.

But in biblical times, you didn’t give a CV to say who you are; you gave your family tree. I, in biblical terms, am John, son of Michael, son of Richard, son of Richard, son of Count Charles de Lambert de Versailles, inventor of the hydrofoil. That’s who I am! By the way, he died cold and poor, before his invention was appreciated, having blown all his fortune on research.

Every culture has a way of saying who you are, who are the winners and who are the losers. It’s bizarre that western culture says you’re a loser if you’re ugly, bald or overweight. Homer Simpson is the champion of all losers! Our self-esteem is informed by our appearance.

Didn’t bother Naomi! Because her culture had another way of saying you’re a nobody. She didn’t need a perfect figure or an impressive CV. That didn’t matter in the least to her. She didn’t need looks, she needed a name. A name you can perpetuate through your children and that’s precisely what Naomi didn’t have…

…Until chapter 4.13, where in her terms, she wins the mother of all lotteries.

In verse 15 they say to Naomi, “your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth,” (has given you a name, has made you a somebody from a nobody).

In a world which says, even in our day, in places like China and Pakistan and North Africa, that boys are worth more than girls, God’s word says that Ruth is more valuable than the perfect number of sons. Beautiful friendship is crowned with honour and esteem.

This young woman, who had nothing, became by her faithfulness and her faith, the great-grandmother of King David. This laughing stock, this family tragedy who had no name, became, through her true friendship, the ancestor of he whose name is above every name. At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow.

You look at Ruth, and:
· You see someone who left the comfort of her father’s house to live in a strange place.
· You see someone who stuck close to the disadvantaged.
· You see someone who became poor,
· You see someone who gave herself for one without hope, and became her salvation.

Remind you of anyone? When you look at Ruth, you see her greatest descendant, the Lord Jesus, who they called a friend of sinners and our great redeemer.


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 17th July 2011

Just Do It! (James 1.19-27)

Introduction

Once upon a time there was an organisation called the International Association of Fishermen. The IAF was formed at a time when there were substantial global fish stocks. Each week IAF members met together and talked about catching fish.

All year round, without fail, they held their meetings and asked themselves questions like:
· Is deep sea trawling too dangerous?
· What is more exciting; fly fishing and pole fishing?
· Are fish farms the answer?
· What about dolphins getting caught in tuna nets?
· Should we (or not) wrap fish and chips in newspaper?

They got visiting speakers in to give exciting presentations on new and innovative fishing techniques. They defined and redefined the meaning of fishing for the 21st Century.

They came up with a Mission Statement and a logo and put them on a plaque.

They published articles in their magazines such as this one: “With the Increasing Popularity of Chicken Does Fishing Have a Future?

They developed an enquirer’s training course called “Fishing for Beginners.”

Their President even declared a Decade of Fishing.

The one thing they didn’t quite get round to was to go out and catch fish. If any organisation deserved the slogan “Just Do It” it was the International Association of Fishermen. They know everything there is to know about fishing but have never caught a single sardine.

Putting the Word into Practice

The New Testament also says “Just Do It.” Reading about God is good - but not good enough. There has to be more. There must be action.

That’s what Jesus was driving at in the parable of the two sons. Dad says “Come and help me on the farm.” One says “All right” but does nothing. One says “I don’t think so” but then changes his mind, gets up and works. Only one pleases his father; the one who decides to just do it.

James, the Lord’s brother, said much the same thing but he added some detail to explain it more fully. James 1.22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

I come from a Roman Catholic family. So I grew up often hearing the expression “practicing and non-practicing Catholic.” Are you familiar with that language?

I don’t get it. What’s the point of believing in Christ, of defining yourself as belonging to a particular branch of the Christian faith, if you never actually live as though it means anything to you at all?

It’s a bit like having a season ticket for a football club but never attending a match. Or going onto a nudist beach dressed up in a suit and saying, “Well, I’m a naturist but non-practicing one.” It’s just silly; everyone can see it’s ridiculous.

In the same way, God says here “What’s the point of owning a Bible, opening it and reading it but never doing what it says?”

What would you think of me if I got out my car owner’s manual to find out how to change a tyre, found the page, read where the jack and spare tyre are kept, then put the manual back in the glove compartment and carried on driving with a puncture? You’d think I was one sandwich short of a full picnic wouldn’t you? Maybe you think that anyway…

But James says here that reading the Word of God without ever actually putting what it says into practice is like that. And, just like an owner’s manual, the Bible is very practical, especially books like the letter of James. This is no-nonsense, hands-on stuff that will help you live life well.

James goes on to explain that those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror and, after staring at themselves for a bit, go away and completely forget what they look like.”

So you get up in the morning, you look in the mirror – speaking from personal experience that’s not the most promising way to begin the day – you head downstairs to put the kettle on and while the water’s boiling you can’t recall if you’ve got a face like a film star or if you’ve got a face like a bag of screws.

You don’t know
· if you’re blond or dark or grey
· whether you’ve got long hair, short hair or no hair
· whether you’ve got brown eyes, blue eyes or green eyes

You can’t remember the colour of your skin and you have to feel your chin to remember if you’ve got a beard or not. Weird…

And it’s weird to go to Bible studies, listen to sermons and attend conferences without God’s truth ever actually having any effect at all on how you live life, on what you say and what you do – it’s just like looking in the mirror and instantly forgetting everything you see.

In other words, (take a deep breath), you might as well not have bothered reading it at all.

Just so we understand exactly what God is saying to us here, James gives five clear, specific and practical examples of the kind of thing he has in mind. To put it in plain English, it might be easiest to spell this out as 5 dos and don’ts.

· Don’t be a windbag; be a listener.
· Don’t be a hothead; be patient.
· Don’t endorse the world’s standards; humbly accept God’s.
· Don’t lie or gossip or swear or criticise; control your tongue.
· Don’t ignore the poor; care for them.

Isn’t this just reducing being a Christian to a code of rules? No. It’s saying that to read the Bible and listen to its teaching without ever making progress, by the grace of God, in these kinds of areas is a holy waste of everybody’s time. People are tired of words. The world is waiting to see if Christianity delivers.

1) Don’t Be a Windbag - Be a Listener

Let’s take the first one. Verses 19:

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak.

As a preacher, I should be careful what I say here – and how long I spend saying it!

You don’t need to remind me of the story about a vicar who was about to give a speech at a formal dinner. The MC stood up to announce him saying, “Pray for the silence of the Revd Smith!”

Diane Vaughan, a sociologist working at Oxford University, spent ten years researching the reasons why marriages fail. She discovered that whenever either partner feels unhappy the problem gets worse if hints or complaints are ignored or go unnoticed. In almost every marriage that breaks down according to that extensive study, there is a failure to listen.

Kathie comes home says to John “Darling, I’ve had a terrible day” John listens badly if he responds by giving Kathie advice on how to have a better day next time. John listens well if he hears Kathie out attentively, uncritically and without butting in - and then says something like “You must feel exhausted. Is there anything I can do for you?”

The author Richard Moss once said “The greatest gift you can give another is the purity of your attention.” I agree with that.

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak.

How many broken relationships would be healthy today if Christians had put this word into practice? Two ears - one mouth. Good design. Just do it!

2) Don’t Be a Hothead - Be Patient

The next thing this passage deals with is rage:

[Be] slow to become angry, because our anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

On the night of September 7, 1995 a fire broke out in a three-story building in Austin, Texas. Firefighters arrived and found people fleeing the building dressed in pyjamas, or wrapped by sheets. A young pregnant woman was screaming at the window on the 2nd floor. Firefighters shouted to her that she had to jump, which she did. She almost died. They desperately tried to pump water to beat back the fire but they knew it was too late to save the building or anyone left inside.

The next morning they found the body of a young fifteen month-old girl in the ruins. But before they made that awful discovery the cause of the fire had been revealed. A man had fired a gun at a window of the building and accidentally hit a jerry can filled with petrol. He had become angry because someone had not given him back the ​​$8 they owed him. The building was completely destroyed. 48 people were made homeless. 7 people were hospitalized. A baby was killed - all because of an argument over $8.

That’s extreme. But James says here that:

Anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

It never does. Anger never solves anything. If you struggle with anger, the Holy Spirit can change you. The fruit of the Spirit is not anger but patience, gentleness and self control. Love is not angry but patient and kind. And when the Holy Spirit takes control of your life, patience, thoughtfulness, serenity and restraint begin to eclipse irritation and rage.

3) Don’t Endorse the World’s Standards - Humbly Accept God’s

Next, James says in v21:

Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

In v27 he talks about the danger of being polluted by the world.

Strong words... What’s this about? It means that putting God’s Word into practice is bigger than taking actions. It’s about a revolution in our values. It’s about a change in our attitudes. It’s about a transformation in our ideas.

Why do we need that? Because the realm in which we live advocates and promotes the opinions and values ​​of those who are not Christians, who have not tasted the goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ and are even in open rebellion against him.

If you are a Christian, often you will have to swim against the tide.

But accepting the Bible’s teaching and acting upon it affects everything. It will turn our standards on their head. It will change our principles about money. It will reshape our values ​​about sexuality. It will disturb our prejudices about race or age or gender. It will transform our attitudes to power.

Are you unquestioningly accepting the world’s values? Or are you humbly bowing to God’s standards, the word planted in you, which can save you?

4) Don’t Lie or Gossip or Swear or Criticize - Control Your Tongue

The fourth one is “don’t lie or gossip or swear or criticize; but control your tongue.” I’m going to skip this one today because it is covered in greater detail in chapter 3. We’ll take a look at what God says to us about the use of the tongue on August 7th.

5) Don’t Ignore the Poor - Care for Them

Finally, don’t ignore the poor and unfortunate; look after them.

At the beginning of v27 James gives another example of the putting God’s word into practice.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.
In the world of first century when there were no local services, no benefits, no social safety net, the plight of widows and orphans was devastating. If your husband or your parents died, you would have no income, no home and no hope.

In our context, let’s say that the nearest equivalent to widows and orphans are those the world’s most hopeless and vulnerable citizens - who suffer wretchedness and poverty, who are unemployed, unemployable and destitute, who are distressed. These kinds of people should see ample evidence of the pure devotion of Christians.

Thank God for A Way Out and the asylum seekers ministry at Portrack Baptist.
Thank God for Sowing Seeds and Stockton Street Pastors.
Thank God for Daisy Chain and the Mary Thompson Fund.
Thank God for Tearfund and Traidcraft and Christian Aid and the Salvation Army.

Ending

So, to close, in all these very diverse areas of life, God says “Just do it!” It's time to be real with him. God intends for us to take this book seriously and to live it out practically - not play religious games.

God says to us this morning:
· I measure how well you love my word by how much you act upon it
· Don’t settle for just knowing the theory
· And, when you look intently into my perfect word that gives freedom, and continue in it - not forgetting what you have heard, but doing it – I promise you this; you will be blessed in all you do


Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 17th July 2011