CALL TO WORSHIP | Psalm 24:1-6
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Song #1 - Draw Me In by Paul Zach (trad.)
Song #2 - Heaven on Earth by Euaclaire
Dismiss Kids
INTRO |
What is the end of faith? Or, to say it differently, what is the force, the energy, the life, the work of faith doing in us and for us?
Remember, James told us “that the testing (activation) of your faith produces steadfastness,” which, in turn and over time, ensures “that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:3-4). So faith is not only an intellectual affirmation of God’s nature and an emotional grasp of (and grounding in) His purposes. Faith is that, of course. But it is more, too. Faith, according to James, does work; it is a means of our salvation. So what does faith do within us so that we might reach our rest, our end, our telos, and the fullness of life?
Well, somewhat paradoxically, faith, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), as the author of Hebrews describes it, helps us see. To see who God is, yes, and who we are, who the other is, what this and that are and are made for, what the Good is, what opposes the Good, and—perhaps most importantly for James—how to live rightly, wisely, because we see that we are with/in God and God is with/in us.
If the work of faith is to produce a life that sees and responds to God rightly (wisely) not only in circumstances but also in the persons and responsibilities that make up a life, and if the end of faith is the sight of God (in Christ), as every Christian tradition holds, then at the heart of the work of faith is a singular objective. And it is here, at the heart of James’s letter, that we will come face-to-face with the heart of the work of faith.
As James has encouraged us, before we enter to see, let us ask the Seer Himself, the Father of light, who gives generously to all without reproach, even to us, half-blind, near-sighted, and small in faith.
Pray with me.
PRE-SERMON READING | James 4:1-12
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
SERMON | The Heart of Faith at Work
If we thought James 3:13-18 was a gut punch, then 4:11-12 is the haymaker. The full force of James’ intent and words lands squarely on the jaw. If the previous blow was meant to knock the air out of us, this one is meant to lay us flat on the floor. Still, as with the previous strike, these blows are not meant to destroy but to revive. To knock the breath out so the Breath of Life might fill our lungs. To knock us down so that, as we will see, we might rise to the proper fight.
Let’s look again at the text. Although our translations show a break between 3:18 and 4:1, signifying a shift in focus, it seems that James is continuing his exhortation to be authors of peace by again addressing the disposition of hearts prone to “disorder and every vile practice.”
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?
What keeps you from reaping a harvest of living well in authoring peace?
Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? (James 4:1)
What keeps us from authoring peace in our relationships and responsibilities? It’s not the other, the circumstance, or even the truth; it’s your hedonism. The word James uses here, passions, describes lustful pleasures (desires) pursued as an end in themselves. As we’ve come to recognize (even if only in the last couple of weeks), we are in a fight, not against each other but against something else. What James described in 3:14 as envy and selfish ambition in our hearts. Desires that are twisted, that long for things improperly, as James makes explicit.
You desire and do not have, you murder and covet, and are not able to obtain. You fight and quarrel.
That may sound a bit extreme, but James is merely paraphrasing his brother. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,
“You have heard it said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22)
James has already identified the type of anger Jesus references:
“Know this my beloved brothers and sisters: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19-20)
The word translated as anger comes from the Greek word oregomai, which properly means desire, as in a reaching forth or excitement of the mind for something or someone. By analogy, it can denote a violent passion or justifiable abhorrence, and thus, by implication, punishment. Anger and passion. Desire and violence are closely linked.
James’ argument is that the source of our unrest is frustrated desire (anger) met with twisted passions (lust), which drive us to take the life of the other, what is the other’s and not ours, nor meant for our good or the Good. Springing forth (as it did at the beginning) from the soil of envy and selfish ambition within our hearts, frustrated desire and twisted passions war within us and produce disorder in our relationships, including our relationship with the giver of the truly good which we rightly (wisely) desire (1:17). Keep reading.
You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (James 4:2-3)
Frustrated desires, seeking satisfaction in lesser loves, leave us disordered, unstable, and confused. What human, regardless of his or her faith, has not cried out to someone or something for what they wanted? None. So when James says, “You do not have because you do not ask,” I do not think he is speaking literally. As if to say that if you would just ask God for what you wanted, he would give it to you. Pray! Certainly that could be the case, but I think the context should tell us that James is saying something different.
I think that for James, it is not that you don’t ask for what you do want that keeps you from peace. It is that you do not ask for what you should want. Blinded by your anger (frustrated desire), deafened by your passions (lust), you cannot see that every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no shadow due to change or turning (1:17). And so you fail to see what you have been given because you are not willing to look.
But beyond not asking for what we should want (which would help us see what we have been given), we also ask wrongly. Wrong not in method or manner, but in heart. We ask without submission to the Good, and so we seek only to receive what we feel/think is an end in itself. We ask without faith, and so we miss the very purpose of the thing we desire… not to be an end but to reach an end, to see the end, to experience the telos and fullness of life in a devoted relationship with God.
At the heart of the matter is not what we want or even how we want it, but what we are fundamentally devoted to. Now we come to the heart of the work of faith: developing a life devoted to the One devoted to us.
Verses 4-5 may seem like a hard transition, a ninety-degree turn, but keep in mind what faith is doing in and for us.
You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? (James 4:4-5)
The accusation, “You adulteresses!” should catch us off guard. It is meant to! It clears our heads if we are getting a bit woozy from the previous argument’s barrage. In this single word, the entire OT image of the marital relationship between God and his people, who are ever unfaithful to the One faithful to them, comes front and center. Being at war without stems from being at war within, which stems from being unfaithful (untrue), not first to ourselves or to others, but to God.
What kind of relationship are we in with God? Is it economic, a give-and-take? Is God a thing to be used, or a thing that uses us? Is God a genie, a wish-granter? Is God a distant source of power? Or is God, husband, lover, beholder, giver of himself, the one who longs for us, and, as one in love, expects and anticipates the reciprocation of the covenantal commitment to and for the other? Is God not the One who made us, who gives himself (his spirit) to us so that we might live? Does he not want something more from our relationship with him than merely being used to satisfy some lesser desire? Surely! Which is why he says, “friendship with the world is enmity (hostility/opposition)” with him.
“We speak rather casually of ‘friends’ in our day, but in the Hellenistic world friendship ‘involved ‘sharing all things’ in a unity both spiritual and physical.’ We can therefore understand why James insists that Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”[1]
At the heart of faith is devotion, submission, and willful self-giving. Do we give ourselves to the One who gave Himself to us? Or do we devote ourselves, giving ourselves “in unity both spiritually and physically,” to something or someone temporal and less? And the choice is not neutral. It is an act of hostility toward what is Good.
But—as the OT stories proved over and over again and ultimately and forever demonstrated in the loving gift of the Son—God is greater than our rebellion.
Greater however. He gives grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ (James 4:6)
The relationally unsubmitted find themselves in opposition to Life, Wisdom, and Goodness, the very things they desire. Yet the humble find themselves recipients of grace (unmerited favor). Notice that it is not the obedient and the disobedient, the intelligent and the unlearned, the good and the bad, the insider and the outsider, etc., that are distinguished. It is the proud and the humble. Dispositions of the heart (will) delineate.
The word humble’s more literal translation is “lowly.” It is a word, similar to meekness from last week, that James has already used: “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation” (James 1:9). It is also a word associated with Jesus’ disposition, his heart,
“Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29)
When discussing this verse a few months ago, we said that the word “lowly,” according to one scholar, cannot be cleaned up. It is a striking word, meant to jar us, because it “has a negative connotation in Greek writings generally… it expresses both the low estate of the man who lives in poor and petty relations, especially the slave, and also the base disposition resulting therefrom.”[2] In other words, it describes a heart, Jesus’ heart, utterly given over, possessed by another.
Those who are relationally submitted, not flawless, not ever certain, but still-maturing and persevering in recognized dependence, find themselves in grace. More specifically, they find themselves submitted, committed, and devoted to One who is generously, selflessly, and lovingly committed to them. A covenant marriage.
So says James. Be submitted rather than entangled.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your heart, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:7-10)
What is at the heart of the work of faith? For us to be totally surrendered, utterly devoted, covenantly connected, affectionately received, and reciprocating to the One who is those very things to us and for us.
At the heart of the work of faith is a humility that does not think less of ourselves but thinks of ourselves (our frustrated desires and twisted passions) less, and so finds itself in awe, overwhelmed, totally infatuated and consumed by the One who gives all to us.
How do we cultivate such humility in faith? We repent (turning and submitting to the One who turns to us). We resist the enemy’s heart. We draw near to the One near to us. We cleanse our hands and purify our hearts, living wisely. And we mourn. Mourn our sin and the sins of others. In doing so, we see ourselves rightly “before the Lord,” dependent and exalted, devoted and recipients of unmerited devotion. This is the work of faith, giving us eyes to see what is true now and always.
Before we depart, let us consider the heart of faith at work with us today and in the days ahead.
REFLECTION |
Who am I devoted to? Myself? The enemy? God?
In what ways does my faith lead to my humility, and therefore, to grace?
What would tomorrow look like if I responded devotedly to faith at work within me?
CORPORATE CONFESSION & COMMUNION[3] |
(Celebrant)
The table is ready,
here waiting for your arrival.
It is the table of company with Jesus,
and all who love him.
It is the table of sharing,
with the poor of the world,
with who Jesus identified himself.
It is the table of communion with the earth
in which Christ became incarnate.
So come to this table,
you have much faith
and you who would like to have more;
you who have been here often
and you who have not been for a long time;
and you who have tried to follow Jesus,
and you who have failed;
come.
It is Christ who invites us to meet him here; on the day made for us, at the table he prepared for us.
Invite People to the Table to Receive the Communion elements
(ALL)
Loving God,
through your goodness
we have this bread and juice to offer
which has come forth from the earth
and human hands have made.
May we know your presence
in this sharing,
so that we may know your touch
and presence in all things.
We celebrate the life that Jesus has shared
among his family of faith through the centuries,
and shares with us now.
Made one in Christ
and one with each other,
we offer these gifts
and with them ourselves,
a single living act of praise.
Amen.
Song #3 - Rebel Heart by Lauren Daigle
Song #4 - Gratitude by Brandon Lake
BENEDICTION | James 5:7-8
As we rest in the day made for us, we prepare to enter into the work for which we are made [LIGHT THE CANDLE], remembering to…
Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.