Becoming People With Godly Integrity

2 (3s): This morning. So I'm 100 says come before his cousins 1 (13s): With joyful. 2 (14s): He said this morning, 1 (15s): the passion. the cross at these? No, 3 (4m 29s): All right. Welcome. Welcome everybody. My name is Curtis. If we haven't met before, it's great to see you. I've got a couple of announcements, but before we do that, you can sit down and give somebody a high five while you're doing it. And also give the other person a fist bump and whatever else you can think of greet each other. All right. Awesome. As you can see, we've got these awesome kids lined up behind me. We've got a kids choir coming up right after announcements. So that's going to be super fun. Yeah. So if you're unfamiliar with this space, we've got restrooms behind this wall and then there's handicapped restrooms downstairs, more restrooms upstairs. 3 (5m 9s): We've got water back there as well. Water fountains and battlefield stations we have out on the courtyard. We have coffee and next week we've got graduation Sunday. So if you have kids that are sixth grade, eighth grade or 12th grade, we're going to be honoring them next week during the 11 o'clock service, it's going to be super fun. So we're excited to do that. So make sure you bring them here during the 11 o'clock service, and we're going to have a little thing for them. So it's going to be great as well. Just, just FYI for everybody. We're working on the chapel venue had some technical issues, first service. So we're not opening it, this service, but hopefully next week we'll have that all up and running and operating well. 3 (5m 53s): So with that, let's put our hands together for the kids. 2 (11m 41s): Awesome. Job choir. Let's give them another round of applause. Awesome. Church. Will you stand with us as we continue to worship this morning? 8 (12m 40s): How I love to breathe. it is God in mercy fields, the street to look upon the one who pled to save me, walk with . 1 (13m 10s): Yeah, we'll be heard today. When all little bow before him will be when death will be no more standing face to face with he who died and holy, holy And DeVry when he reads to why there will be Dawn that day we join the rest and Sam beside hear Rosa, the thing with one boys, a thousand shit seeing worthy is the lamb who was I just want to speak the name of cheese over every hot. 1 (17m 36s): Yes, I know there is please within your pres hi speak. Geez. Hey, just want to speak the name of Jesus. That'd be dark. Diction starts to Bray declaring. There is hope and there is freedom. I see. Jeez, your name is Shout Jesus from the mountain Jesus in the street. 1 (20m 5s): Jesus saying doc. So me. Jesus for my family. Hot speak, the whole name 10 (21m 47s): Lauren. It's great to celebrate your name, the name by which people are saved and sanctified, healed, and delivered and set free. God. It's your name? That is powerful and full of healing and grace and kindness. Lord God, it's your name? That challenges us to live differently and to live according to your plans and purposes, it's your name that gives us the power. It's your spirit that gives us the power to your grace. That gives us the power to do what you've called us to do to live the way that you've called us to live and to be who you've called us to be. So Lord God, we just continue to invite you. 10 (22m 28s): We invite you into this place, Lord, all over this campus, God is people are gathered online and watching and just in different venues around this place. Lord, we just invite you to download your grace and your truth and your power. God, for those of us who sing about it, but don't really fully grasp it. Lord, I pray that we would get it out on a whole new level. Lord for power, for deliverance, for freedom over addictions, Lord for a new faith for our marriages and for the people in our lives, Lord God, we want to have renewed faith and confidence that you're able to save and sanctify our kids and our grandkids and every future generation that we know, Lord God, that you would do a wonderful and mighty work. 10 (23m 10s): God, not just here at harvest, but in every church on the central coast, that lifts up the name of Jesus. God that we be United in one pursuing you, Jesus, going into all the world, making disciples Lord, that we would make disciples that we would, that we'd be discipled Lord. That would become the people that you've called us to be. So Lord that, I just know that we want to reflect you and honor you with our lives. So, so Lord, as we gather on a Sunday morning for corporate worship and to be equipped to go back into the streets and into the lives that you've called this into God empower us, equip us, give us what we need. Strength, hope, confidence, vision, and purpose. We pray. Thank you for who you are. 10 (23m 51s): We love you. We bless you Lord in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Attorney greet your neighbor. We will come back in just a moment. 11 (24m 5s): Jesus 10 (25m 23s): Alrighty, come on back. Grab a chair, grab a chair. How many it's your first time in this new venue here today. First time in the new venue today, I'm still getting used to it. Now, here we go. I'm still getting used to it. I'm so grateful. You know, for service, we're able to look out and see people that used to be kind of scattered in different venues. And now we get to look at a second service the same. It's just delightful to see your faces in person. And I'm so grateful for what God has given to us here. We're so, so excited about that. Hey, we're going to take a moment and pray for Eva. Is Eva here today? Eva Kessler. Come on up. 10 (26m 3s): Yeah. So Eva has been, how long have you been at this church? 8 (26m 10s): As long as I can 10 (26m 10s): Remember, as long as you can remember. So I remember when you came in our, so you're 21 now almost 21. So you were about to, I think when you showed up. Yeah. So you were about right here, right here. Yeah. And when you and Nolan and your parents showed up, it was just, just such a blessing. And so we've had a chance to watch you grow up. You're getting, you just graduated from quest to college. Congratulations. And now for summer missions. Yeah. Give her a damn that's awesome. And for summer missions, Eva's dedicating the next two months of her life to go to south lake Tahoe. 12 (26m 44s): I 10 (26m 45s): Know it's hard. It's a hard sell, right? Like support me. I'm going to south lake Tahoe to do the Lord's work. Right. It's a hard sell David is another guy that's going out about a month and he's going to Hawaii to do the Lord's work, but he's going actually, he's going to Kona, Hawaii to be a part of a submission standing there with why wham and then D Jacob Erdmann is in Juneau, Alaska. Yeah. So he's there doing where he's already left. He left so quickly. We didn't get a chance to bring up, up to pray for him, but we'd like to pray over him today. And so tell us what's going to be happening in south lake Tahoe. 12 (27m 23s): Yeah. So it's with crew, which also is called the campus crusade for Christ. And what's really cool is they've been doing this summer mission for, at south lake Tahoe for 50 years now. So they have a really awesome community in south lake Tahoe. And part of our missions there is holding a full-time job. So I will be working at heavenly mountain resort as a recreation attendance. Super exciting. And, but yeah, pretty rough. But the other part of our missions up there is going to be discipleship training and evangelism to the locals because there, there is a good like religion up there, but it's very much like new age. 12 (28m 12s): So not good in that sense, I guess, but 10 (28m 15s): Sorry. 12 (28m 16s): But so a lot of these people have a sense that there is a higher power and there is no greater things beyond our own life. However, they're putting their trust in the wrong things. So it'll be a really cool opportunity to serve in our own nation and yeah. Get a taste of that. 10 (28m 33s): Yeah. I'm excited. I heard that there's a possibility after south lake Tanya, that you might be going off to Spain as well. Is that a possibility your dad told me he whispered in my ear that Spain might be coming. So Hey, we just want to say thanks for going. Thanks for committing two months of your summer to this and possibly three months as you go to Spain to do some missions, work there as well. We just want to bless you. Have you raised all of your money, how much you need to raise? 12 (28m 57s): I have $598 left and I leave on Wednesday. So, and then Thursday is our official start date. So I am praying to be fully covered by the time I get up there 10 (29m 9s): And you will be. Yeah. Yeah. If you'd like to give to missions work that these three young people are going to do, just let us know on your check. If you say, Hey, harvest church and the memo, we just put missions and we'll make sure we get it out there. Jacob, Erdman raised all of his money. Eva's almost there. And David Salamanca has got a long way to go. So we will, if you want information about what David Solomon is doing on the info center, there's a flyer there that will help you understand what he's doing. And then in about three, four weeks before he goes, we'll bring him up and pray over as well. So let's, let's go ahead and stand up, extend our hands. And let's pray for this woman of God, Lord. We pray for Eva. She is. 10 (29m 51s): She is so awesome. Lord. So grateful for the years that we've known her really, since the beginning of harvest shirts, she's been here, Lord, her family I've been serving here had been a part of what we're doing here at Lord. So we bless her. Lord, God, we say, thank you for bringing her into this community of believers, Lord. And we believe in her Lord. We believe that you've called her for this purpose Lord to go be salt and light in south lake Tahoe. As she serves at heavenly ski resort, Lord, that she would be salt and light that people who are searching would be drawn to her, that she would have insights and wisdom, what to share. She would have versus a scripture to communicate and, and just the opportunity to pray powerfully for people and speak powerfully into people's lives Lord. 10 (30m 35s): So that the people that she comes in contact with with her whole team, Lord, that they would never be the same again, that they would have seeds planted into their lives and that they would be haunted by that truth in a good way, Lord, God, they'd be haunted by your goodness. And they would, would surrender and submit to you. So we bless her Lord, keep her safe from the schemes of the enemy. We pray God that she would be safe and productive and fruitful for the kingdom work that you've called her to do. And, and director steps regarding Spain as well. Lord, if that's an open door, I, we pray that you would direct her heart. Give her wisdom about that. Lord. We pray for David Salamanca. Who's going to be going to Kona, Hawaii. Lord bless him, Lord. As he's trying to raise money and he's going to be spending an extended amount of time there, we bless David Lord in his work there. 10 (31m 20s): We pray for Jacob Erdman as he's already in Juneau, Alaska Lord, we just pray that you would watch over him and for the things that he's about to do and is involved in, we just pray for fruitful, powerful kingdom type stuff. Lord God, that, and that each of these young people going out would never be the same again, they'd be impacted and that their lives would be marched for your work and that they would just move forward in life, whatever they do that they'd be salt and light. So bless them. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. We love you. Thanks. Yeah. So as we send out, people just make a note and remember to pray for them. You know, they're gone kind of, you know, the 10 tendencies, maybe it's out of sight out of mind. 10 (32m 2s): So just write their names down and then just remember to pray for them every day, they're really making a kingdom impact in the places that they're going, Hey, I was made aware of this Ukraine relief efforts. And so what we'll do is we're going to be teaming with brace, infra coast and a host of other churches. And so we're going to try to get containers of supplies out to people in Ukraine, people fighting on the front lines and that sort of thing. So we'll put this on our website and we'll make you aware of it. The they're trying to get stuff like right away. So if you'd like to be a part of that effort to bless the Ukrainian people in their time of need, then we'll make this available to you. So it'll be on the email updates going out this week and it'll also be on the website. 10 (32m 45s): So my team's like, what, what are you talking about anyway? So that's what, that's what we're going to do. So anyway, just like to encourage you to do that. So, Hey, we're going to be in James one 19 through 27. We're talking about becoming people with godly integrity, people with godly in Tegrity that's that sounds like a tall order, right? You're like, you don't know me. I've struggled with integrity and being a person of my word my whole life, but I just tend to look at people in scripture and I find encouragement there. You know, as we study the book of James, we realized last week that James couldn't even believe that Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection, James is the half-brother of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 10 (33m 32s): And so James watched his brother grow up and all of his perfection, I'm sure there was some competition there, some cat competitive brotherly sibling type stuff going on. And so when James finds out or has heard that his brother's the Messiah, he's like, whatever, right? I can't believe that's true. And so he just, he and most of his siblings, I think maybe all of his siblings just failed to get ahold of the reality that Jesus is the Messiah. And so James who doubted in the beginning until he saw evidence of the resurrection, that his brother was indeed the Messiah, he began to press in and begin to believe that Jesus is indeed who he claimed to be in. 10 (34m 14s): His life was completely transformed. We learned last week that they called him camel knees. James was called cam on these because he became such a man of prayer that he just wear his knees out and they look like little Campbell's knees. And so he became a man who was completely transformed. They called him James. The just because he was well in their estimation, the most righteous man that they've ever met. And so we see that transformation. We think through guys like Peter, and we think through Matthew, the tax collector, we think about all of these people who had their lives radically transformed by the gospel, the same gospel that we hopefully proclaimed the same gospel that we believe the same gospel that we have embraced and want to live out in our lives. 10 (34m 57s): And so there's this transformational process that's possible for each of us. Why? Because as we trust Jesus to be our savior, to be the one who forgives us, he's the one who sets us free. He's the one that fills us with this holy spirit. He's the one that empowers us for transformation. He's the one that empowers us for new life in Jesus Christ. We're actually born again, according to John three, three. So we're born a new born, a fresh, and God's given us fresh purpose, fresh identity. And part of that fresh purpose and fresh identity has godly integrity. Our lives need to be marked by godly integrity. 10 (35m 39s): You know, when we sin, we sin and either word thought or deed, these are the ways in which we sin and word, we say the wrong thing. We think the wrong thing, we do the wrong thing. And so James challenges us to allow the word of God to accomplish its intended purpose in our lives. This scriptures are written to give us God's story that written so that we might understand who God is and what he's accomplishing in the year. And so we get his story. Other otherwise known as history. We get the history of God in the pages of scripture. Also we get his plan, his desire for our lives. 10 (36m 21s): We get his blueprint as it were for our lives. And we get this plan for this world. He's got a plan for this world. He's got a plan for eternity. As we study the pages of scripture and the old and the new Testament, we get to see what God intends for his people. What he has designed us for James speaks to us in this section about God's plan for our personal integrity and really throughout the five chapters from the book of James, it's really much about our personal integrity, where James is just nailing us with some pretty sober truth, sober reality about how we are meant to live our lives. 10 (37m 2s): And so if you haven't done it yet, go back and re reread. All of James, it'll take about a half hour or so to read those five chapters, but just soak yourself in the book of James, as we teach through it these next 10 weeks or so, and just watch what God will do. What does integrity mean? Even? I mean, what if we're talking about integrity? What does that even mean? So I've got some definitions for us, integrity, steadfast adherence to a strict, moral or ethical code. The state of being unimpaired, soundness, the quality or condition of being whole or undivided completeness sounds like a heavy duty, heavy duty load, right? 10 (37m 47s): And it kind of is a heavy duty load, but listen, everything that God wants to do in us and with us and through us requires that we're empowered by the supernatural power of God. So we look at this, we think in our own strength, we'll never gonna, we're never gonna measure up, but I'm right there with you in my own strength. I'm never going to measure up, but with God as my source and my resource, God is the one who strengthens us to do this stuff that he's called us to do and give us the grace to be the people that he's called us to be. We can, we can measure up by his grace, God, we're called in the scripture to be perfect, even as God is perfect. So we have this responsibility and this opportunity to raise the bar in our own lives and not no longer settling for what we've maybe settled for along the way, person with integrity is the same in private as they are in person. 10 (38m 44s): Not interesting. That's a challenge, right? And by the same here in front of you, as I am in private, that's the challenge. That's the personal integrity that God has called us to step into by his grace. So it's overwhelming because there's a big tall order, but by God's grace, we can do it. And James encourages us because he has lived a life where he has seen transformational things happen, where he's become, he's become more and more like Jesus, the sanctification process, where it becomes less and less like his old man who is fearful and unbelieving and maybe jealous and angry. And now he's become a man of prayer, man of conviction, man of righteousness, a man of integrity. 10 (39m 28s): So being people with becoming people with godly integrity is the title of our message. Today. James one 19 gives us opened up here. Let's jump in to James chapter one verse 19. It says, understand this, my dear brothers and sisters, you must all be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. Why? Because human anger does not produce the righteousness, God desires. So number one in your notes, allow God to develop in you his righteousness. We have to cooperate allowing God to develop within us, his righteousness. 10 (40m 13s): What does the word righteous mean? Well, let's define the word righteous in a broad sense. It's the state of him who is assay ought to be righteousness, that condition acceptable to God. So God's got a standard, a condition for our living. He wants us to live a certain way. That is acceptable to him. The doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved by God. So we're saved by grace through faith. And we have the righteousness of God imputed to us. And we it's called the great exchange where we give God our sin. 10 (40m 54s): He takes our sin and our failures, any imputes to us righteousness. And so we have the righteousness of God. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus for salvation, but then beyond that, he calls us to live righteous in our personal lives. And so we're given the righteousness of God that gives us an invitation into heaven that takes us into the family of God. But then we're challenged through these books of the Bible to live as righteous men and women in the faith. So this is the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved by God. It's speaks of integrity, bird shield, purity of rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling and acting. 10 (41m 41s): This is what we're talking about. Integrity. And in righteousness, we have a tall order before, but by God's grace, he gives us the ability. This is why we challenge people all the time. You gotta be in the word, you gotta be connected to who Jesus is. You gotta be filled with the holy spirit because in doing so, you will have the desire and the ability and the power and the grace to do the stuff that we're called to do in the scriptures. Verse 20 says human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. So God in his mercy gave us steps. He's given us steps to avoid anger and we see it right there in the scriptures. You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. 10 (42m 25s): I wrote this message, finished it up on Friday. And I live this message on Saturday because I was in a conversation with my wife on Saturday and things begin to get a little heated. She said something that I didn't like. And then I said something that she didn't like, I think it was kind of tense the rest of the day. Have you ever experienced? Not just me. Okay. For me. Let me just tell you firsthand experience. It was a little tense yesterday, right? So like you have these moments of disagreement, like, so all throughout the day, I'm like, Hey babe, are you mad at me? She's like, no, just thinking if she's still mad at me. So then we call them bed it last night. And I put on my C-PAP machine. 10 (43m 5s): So I look like an astronaut and I'm laying in bed and my dad feels like things are a little off between us ever since that conversation. Are we okay? You don't want the, you know, the sun go down on your wrath. And so I'm like, are we okay? And she's like, we're okay. We just need to talk some more or whatever. She's like, okay. We're okay. We're going to survive the night. So let's go to sleep. And so I read this and wrote the message on, you know, finished it up on Friday and then actually lived it on Saturday. I said, I wish I would have just listened. Right? Because once a word is spoken, you can't get it back. 10 (43m 45s): Mean it's like out there for all eternity. You can't get it back. It must be quick to listen. I believe this is the solution to anger, deciding to, to listen and just deciding to not speak until the time is right. It's a decision, right? It's and it's about self self control. And it's not. It's about wanting to honor the other and bless God and live in right relationship with people in our lives. And so if I would've just listened a little bit longer and waited just a little bit longer to speak, I would have spoken something that would have been more gracious and kind. 10 (44m 27s): So we need to practice what we preach and we need to practice what read, not listening, hinders our ability to understand fully the situation. So sometimes we hear something we're like, no, that's not it. Or we want to react or respond quickly. But if we'll just stop and just listen, God will give us the grace to respond in a kind and appropriate way. So holding your tongue is always a good idea. And James talks about it a little bit later in this chapter. Again, once a word is spoken, you can't, you can't get it back. So these two steps are a good remedy to help us keep our anger controlled human anger is to be rooted out of our lives. 10 (45m 12s): If we are to be people of integrity, we can't allow ourselves that permission to be angry people and still pursue integrity in our lives. We actually have to root it out. We have to prayerfully ask God for help. We have to slow down, not react to the circumstances of our life, but allow ourselves just to be prayerful. Lord, I don't like what's going on. Would you help me to respond to it with a humble way, Lord? I dunno. I don't like what was said. Would you help me to understand the heart of the person who communicated it? Lord, I don't understand the circumstances of my life. Would you give me grace to walk through this in a way that honors you on what? 10 (45m 52s): My, my words to be seasoned with salt, to be seasoned with grace, to be seasoned with compassion. And I want my life to be a life of integrity. You know, last week we talked about the testing of our faith and our faith is tested when things don't go our way, our faith is tested. When, when we don't get our way, w will we get angry or will we choose to trust the Lord in those circumstances where we get angry about it? Or will we take a place of faith and trust and say, Lord, I don't understand. I'm going to trust you. I don't know how this is all going to pan out, but I'm, I'm going to believe you. 10 (46m 33s): And I'm going to trust you. And I'm going to move forward as a believer, as a follower in the Lord, Jesus Christ it's is our trust in our is our trust in our ability to make things happen or in our ability to believe that God's plan is unfolding. It will change the perspective of your life. When you believe that you don't have to make everything happen, that you don't have to control everything or pressure people to make your plans on folder God's plans unfold. If we just believe that God is sovereign, he's omnipresent, he's omniscient. He knows everything. He's every word president. Once he knows exactly what is needed in every, in any and every given situation. So we can just rest in him. 10 (47m 15s): Will we respond to heart and maybe even unfair circumstances with human anger or supernatural faith and integrity. As we yield ourselves to God and his plans and purposes, as we allow the spirit of God to fill us in the word of God, to teach us, we will more and more, not with perfection, but more and more becoming more like Jesus, less like our old person will be well. We'll become people, men and women of integrity who properly reflect the person and work of the Lord. Jesus Christ human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desire. So verse 21 says, so get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts for it has the power to save your soul. 10 (48m 6s): So number one, allowed God to develop in you, his righteousness and part of allowing God to develop in you, his righteousness, his righteousness is by being proactive. So number two, in your notes, get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives. I told you, James goes right for the jugular, you know, so he uses a word filth and this word filth is actually not used in any other part of the Bible, not in the old or the new Testament. It's a word that is only used in this burst. And this is what it means. It's the word filth. And it means exactly what you think it means. There's actually no fancy definition for it. 10 (48m 48s): It just means to make filthy. It's talking about our anger and our sinful compromises. It's they use the word, be foul B E F O U L. And it means to make dirty or to pollute to defile or this honor. So we gotta be proactive in getting rid of any filth that is in our lives. Then, then there is the word evil in verse 21, get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives. He's, he's a bit being a little bit redundant, but the definitions of the two words are different. 10 (49m 29s): And so that second word evil actually has a definition, a deeper definition that will really challenge the way that we live our lives, the word evil. It means the wickedness remaining over in a Christian from his state prior to conversion. So whatever sins we dealt with and wrestle with and fought and enjoyed in our lives prior to Jesus, if those things are allowed to stand our lives after conversion, that's the evil that James is talking about. So he's challenging us to root out the filth and the evil. So sometimes we get saved and we go along as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. 10 (50m 14s): We give our lives to Jesus and a lot of things change in our lives, but then there's those sins. Those things that we're not quite ready to deal with, those things. And sin is just something that is, it separates us from God. And so really we don't want any kind of evil, sinful filthy things left in our lives. And it's God's plan that he would deliver us from all of those things as we were even singing about the name of Jesus. And so James is dialing in a little bit, the filth, but also the evil, those things that we've just allowed to stay in our lives. Maybe the, maybe the pet sins, you're like, man, I'm 90% better and I've done so good. 10 (50m 57s): And God's glorified in that. But what he's not glorified in is the permission that we're giving to that other 10% of our lives, the other areas of our lives, where we haven't fully surrendered and fully submitted to God. And so that other 10% is often the problem that the area that gives us the biggest problem, moving forward as followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ. So we need to get rid of the evil. In other words, God considers whatever residue, any wickedness remaining or leftover from our days before knowing Jesus, he actually calls it evil. He actually calls it evil. He challenges our purity by zeroing in on our lives, in the nitty gritty, the details of our lives. 10 (51m 48s): We must be intentional about removing any remaining wickedness from our lives. Peter grease first, Peter two, one through three says, so because you are born again, get rid of all evil behavior, be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy and all unkind speech like newborn babies, because we've been born again in the kingdom of God, like newborn babies, we must crave. You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. 10 (52m 28s): We don't grow into a full experience of salvation, the freedom, the joy, the peace, the relationship with Jesus until we work on this stuff, that's polluting our lives is filthy stuff. That's remained this evil stuff that's remaining in our lives. If you want to experience the full experience of salvation, you got to deal with like stuff. You've got to get rid of it. Some people say, I don't know why Christians are so happy and because they've been dealing with stuff and others are so sour and you didn't wonder why, why it's all because of the stuff that's left over in a person's life. We got to deal with that stuff. So like newborn babies, we must crave pure spiritual milk so that we will grow into a full experience of salvation cry out for this nourishment. 10 (53m 11s): It's like, there's a desperation there. We need to pursue it with desperation. Like I want this nourishment now that you've had a taste of the Lord's kindness. I'm, I'm kinda getting the feeling that Jesus wants his church to be like a bride without spot or wrinkle. He's actually got expectations for the way that we live our lives. He desires purity and humility and integrity from the people of God. And fusions five tells us that this is true. Ephesians 5 25 B through 27. He, Jesus gave up his life for her, the church to make her holy and clean wash by the cleansing of God's word. 10 (54m 1s): He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church, without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. You think about a bride on her wedding day, walking down the aisle with her white dress, everybody's dressed to the nines of his looking great Evers. And when the bride walks and everybody stands up, right, because she's just beautiful. And she walks down the aisle. This is a picture of the church. We are the bride of Christ, and we need to pay attention to the details. Even as a bride pays attention to every detail, every tiny little detail in her gown. 10 (54m 41s): There's just attention to detail because she's going to get married. So we've been married into the kingdom. We've been adopted into the kingdom. We become the bride of Christ. And now we need to make sure that our apparel, that our lives inside and out represents who it is that we're married to and who it is that we're serving. So James 1 21 tells us humbly, accept the word. God has planted in your hearts for it as a power to save your soul. So we have to humbly accept this word. It has the power to save our souls. Becoming people with godly integrity requires that you, number one, allow God to develop in you, his, his righteousness. 10 (55m 25s): So it's his standard. It's his plan. We've had our own standard, but it always falls short of what God's standard is. Number two, get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives. And number three, you must humbly accept the word. God has planted the word God has planted in your hearts. Why, why do we have to humbly accept it? Why is it has the power to save our souls? It's not just a good idea. The word of God. It's not just a thought that God had, but it's the power of God that has the ability to save our souls. What is your soul? Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotion. It's eternal. 10 (56m 5s): Your soul is actually E the eternal part of you that will live forever. Endeavor a man. The soul is the seats of the feelings, desires, affections, the versions. It's our heart. It's our soul. The human soul is in so far as it is constituted that by let me read that again. The human soul in so far as it is constituted that by the right use of the aids, offered it by God. It can attain its highest end and secure eternal blessedness. The soul regarded as a moral being is designed for everlasting life or everlasting conscious separation from God in hell. 10 (56m 53s): So your soul is essentially who you are. The word of God has the power to save your souls, to redeem your life, to put you on a path of righteousness, a path of integrity that the word of God is the only thing that has the power to do that in your life. Your soul is essentially who you are. It differs from the physical body and is not dissolved by death. Your physical body will. We're all getting a little older. Aren't we, even if you're young, you're getting older and your body will begin to break down. And when you get after death, it will decay. And then you'll be given a new body, a glorified body in heaven, but you'll keep your soul, your mind, your will, and emotion. 10 (57m 37s): So when we are told to humbly accept the word, God has planted in our hearts for it as a power to save our souls. That's a powerful promise. I love Matthew 10 28, the king James version. I grew up reading the king James version. I memorize lots of the king James version, but we don't use it as much. It's just hard to read. And so, but I love what it says. And we're gonna look at a couple of verses in Matthew from the king James version. It says fear, not them, which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him, which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 10 (58m 19s): That word destroy means to give over to eternal misery in hell and Matthew 16, 26, it says for what is, what does a man profited? If he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? We, we decide, what will we give in exchange for our soul? Will we give well, it's, it's my own desire that I want. It's my own plans that I want. It's my own, whatever. And you fill in the blank. Well, when we give an exchange for our soul, it's the word of God, the transformational power of the word of God that has the ability to save our souls. This is why we must humbly accept the word. 10 (59m 0s): God has planted in our hearts. When we're wrestling with God's word it's because we've got some arrogance in us that says, no, I want my will to be done. And so that's why throughout the scripture, we're told to humble ourselves before God, it says that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. So we're told to humbly accept the word that God has planted in our heart to summit. It's really a matter of spiritual life and death. We have a challenge before us, what will we do with God's word? Will we allow it to have its full impact in our lives? The apostle John understood this power of the word to be true. 10 (59m 41s): He writes in first, John, two 14 in the new living translation, he says, I've written to you who are God's children? Because you know the father I've written to you who are mature in the faith because you know, you know, Christ who existed from the beginning. I've written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. Why? Because God's word lives in your hearts and you have won your battle with the evil one. You want to win your battle with the evil one and stop wrestling with this flesh, the world, the flesh and the devil. You want to give up your old life, man, just allow humbly. 10 (1h 0m 22s): So the word of God to be planted in your life. So how do we humbly accept the word God has planted in our hearts? How do we humbly accept that? Let's look at verse 22 because it tells us James 1 22 James says, but don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Right? Pretty straight forward. Don't just listen. Don't just read it. But like listen and do do what it says. You must do what it says. Otherwise you're only, you're only fooling yourselves for, if you listen to the word and don't obey it, it's like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, you walk away and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free. 10 (1h 1m 8s): If you look into the law, God, that sets you free into the perfect law that sets you free. And if you do what it says, and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious, but don't control your tongue is another verse about the tongue. If you claim to be religious, but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself and your religion is worthless. So we've got this challenge before us through this half-brother of the Lord, Jesus Christ, to he to think soberly about our lives, to take a personal inventory of our lives in the begin to one by one, allow God to just take control of those areas and deliver us from sinful distractions that have plagued our lives maybe for ever and ever verse 27. 10 (1h 1m 58s): James says, this is what pure and genuine religion is pure and genuine religion in the sight of God. The father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupts you. So he's calling us into ministry, caring for widows and orphans, but then also refusing to let the world corrupt us. And we have to be intentional about that. 24 7 with all of the media and social media, all this stuff coming in our lives, 24 7, we're being bombarded with information, temptation distractions, hindrances. And so we just have to be careful that we don't allow the world to corrupt us, that we actually refuse it. 10 (1h 2m 40s): So it's an, it's a decision I'm refusing by God's grace to allow the world to corrupt me. That's what needs to be our decision. As we get up every day, I'm not going to allow the world to corrupt me. If I stumble, I'm going to keep short accounts with God, because we might stumble from time to time, right? We're all going to stumble throughout the day. So we just say, okay, Lord, I'm, I've stumbled there. I don't want to stumble there anymore. I'm giving you this area of my life. I'm refusing to let the world corrupt me, a guy in our church, Shane Koch read this. And a lot of, you know, Shane, he was reading James chapter one and he read this part pure and genuine religion. The sight of the father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress. 10 (1h 3m 21s): And so he goes online and he Google searches, orphanages that he might be able to serve in. So, you know, Shane's a single guy and he's got freedom and flexibility and he read what the scripture said and then wanted to do what the scripture says. So he's in Baja, California, about three hours south of the border for 10 to 14 days, just serving in an orphanage there. And so he emails me while he's already there. And he said, Hey, I didn't have a chance to say goodbye. I'll be gone just for a little bit. I'm serving in an orphanage in Baja. And the decided this verse says, perfect example. Now we can all uproot and go to Baja, but some of us can, we can do the work of God in other ways in our community and our culture. 10 (1h 4m 10s): But what are we going to do about the word of God? When we read something, how will we respond? And so the answer is, Lord, I AF what I want to do this. We just bring everything to the Lord and pray, Lord, I want to do this. I don't know what that looks like. Maybe I give financially. Maybe I go personally, maybe I pray for, and we participate in the kingdom work that God has called us to do not allowing, not allowing the world to corrupt us. In fact, refusing to let the world corrupt us, becoming people with godly integrity. Let's invite the worship team up, becoming people with godly integrity requires that you, number one, allow God to develop in you. 10 (1h 4m 52s): His righteousness that we get rid of all the filth and evil in our lives. Number three, that we must humbly accept the word God has planted in our hearts without it's going to stand up, we're going to worship some more. I would encourage you just to, as you worship, think about what has been communicated. Think about the message that God has spoken. Then ask the Lord. Okay, right now, Lord, what is it that you would have me to do right now? Lord, what is it that you're calling me to do? And then just be committed to begin to walk in that direction and watch what he will do. So Lord, we just avail ourselves to you this Sunday and every Sunday and throughout the weeks and months and years, Lord God for the rest of our lives. 10 (1h 5m 34s): We're committed to listen and obey become people who are filled with godly integrity. So Lord shape us, make us God, help us to honor you and glorify you with our lives. God, as we worship, help us to worship in spirit and in truth, watch over your people. We pray. Lord, we love you in Jesus name. Amen. 1 (1h 8m 1s): Jesus 15 (1h 10m 26s): Amazing. As you love for us, Lord, we just pray that this would be our song on our heart for the rest of this week. Horrifying you thanking you, praising you for how much you love us in Jesus name. Amen.