Faith that Grows Up - Pastor Naeem Fazal

[00:00:01] Hey, guys, this is Naim and you've reached the Mosaic Church podcast. So excited that you're part of our listening community and love for you to be even more connected. So check out our website. There's more content there and there's more opportunities for you get connected in our ministries and events as well. Also, love for you to share this content if this is blessed to you. I know that God wants to use you to bless other people with it, so share this podcast if you will. Lastly, would you consider supporting this ministry? This is made possible by other people's generosity, and I'd love for you to pay it forward. [00:00:39] Join us to reclaim the message and the movement of Jesus together. So would you consider giving to this ministry? I know that God is able to do immeasurably more through us when we come together. Thank you so much. God bless you and enjoy. [00:00:58] Hey, all right, bj. You okay, man? You're too excited. All right. Wow, he is super excited. All right, well, hey, welcome, girlfriends. How are you guys doing? [00:01:11] Good. Good, good. Awesome. So we're kicking off a brand new series. If you are a guest here this morning. Perfect week to kick to join us because we'd love to invite you to follow along with us for the next five weeks. But because we're gonna be covering the book of James. Yeah, that's what we're gonna be doing. And it should be really interesting because James really talks about all the stuff that's going in our lives. Sometimes we go through trials, we go through tribulations, we go through some things. They're like, I'm not quite sure what God's doing here. So he talks about that. He's very practical. So it's gonna be really interesting to cover those things. Now. Here's what's funny, though. What's funny is that recently I had an interview on a podcast. And I don't know if you've ever done a podcast, but I'll tell you what, I mean, honestly. I mean, I do worry about sometimes what I'm gon. Mostly if I was just honest. If I was just honest, I'd more care about, like, how I sound like or what I look like. Honestly. Okay, I know I'm vain, whatever, but I'm like, is the lighting okay? You know, is that gonna be. Are they gonna put this clip online? And am I gonna look like. What do I look like? And, you know, I don't know if you guys know I'm brown. And so it's a little. It takes a little lighting to cut you know, and I'm like, I can't. I gotta be in the right spot. And it's just a lot of things. Sometimes it's the link. Like, sometimes I'm like, is it on Zoom? Is it on Riverside? If you've ever done podcast stuff, all kinds of issues, What I don't worry about is, like, what I'm holding in my hand, like a mug. Don't worry about that. So the other day, I'm on this podcast, and the guy's like, hey, by the way. By the way, am I reading your mug correctly? Am I reading your mug correctly? [00:02:40] And the mug. My mug says. He says, does your mug say embrace the suck? [00:02:47] Yep. And I was like, yes, it does. Yes, it does. And now I'm thinking, oh, hope. I hope this is not on the podcast. Like, this is a Christian podcast. You know what I'm saying? Like, really? Embrace the suck. Really. So what's funny about that is some of you guys, like, love that. You're like, hey, can I have the mug? I have the T shirt. I want the mug. I get that. But if there was a title to chapter one of James, it could be. It could be the title of the sermon. Could be what? Embrace the suck. That could be it. That could be it. But what's funny, though, is, is that James Reed does give us a picture into what God could be doing in our lives. So basically, he's asking really, this question. Maybe this question is the title for the message, and the question is this. The question is, could the pain that you are running from maybe even experiencing right now, right? Or avoiding the pain is the process that God wants to use to grow you? Like, that's really the question. Like, that's what he asked. Because I know. I know for some of us, you're like, dude, don't give me this. Like, everything happens for a reason. I. I don't want to give you that. I don't want to give you that. And you'll seem to feel that when you read the first few words of his letter, but it's not the case at all. See, James is the brother of Jesus. And if you grew up Protestant, right, you believe that James was the. [00:04:10] Was the younger brother of Jesus, right? Because it was Jesus first, right? The whole, you know, Christmas story, right? [00:04:18] And then it's. Then they had more kids. Then they had more kids. So James is younger. But what's interesting, though, is it's not really true in the mosaic of Christianity, because a whole millions and millions of people don't believe that if you're a Roman Catholic or in the Catholic system or believe in that, grew up in that denomination or were Catholic of some kind, they believe in the Virgin Mary. And so they believe that. No, no, no, no. James was not the younger. He was actually the older brother. So what happened is that Joseph was married before. He was married before, and then he married. [00:04:53] Then he married Mary. And so they believe he is the actually not the younger. He's the older brother. Now, regardless of that, James was a guy who not just kept up with his brother. He was a follower of Jesus. He loved his brother. And it's soft, tough, because I got two brothers and I barely like them. You know what I'm saying? I'm joking. No, we love them. But, you know, I don't know if you have brothers, if you. Shoot, there's all kinds of beef. I mean, I can imagine Jesus and James growing up together. I'm serious. Because Jesus could get away with anything. [00:05:30] He could go to the fridge, get milk, drink it, refill it, and not do anything. He could go to the cookie jar, eat all the cookies, replace them, but James couldn't do it. [00:05:40] Okay, But James was a guy who was, interestingly enough, he was the first church leader. So James, basically, after Jesus leaves, he's resurrected and the early church starts in Jerusalem. James, the guy, is in charge. He plants that first church. [00:05:58] He's known to be the guy that is, like, obviously one of the big figures in the early church. What's interesting, though, is he's also, interestingly enough, the guy who included gentiles. So even when Jesus was talking about loving all kinds of groups of people, having a mosaic of people, the church kept on wanting not a mosaic of people. That's why we call our church Mosaic, because we want a mosaic of people. And so, like, no, no, no. Not. Not you guys. Not you guys. But James was like, gentiles, come on in. Gentiles, you don't have to get circumcised. You don't have to become all kind of Jewish and all that. No, no, no, no. You can still be you. But you come on in. Come on in. You're part of Jesus. Because with Jesus, there's no Jew, there's no gentile. You're all the same here. We're all in one. We all have equality. And so he brings them in. And then he's known by historians as James the Just. So he was known by that. He was called James the Just. And he lived his life and unfortunately got martyred in after 60 years or so after Jesus resurrection. So it's really interesting because his writings are very practical, and they're like his brother Jesus. So Jesus, if you noticed, his teachings are like, very much very practical. They're like, dude, like, what about this? What about this? What about this? How about this? And they're not like theories of, like, you know, doctrine. Jesus didn't talk and unwrap the Old Testament. If you remember, he would just go, no, no, it's. You've heard this said. But I'm gonna tell you this. I'm gonna tell you this. Let me give you a new commandment. I'm gonna make it harder for you, okay? If you even think or if you even call your brother a bad name and all that, you're guilty of murder, he's like, what are you doing? He was calling us to a higher standard. [00:07:38] It's out of this world. James is doing the same. When you read this letter, he's writing not to. He's not writing to one church, by the way, because he was like one of the main guys, and he wanted to reach a mosaic of people. His letter, the book of James, is. We call it a book, but it's a letter. But it was letter that was read all over. It wasn't like Paul, you know, Paul the apostle. You guys know him. So he write letters to, like, hey, I'm gonna write to this church in the Philippians Church in Philippi. Oh, I'm gonna write to the Ephes. You know what I'm saying? Then I'm gonna write to my boy Timothy, first Timothy, second Timothy. You know, I'm gonna do that. No, James is writing to all the people scattered all over, and he's giving them a very practical way to live out the teachings of his own brother, Jesus. And he starts off. And so this is the context. So when we jump in, we realize he talks about the one thing that we all face, and those are what? Trials. Anybody ever gone through a trial? Yes. Yes. So. So he starts off and he. Listen, let's put up a couple passages. First one he says, consider it. Consider it pure. What? [00:08:42] Pure? No, you didn't say. You guys didn't say that with joy. Okay, let's do it. Let's do it. Consider it what Pure joy, my brothers and sisters, that whenever you face trials in any kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces what, Perseverance? He's like, hey, consider it joy, bro. [00:08:59] This is going to be awesome. This is going to be awesome. To which we would say, we hate you. Because you're that annoying person that, you know, the glass is always, what, full. You're like, I don't want that. I don't want that. We don't want that. The worst thing we want is you go through something and people go, you know what? Look at the positive. [00:09:16] Everything happens for a reason. [00:09:18] God has a purpose. He'll be on time. Like, you, like, stop saying this. I'm going through this. So what is. [00:09:25] What is he saying? He is not saying this. He says, hey, don't. He's not saying, be happy. He's not saying be happy. He's not even saying, oh, be that inner joy. No, no, no. He's talking about a particular kind of joy. He's saying the pure joy he's talking about because when you read the whole letter, he'll explain it. He basically sets up the first chapter as like, this is the stuff I'm gonna talk about. So he says, I want you to understand this. Joy is this confidence, knowledge that God is working in your life. [00:09:51] He uses the word consider it joy, because God is working. So when trials come, trials are some of the easiest way to see God move in your life. In fact, pain, you know and I know, is a great motivator, isn't it? It's sad, but it's true. When you have the pain of discomfort, when you have pain, that's when you go to the doctor. That's when you change your habits. That's what happens, right? We do unhealthy things, but as soon as our health is messed up, we have some kind of pain, we go, okay, okay, I gotta stop doing this. So he says this. He says, hey, I just want you to consider that actually the things that are going in your life, just know that you can. [00:10:31] Because you just know that when something like this is happening, this is when God is really moving. You're gonna be able to see God move in your life in the middle of this pain, in this. Middle of this diagnosis, in the middle of this stressful situation like you never have. So I just want you to know, consider it joy. Why? Because God is in there, and he's also doing something. He is going to make you stronger like he is in there. Not just to help you go through it. He is going to make it, make it where you get stronger in your faith. So he's gonna produce what we call perseverance. And so he says, I want you to know that. Because here's what he keeps on saying. He goes on, he says, and let perseverance finish its what its work. So that you may be mature. That you may be mature and complete and not lacking anything. [00:11:23] Man. Wouldn't it be great to not be always stressed out all the time? Wouldn't it be great that the person who stresses you out at work and you know that picture of that face, you know the person. [00:11:36] Could you imagine walking in, you see that person, you're like, I'm good. [00:11:40] And they're like, are you high? No, I'm not high. I'm high on Jesus. No, no, no. But you're like, couldn't be great to go. You don't stress me out anymore. [00:11:49] What name? You don't know where I work. [00:11:52] Have you been. Have you ever been a pastor? You know, people stress you out. I mean, not you guys, but, oh, my gosh, it's one of the most stressful jobs. [00:12:05] There's always so much stuff, always carrying so much emotional, I don't know, burdens for so many people. It's stressful. But I'll tell you what he's saying, hey, hey, there's a way. There's a way that if you let God do and work in your life, you can actually get to a point where you're not as stressed, you can carry a lot more, you can be stronger, you have more endurance to keep going in your life, because what you are wanting to create in your life requires you to be able to have. Stick with it, power. [00:12:39] And if you want to create that, if you want to know this, that if you're going through trials, if you allow God in them, consider it joy. Guys, I'll tell you why. Because on the other side of this, you're just going to get stronger because whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. [00:12:54] Okay? Okay. All right, all right. No, we're not gonna do it there. So the first thing we do, okay, is we need to investigate our trials. [00:13:02] Investigate our trials. That's the first thing. Not just go, oh, react to our trials. No, investigate them. What that means is, is you go, what's happening here? What is happening here? Cause sometimes you just go, I know what's happening here. I know what's happening here. That is happening. This person, if they were just not. If they were just this. Or she would just, oh, I know what's happening here. We just got diagnosed. I know what's. But no, no. What's happening in here? What's happening in here? Investigate. What is trials doing to you? [00:13:30] What is it doing to you? So investigate. Because all the stuff that's inside of you is going to Be more important, and it will determine all the things that are around you. He says, first of all, what you need to do is you need to investigate this, because James will go right into it, as you'll see. He'll go right into this idea of, like, hey, you need to investigate what's going on. So for me, I'll tell you what. For me, it was Covid, okay? I know. For all of us, it was Covid. You're like, okay, no, for me, I'll tell you what. Right before COVID the week before COVID we. I was up here. We had. I don't know, we had two campuses, several services, and I was like, hey, guys, we are gonna do something amazing and all that and blah, blah, blah. And we were going to buy this building right behind us that you can hear sometimes, right? Okay. This church building here, There wasn't a church building. It was actually a bounce house. And as you can see, if you walked up and you looked, there's still stickers on bounce houses situation here. And there's a. You know, there's a. There's a poster. Not a poster or something put up there by this church. So here's the deal. Right before COVID we had a handshake agreement. We were going to get this place. I was going to raise some money starting next week, okay? And then, boom, Covid hit. [00:14:42] Covid hit. And we were like, okay, we need to slow it down. What's gonna happen? We couldn't meet. We couldn't have services. And so obviously, everybody took a hit, right? All businesses took a hit financially, all that. We're like, okay, hold up, hold up, hold up. Guess what? If you're a bounce house and you have Covid, there's no bouncing happening. [00:14:59] Super spreader. That's not happening. Okay? So no one. That business shut down. So the guy, we knew him, and he was like, do you still want it? I'm like, yeah, but we don't know our finances, so can you hold onto it? And he's like, well, well, well, well, well. And then he open up again, and all different things started happening. And then Covid, you know Covid, right? Covid was like, I think I'm gonna stick around, you know? So it stuck around for a little bit longer and longer and longer and longer. And then like, okay, what are we doing? What are we doing? And we're like, we're still interested in this. And then he was like, well, I don't think I want to sell anymore. I'm like, okay, you're not Gonna sell. And he was like, no, we're gonna sell. So it was back and forth. And then one day, he was like, hey, listen, by the way, I'm not gonna sell. I'm gonna rent it. And I already did. I already rented it to a church. [00:15:42] We're like, what? So then the church called and said, hey, can we meet with you? And we're like, sure. So we sat in the offices there, and he was like, yeah, we just signed a lease, and we're going to be next door. [00:15:53] And he was like, I hope it doesn't bother you. [00:16:02] I was like, hey, bro. [00:16:04] I told him. I said, bro, of course it's gonna be a bother. You're gonna hear us, and we're gonna hear you. Like, there are other churches that have thought about it, and every time we have had a conversation and they just hear, they go, oh, no, no, no. This is not gonna be a thing. And he was like, oh, man. Man, I hope. I mean, I didn't mean to do it. I said, you already signed the lease. [00:16:22] You signed the lease, bro. And he was like, yeah. [00:16:28] So you're not gonna buy it? No, we're just gonna rent it for a little bit. Okay. All right, all right. You know, in the middle of that, I was like, what are you doing, God? [00:16:37] Why is this happening to me? Like, that's what I was thinking. I was like, besides all the things that other Covid did to our relationships, our family, to ourselves, besides all of that stuff, I was like, why is this happening? Are you serious? [00:16:54] Serious? [00:16:55] Why? Why is this happening? [00:16:58] And so it started doing some things in me. Whew. It started doing some things, and I had to be like, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Consider it joy. [00:17:06] Consider it joy. [00:17:08] And I remember walking away from that meeting, and I thought, you know, the one passage scripture that I got from. I felt like God was telling me about was in a passage where it talks about. [00:17:17] It says, what you intended for evil. God's gonna turn it for good. [00:17:21] And I told that to the staff. I said, hey, because we were all shocked. We were like, what is happening? And you guys know, you guys have been in services before, and it's crazy loud, and we've tried to coordinate with them, and it's so tough because they've got a different flow. I respect that. I understand that. But it really does mess us up. It's not a good system. It's not a good deal. But, oh, my gosh, in the middle of that, we were like, what are we supposed to do? And we really Felt what? God told us to do some things and focus on all the things that we're supposed to do, and we were able to do them. Now, when it comes to your trials, what is God telling you to do? What is God telling you to do? You're like, I don't know what God's letting me do. Well, good thing is James addresses it. So the next passage, he says this. He says, if any of you lacks what wisdom, you should ask God, who gives what generously to all without finding fault. Which is really interesting, because right here James is saying is God's gonna give you and show you things if you ask. And he'll generously do it. He'll give it to you. He'll give it to you. The problem, he says, the problem is not that God's not gonna give you wisdom. The problem is not that God's not gonna show you what to do. [00:18:23] Here's the thing. The reality is God has already shown you things to do, and you have not done them. [00:18:28] And guess what? He won't do. He won't find any. What? [00:18:32] Fault. So basically, James is saying, hey, hey, hey, hey. God always does this. Just so you know. God always does this. He'll always give you wisdom. He'll always tell you, this is what you should stop doing. This is what you should do, but you're not gonna do it. And here's the amazing things about God. He'll still be generous to you. He'll still tell you, like, have you ever told. Given someone advice and they. They don't do it, don't do it. And then, couple of conversations later, you're like, I'm done. [00:18:57] I'm done. I'm done. I don't want to. I mean, I've had a guy, years ago, I was like, met with him, met with him about his relationship, yada, yada, yada. And then finally I'm like, dude, I'm not meeting with you anymore. He was like, what? Why? I'm like, because you don't do any of the things I tell you to do. [00:19:14] And he was like, what? Just because you just want to hear. You want me to just listen to you cry about stuff? I'm like, just stop doing that. [00:19:23] No. And here James is saying, God is not like, naim, he will keep on meeting. He'll keep on meeting with you. He'll keep on. He'll keep on telling you. And then he says, but. [00:19:36] Say, but. [00:19:37] But when you ask, you must what? [00:19:41] Believe and not doubt. He said, basically, here's what's gonna Happen. He's gonna say something, he's gonna kind of like put something in you and you like, I kind of get a feeling. And you're gonna be like, ah, I don't know about that. [00:19:53] I don't know about that. I don't know about that. And then he says, when you start doing this, this is what's gonna happen. He says, when you start doing this, you become like a wave of the what sea blown and tossed by the wind. He says that person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Basically what he's saying there is like, that person is going to be a person that always is going to think that God's never going to give him something. And they don't expect anything. They don't expect. See like some of us, we don't expect God to talk to us. [00:20:25] Why? Because, well, maybe God has told you something and you're like, ah. [00:20:30] And now you think, ah, I don't even think God expects, I don't expect anything from God. And he said, yeah, and they're going to believe that. They're going to believe that. And then he says, such a person, a person who does all these things is a person is a double what double minded person and what unstable in all they do. And here's how you get, how you get unstable when, when your heart tells you to do something and your mind tells you not to and you just go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth and you don't move, you kind of go, I don't know, you're just like, have you ever been paralyzed by choices? [00:21:13] And the problem is, the problem is that we live in that world. We live in the world of like just being paralyzed by so many, so many choices in our lives. But we have to, we have to actually, I don't know, pick and then do the things that God's asked us to do. [00:21:33] But sometimes we just go, I don't, well, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. [00:21:37] Recently this happened to me and it actually happens a lot. Okay, I'll talk to, I'm at a party, I'm at an event or something. I'll meet someone or meet church event or something and some guy will say, oh man, are you into sports? Are you into sports? Or no, no, no. He goes, they'll go, something like that. Or they'll say, oh man, man, are you, do you follow football? And I'm like, I don't want to break his heart. And I was like, and I Say no. And I can just see the tears, you know, I just feel it. And the guy's like, we could have been bros. [00:22:08] And I'm like, no, man, I don't. Basketball? No, man, I don't follow basketball. [00:22:12] Golf? You follow golf? [00:22:15] No, and just stop. Just stop. I don't follow anything. I don't. [00:22:21] Don't you do, like, cr. Yeah. Don't you follow the games? They're like, no. [00:22:25] And he was like, man, I thought you'd be like, sporty. And one recently, I was talking to a guy and he was like, what's wrong? I mean, why not? He wasn't giving the vibe of what's wrong with you. He was like, you would be a guy who would do this. You know, you're like, you know, I thought you were sporty, whatever that word is, or whatever. And I'm like, I am. I said, do you do any of these things? He's like, no, I don't play football. [00:22:49] I used to. Oh, okay. Basketball? Yeah, I used to golf. Yeah, sometimes. Oh, but you're sporty. [00:22:56] And I said, I. So it's so interesting because I think sometimes we are content. We're content with just following and actually just doing. [00:23:07] And sometimes we're just content in following other people's lives than creating our own. [00:23:14] We just want to keep up with them. I blame the Kardashians for that. [00:23:18] Just keep up with the Kardashians. Just keep up on social media. Just keep up with other people. Don't create your own life. Just keep up with them. Just keep up with them and compare. We just don't do it. [00:23:28] And so that. Then he goes, hey, hey. [00:23:30] Okay. When it comes to trials, it comes to the season of your life right now. You actually have to. And here's. I'm gonna put it down very clear. You have to do what God. [00:23:42] What shows you. You're like, ah, he hasn't shown me. Really, though? [00:23:48] Really though. [00:23:49] It could be possible that you're, like, just going back and forth and back and forth and not wanting to do it. You just got to. You just have to really honestly just do it. Is it gonna be hard? Yes, it's going to be hard. It's just going to be hard to do it. Yes, of course it is. Of course it is. [00:24:08] But you have to figure this out. And you're like, name. I don't know if this was a God thing, it should be a lot more easier. [00:24:17] I'm with you. [00:24:19] If this church thing was a lot more easier, you know what I'm Saying if it was. Like, if it was. Oh, my gosh. I mean, I gotta pray on Sunday mornings. Not for my message, I gotta pray for their message. [00:24:33] I'm like, just be a little quieter. That's all I'm asking. [00:24:36] Like pastors ask me, what's your biggest problem? You know, what's your. I'm like, none of my stuff. It's other people's stuff. Like, I gotta worry about other things. It's hard to do. It's so hard sometimes. But the truth is. The truth is, is that God never said he would make it easy, which is hard to embrace because we think with Jesus everything is easier. [00:25:00] No, no, no, no. It's like with Jesus, nothing hurts. [00:25:08] No, actually, the passage is, I can do all things through Christ. That gives me strength. I can do all the hard, awful things that I need to do. [00:25:22] All the painful stuff. I can do all the. I can have all the conversations. I can shut my mouth. I can do the things I can do. [00:25:30] Do all things through Christ. [00:25:32] See, the thing is, if you've been sold a theology that when you come to Jesus and you go through chemo and it's going to be just less painful, it's not true. [00:25:43] He'll hold your hand in the middle of it, but it's still going to hurt like hell. [00:25:48] When you go through a divorce, it's going to hurt. It's going to be so painful. It's going to be all. It's all the pain. It's not going to go away. He doesn't take the pain away. [00:25:57] He does sit in you, with you, inside of you, makes you stronger. But he doesn't take the pain away because pain makes us stronger. So why are we. Why do we not do the things? Well, we're tempted in a lot of ways. And the reason why I call it tempted, because I think it's something, One of those things where it's tempted because it's easier to do, and that's why we're tempted. So whenever we're tempted to do something, the temptation is because it's better, it's sweeter, it's nicer to do. So we're tempted not to do the hard thing. So then James talks about that. In fact, he says this, okay? In verse 13, he says this. He says. He says, when tempted to do the easy thing, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. [00:26:46] James is addressing something that's very interesting because he's addressing what we think in our minds. When it comes to hard things, we go, God, you are making me the bad thing. You're making me actually do the wrong thing. You're making it harder. Have you ever looked at a person and thought, why are you making it so hard? [00:27:07] Why is it so difficult? Could you just not behave? Could you just. Could you? Could you? Could you? Could you. [00:27:14] Because if you were making it easier, I would not be tempted to lose my mind. [00:27:22] And he's laying and he said, spiritually, we do that. We go, God, I wouldn't be doing half of the bad stuff I'm doing if you just made it easier. [00:27:33] Could you just clear the way? [00:27:35] You know, part the waters? Isn't that a story? Do something. [00:27:39] And he's like, hey, God's not tempting you, by the way. And then he explains it, which is really profound. He says, I'll tell you what happens. He says. He says, here's what really happens. Each person is tempted again to do the easy thing when they are dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed. So basically what he's saying is. [00:28:02] So let's just use an example. [00:28:05] You get offended, someone does something to you, okay? Not your fault. It was done to you, okay? [00:28:12] They're the ones at fault for sure, 100%. [00:28:15] So you have. God tells you, yeah, that's true. I see you. But you need to let it go. You need to forgive them. You have this offense. You gotta let it go. And you go, it's so hard to do. [00:28:30] He goes, let it go, let it go, let it go. He's like, no, it's hard to do. He says, so your desire now is not to do that anymore. And your. He calls it evil. He says that desire for you not to forgive hold onto unforgiveness. You just hold onto it, and then you are enticed by it. Enticement basically means you get to a point with unforgiveness, that you justify it and you're cool with it. [00:28:54] That's why there are people in your life who are super spiritual who are holding onto an offense for the last 20 to 50 years. [00:29:02] Why? Because they're cool with it. What has happened, their desire has now enticed them and justified it. And it's all good for them. But then James says, here's the problem. When you choose. When you're tempted to choose that, say, like I said, unforgiveness, you are not justified. So what happens now? Now that it's a part of you, well, then, unforgiveness, and you are kind of married. You are married. Married. And then it says here, check this out. It says, then after desire, that desire, right. Of not forgiving, that desire has conceived, it gives birth to what sin? So basically he's saying, when this unforgiveness, now you're comfortable with it, you want to hold on to it. This relationship that happened, and it was painful. I get it, I get it. But God said, let it go, let it go, let it go. Please let it go. You're like, no, no, no, no, no. But they did this and this. If I let it go, that means I'm letting them off the hook. And God's saying, no, no, no, that's not true. That's not true. Not true. And you're like, no, no, no, no. I'm gonna marry my. I'm gonna marry. I'm gonna marry. I want to marry this. I'm going to marry my desire. I'm going to marry my sin here. And then he says, okay, well, when you get married, you're going to have a little baby. [00:30:12] And this little baby you're going to make is called bitterness. [00:30:16] Bitterness. The baby you're going to make out of your marriage, this bitterness baby, when it gets older, when it's fully grown, when it becomes a teenager, watch out. [00:30:33] It's going to bring what, death to everything. [00:30:39] And what he's saying is basically, it's not going to make something die. [00:30:44] He says, it's going to create and open up a disease that will infect everything good in your life. [00:30:51] And it will do it just one thing, and that is unforgiveness. Could you imagine what we would do with envy and anger, with all the other things he says? Just telling you, when God tells you to do something in the middle of your trial in mil, just do it. Is it going to be hard? It's going to be hard. No question about it. It's just going to be. [00:31:19] But you don't. You don't. You don't want. [00:31:23] You don't want. You don't want this in your life. You just don't. [00:31:27] So what does he end with? Now, there's so much to the passage, because in the middle of that, he says, hey, let me just tell you, if you do these things, and there are promises in there, there are promises that we can apply to that. So I encourage you to read the rest of the chapter. But he ends the chapter with something which is really interesting. And basically he gives him a practical. He said, but today, I'll tell you what. Today, the first thing you can do the first thing you can do when you go through trials. [00:31:53] You got to start with your words. You got to start with your words. You got to start with your words. You got to start with your words. That's what he says. He says, basically, you got to do this. [00:32:03] James 1. He says this. He says, this is how he ends it. He says, don't. [00:32:10] Do not merely. Do not merely what? Listen to the Word. So when God tells you and so deceive yourselves, so if you just listen, you go, well, I heard it. I heard it. And maybe you heard something today. You're like, oh, gosh, I should really do this. And you're like, but you know what? I listened to it. Church was good. Music was amazing, but church was okay. And he says, don't deceive yourselves. [00:32:35] Here's what you gotta do. You have to do what? [00:32:38] What? [00:32:39] Help me out. It says, you have to do what. It says. [00:32:46] Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks. Looks what? [00:32:54] Who looks at his face in the mirror and after looking at himself or herself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. You're gonna go back to it. Go back to it. [00:33:07] Like he says, don't do that. And then he ends it. He said, maybe make it super practical. [00:33:13] Okay, so for today, he says, for today, here's what I want you to consider. He says, if you consider yourself religious, if you consider yourself follower of Jesus, if you do that yet, do not. What? Keep a tight rein on their tongues. [00:33:29] You deceive yourself and your religion is worthless. [00:33:33] And he said, let me just tell you. [00:33:36] He's saying, like, hey, if you feel like being spiritual or having a relationship with Jesus is not doing anything for you, let me tell you why it's not doing anything for you. [00:33:45] It's not him. [00:33:47] I love you, but it's not him. [00:33:49] It's you. [00:33:51] It's you. Here's what you're doing. [00:33:53] He shows you something, you listen to it, you forget it, and you don't do it. [00:34:00] You just don't do it. And then you go back and go, what do I look like? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's what you forget it. And you go back and go back. What is that? Useless. [00:34:09] It's just useless. He says it starts with. The first thing you can do is. Just starts with your what? [00:34:15] Start with your what? [00:34:17] Words. It starts with your words, your tongue. See? For example. Let me give an example here. Okay? For some of you, and this might hit in different ways. For some of you okay? Need some options here. Like, for example, some of you. [00:34:30] God has shown you that you are loved. You're loved. You feel it. You know it. But you're still saying that you're unlovable in conversations. [00:34:41] He said you're forgiven, but you still carry the name guilty. [00:34:46] You still do. [00:34:48] He said you're adopted into a family you belong. [00:34:51] But you keep saying that you're all alone in life. [00:34:54] You're all alone in all of this. [00:34:56] Like he's shown you you're worthy. But you keep labeling yourself useless, worthless, a piece of whatever. You keep saying it. [00:35:07] He's shown you you're safe. [00:35:09] But you keep telling people that you are so insecure. [00:35:15] He called you chosen, and you call yourself unwanted. [00:35:21] He's shown you that you are redeemed, and you think you're beyond saving. [00:35:28] He's called you his masterpiece. [00:35:32] And you keep telling people you were a mistake that your mom and dad made. [00:35:39] He's shown you you are strong. [00:35:42] And you keep saying, I'm so weak. [00:35:44] I'm so weak. [00:35:46] He's shown you that you're victorious. [00:35:50] Ooh, this is a good one. And you keep calling yourself and acting like a victim. [00:35:58] He's shown you that you are called. [00:36:00] And you just think this whole thing is an accident. [00:36:06] He's shown you, but you keep saying it. [00:36:10] Let me tell you the two things that will control your words more than anything else. [00:36:15] Fear and pride. [00:36:17] Fear and pride will control. Fear will creep up and give you so much insecurity that you will call yourself awful things. Things you would never, ever say to a loved one. [00:36:31] Like, if you actually talk to yourself the way you talk to loved ones, you'd. [00:36:36] You would like yourself. [00:36:38] But fear will do it. Fear, insecurity, Fear, anxiety, the way it shapes up worry, it'll just. It'll make you say stuff. [00:36:47] And pride. Pride. I don't need help. I'm good. [00:36:51] I'm good. I'm good. Yeah, God showed me. But you know what? What he does not know is I. What? He doesn't. What? What does he not know? [00:36:59] Oh, you can do it on your own. Oh, I forgot. [00:37:02] Forgot. Yeah. Yeah. You don't need help. Oh, okay. You don't need help. Good. Great. Awesome. And Jesus, God says, hey, hey, hey. I. I can work with. I can work with the weak and all that. I can work with people who are like, you know, the humble. But I can't work with the pride because. Says, I reject the pride because with the proud, God can't do anything because you end up thinking you are a God. [00:37:30] So you're like, I'm good. I'm always good. Why? Because we don't want to. [00:37:35] You don't want our image to change and shatter. So we keep saying things, saying things. [00:37:42] So here's the question, right as we end. [00:37:46] Are you getting stronger? [00:37:49] Are you getting stronger? Because James starts off and he says, hey, here's the big idea, right, guys? In all your stuff that's going on in our lives, we all are going through it. [00:37:57] Are we maturing in our faith? Are we getting stronger? Are we getting better? [00:38:01] So I'm gonna ask the same question. Are you getting better? [00:38:04] A couple of weeks ago, I spoke at a church called Seacoast Church. Seacoast Church is the church that Ashley and I, we first came on staff there. They helped us start mosaic 20 years ago. And so I go there frequently and speak at that church, and that's the first church I got to speak at. Like, that's the first sermon I gave. I gave there. And so I've been doing this for a long time there. And so most recently, a couple of months ago, I got a text message from a guy who'd been there, who'd known me for 20 years. And that text message, because after I spoke on Sunday, he was like, man, you've gotten so much better. [00:38:37] That was his text. [00:38:39] Man, you've gotten so much better. I was low key, offended. No, not lie. I'm like, listen, first of all, I've been better for a minute. I've been better. I've been better. [00:38:49] But then I thought, wow, I could. I think I showed it to Ashley. I was like, this is so. [00:38:55] Yes. [00:38:56] Thank you. [00:38:57] Thank you. Because then I thought, well, I hope so. [00:39:02] I hope so. It's been 20 years. [00:39:05] I hope I'm getting better. Because if I'm not, I should quit. [00:39:12] I thought about this. I was like, are you and I getting better as Christians? Are we getting better? [00:39:20] Are we here? How about this? As a follower of Jesus, are you maturing and getting better, or are you just getting old? [00:39:31] Tell you what. Old I've got down. [00:39:33] I know I can get old. With or without your help. [00:39:37] I can just get old. [00:39:40] But growing maturing is a whole different scenario. [00:39:45] So I pray that as followers of Jesus, we are just not old Christians. [00:39:50] We're mature now. The great thing about God is, remember, he said, hey, when you ask, he'll tell you again without fault. He won't look at you and say, you remember the last 20 times I told you to do this? [00:40:04] Remember the last time he's not gonna judge you. [00:40:08] He's gonna be so gracious, more than anyone else would be. So we have all the motivation to go, we're gonna try it again. We're gonna do this again. Why? Because he wants you to grow and mature and get stronger, endure and have perseverance. Because the stuff in your life, the life that you want to live, requires you to be stronger. [00:40:29] Stronger. Your friends and family needs a person who is emotionally strong, financially, spiritually, psychologically stronger. You need it. Why? Because, man, God has a world for you to create, and you just gotta be stronger. [00:40:46] So let's just get stronger. Let's at least try that. So the next couple of weeks, we're going to be talking about. Because James does not hold back. He just keeps on saying and keeps on going for it. And so we're going to jump into next chapter two next week. But let me pray for you today. Can we do that? [00:41:01] Pray together? Let's pray. [00:41:03] Lord, guys, thank you so much for this morning. Thank you for your love for us. Thank you that you're committed to my growth and maturity more than I am. [00:41:13] Thank you for that. And thank you, God, that for some of us here, as we're starting our new faith in you, we're going to be able to say even today, God, Jesus, you know, I'm going through this, but. And I feel like I need to maybe even reintroduce myself to you. [00:41:35] See, some of us feel like, well, we've been far away from him for a while. [00:41:40] The good thing is, is that he's never left. [00:41:44] So today, God, we just stop and go, Jesus, can we do this again? [00:41:51] I know, I know I've been a Christian forever, but can we do this again? [00:41:56] Can we have moments of just you and me, of you saying some things to me when I. [00:42:04] When I'm going to work or coming back home or stuck in traffic? Can you. Can you. Can we do this again? [00:42:11] Can you show me again? [00:42:13] Can you speak to me again and I'll ask again, could you. Could we do this again? [00:42:18] And Father, I just pray that we would have the courage to reintroduce ourselves to you, to re. Engage with you today, knowing God, that tomorrow you want us to be stronger. [00:42:30] And so, God, I just pray that as we end this morning, as we go to the cross or go receive communion or light a candle, God, I pray you grow us into the people that you want us to be. You have the courage to do that. [00:42:48] Thanks for listening to this message from Mosaic church in Charlotte, North Carolina. For more audio and video content. Visit us at MosaicChurch TV.