Well, you know where to turn in your bible if you haven’t already turned there.

Right? Our scripture reading today. And I do want to say a welcome to each one of you. So good to have you with us, Those that are here in person, those tuning in online, we welcome you to the service. Matthew chapter 25 is where we’re looking today.

We’ve been working through a series of messages, encouraging us to do something. Fact that God has redeemed us by his grace through faith so that we could be bumps on a log. I’m sorry, bumps on a pew. No. He’s created us unto Christ Jesus for good works.

Last week, we were in Exodus chapter 3 and looked at the account of Moses on the backside of the wilderness and God lights a bush on fire and God calls us to do some I find that passage of scripture fascinating when you consider that God says to Moses that I have seen the affliction of my people and I have come down. And then he says, now you go. Just a reminder that God’s calling in our lives is that we are called to go. We are called to do something. And as we go, it’s Christ in us and through us.

It is God at work in us, through us, in the in us through us. In the world. This morning, I want to talk to us from Matthew’s gospel chapter 25 of what is the result of our doing? What is the result of our doing? If I were to ask you this morning, how important are good works, what would be your response?

Would you view good works as a good idea, something that is encouraged for us to do? Would you view good works as, something that is optional to do if I feel like it? If the opportunity arises, maybe I’ll engage in it. Do you view good works as instrumental to your faith? Do you find good works as a necessity, as an imperative to your faith.

How do you view good works? In Matthew’s account of chapter 25, Jesus gives us some pretty significant words. In fact, to me are some of the most challenging words in scripture. I’m gonna invite us to stand as we read these together. It’s a familiar passage of scripture, I’m sure.

When the and before and he shall separate them 1 from another as a shepherd divideth his and so the kinks say unto them on his right and here at the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. Naked and you and so the righteous answer him saying clothed stranger and took the inn or naked and or in prison and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, in as much as ye did ye have done it unto one of the least of these my And to and he gave me no mead. I was thirsty. And he gave me no drink.

I was a then they also answer him and so we the in hunger or athirst or a stranger or naked or sick or in. And These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Let’s pray together. This morning, we have rejoiced in your presence that we sense that is here. Guides us and directs us hearts, Lord, may, may this truth convict our hearts as we consider the reality of our eternity, as we consider the reality of our doing in this present life.

I pray it in Jesus name. Amen. Your may be seated. View. It, Matthew chapter 25, you would discover that there are 3 parables that Jesus tells in this chapter.

He begins by the familiar parable that we all know of the 10 virgins, 5 wise, 5 foolish. He tells of these virgins that have come for this wedding ceremony celebration and that 5 were prepared and 5 were not. Shot out. J. A.

S. Moves from that parable to tell the parable of the talents, the master who goes away for a season of time and gives to his servants and upon the master’s return asks for The man with 5 talents says, master, I have gone out, taken what you’ve given me, and I’ve doubled it. And here is 10 talents. The one with shows the 2 talents that he is profited. The final So his master, I knew you to be a man harvest where he is not.

And so I buried your talent and here’s your talent. And Jesus says of that man, you’re a wicked and a lazy. Parable that takes place of the final judgment. Me. And he will separate them 1 from an as a shepherd divides his sheep from his generations together and he begins to sort through, the sheep and the goats as or through the people as a shepherd would sheeps.

And someone his right, someone his some on his right, some on his left. It’s a picture of Christ bringing about some form of judgment. Now, I will be honest with you. If we are to interpret this passage of scripture in its context, it’s a little difficult. Some people would say, what judgment is this?

White throne judgment that takes place in Revelation chapter 20? What is the picture before us? And depending on your view of eschatology and end times, you might interpret this passage just a little bit differently. Hold on for just a second. Don’t get caught up in the weeds and miss the point.

All right? It would seem you, after the battle of Armageddon, Christ is preparing to set up debate on depending on your view of escapot. That’s not as important as what is taking place. The point. The point that Jesus is making with this passage of scripture the she the sheep and the goo based on what they the a scene of judgment that is taking place.

A time where Jesus is dividing out those who have done something from those who have not done something. Here’s, here’s the big picture. Here’s, here’s the big picture. Here’s, here’s the big picture. There is coming a point of judge where all of the nations will be brought together and where you and I will stand before Christ and each person and a So make no mistake here.

The overarching theme in this passage is a passage of judgment based on our. Within this judgment scene, there’s only 2 classes of Many of you probably know the name George Vernon, right? If you don’t know George, you know his brother Steve. George Vernon oftentimes would tell people, he says, Well, I have friends on both sides of the fence and I stand with my friends. Other words, he likes to straddle the fence.

In this particular scene, Jesus makes it clear there is no straddling the fence. Your 1 or the Look at verse 30. Then the king will say to those on his right hand, come you blessed of my 4. And here at the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. What is Jesus saying?

He to throated of Revelation. Jeezus equates heaven as the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the into the everlasting for the devil. Making a very clear statement in this judgment scene. There is no middle a part of the kingdom of God and welcomed into eternal life, or you are part of the kingdom of Satan that is doomed for destruction. It’s one of the 2.

Doomed for destruction. It’s one of the this. From Now, I want it to be very clear here. We have taken a passage of scripture, made a proof text, something that has to be put in the full context of scripture. How are we saved?

And we can’t just take this passage of scripture and just say, well, this is all that there is to say about salvation. No, no, no. Paul was very clear saved by grace through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. And we all say what? Amen, right?

Not all about our trying and our striving and all about our work that saves us. Jesus was clear that salvation comes from repentance from Both Jesus and salvation, our salvation that comes by faith must produce some. Jaws was plain that yes, we’re saved by repenting of our sins. Something different from what we were doing before. Repentance literally means turning from So Jesus tells us that when we have been saved, it produces produce.

Salvation produces produce in a person’s life. And Now, we ground? Now, we live in a little bit of a different day. I thought of this illustrator. If you don’t know what kind of tree you have growing in your yard by looking at its bark and its leaves, what do you do?

I know that because the other week, brother Austin was over at my house, and I’d bought my wife a gardenia or not a gardenia, a hydrangea bush. Took a picture of it and pulled it up. And if you want to know what kind of tree you have, one of the ways you can tell is wait until it starts dropping its produce, right? If you have acorns that drop, what do you have? If it drops one of those 2, what do you have?

Well, it depends. You may have a pecan tree or you have a pecan tree. Right? If it starts dropping oranges, what do you have? You have an orange tree.

You know what kind of a tree it is based on the fruit that drops from that. Jisas says the way in which he is going to be able to identify in this judgment scene, what kind of a tree you were, draw. JESUS says, I will know the root that you were tapped into and the fruit that you produce in your life. And then, Barclay said, this is one of the most vivid parables which Jesus ever spoke. And the lesson of it is crystal.

He says the lie. It’s the God will judge us in accordance with our reaction to human point of this particular It’s the point that Jesus is trying to get across in this passagestra. If you want to boil it down to anything, what Jesus is going to look at is Did you live out the commandments of God? Did you love me with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? And what is the second commandment?

The second commandment To love your neighbor as yourself. Life, Vine and not produce without producing acts of or connected to the source of the vine, then you live out the life of that vine. Don’t you live out the life of that vine, don’t you? You live out the life of that vine. The life of that vine.

Don’t you live out the nutrients that flow through that trunk that come from the root and feed the branch. And if you are connected to that vine, then you will, you will live out. Jesus says you will bear much I understand when we or personal holiness. And when I say personal, I mean by that the separation from the world and its broadest, of those acts of piety are essential expressions of our faith, but they’re not the most important acts that we do. But they’re not the most important acts that we do.

And they’re not the most important acts that we do.

And they’re not the most important acts that we do. And act. And just say to us this morning, I believe in the importance of daily scripture reading and living out all of those But when we get to heaven, Jesus is not going to ask us. When we get to heaven, Jesus is not going to ask Did you your bible everyday Did you go to church every time the door was open? Now, everybody hears me clearly this morning, don’t you?

I’m not saying that prayer and Bible reading and church attendance is not important. Everybody hear me? Say amen. But according to this passage of scripture, what Jesus is going to look at is All of that stuff do anything internally to produce fruit in your life. And all of that stuff do anything internally to produce fruit in your life.

And your. And just say for the yesterday, today, and acts of piety. They go through all of the acts of piety.

They go through all of the of piety. They go through all of the things that they’re supposed to do. But they failed in the most important and God judges them for it. Can I give you 2 examples? Maybe you want to turn to Micah Chapter 4.

You may want to turn as well to Isaiah chapter Lord says. Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and you strong foundations of the earth for the Lord has a complaint contention with Israel. Oh, my people, the Lord says. For I brought you up from the land of Egypt. I redeemed you from the house of bondage and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

Oh, my people remember now. Balaam, the son of Beor, answered from Acacia Grove to Gilgal that you may know the righteousness of the gal that you may know the righteousness of the -Shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the most Shall I come before him with burn offerings, with calves, a year? Will the Lord be pleased with 1,000 of rams, 10000 rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my. Or arods, did commanded Israel to do.

Absolutely. They were God had told Israel, you need to bring a sacrifice, and you need to bring a participate into the in the festivities, in the festivals of Israel, to participate into the in the festivities, in the festivals of Israel, reminding themselves of what God had done for them. Those would be the equivalent in our day of things like our daily our coming to church, our giving of our ties and our church, our giving of our ties and offer. All of those things. They’re so many say amen.

They’re important. But if you keep reading in Mica’s account, this is what the Lord’s. And what does the Lord require But to do just to love mercy and to walk humbly with your sacrifices and worship the Lord and do all of those things. The Lord says, you have failed to do something of even greater importance. He says, cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet.

Tell my people their transgression in the house of Jacob their sins, forsake the ordinance of their god. They ask of me the ordinances of justice. They take delight in approaching, you find pleasure and exploit all your labors. Indeed, you find pleasure and exploit all your labors. Indeed, you fast for strife and debate and to strike with the fist of wicked.

Right. Is it a fast that I have chosen the voice of the Lord speaking to his and you’ve done all of these things. You’ve gone through all of the motions and you’re doing this fast and you’re going through all of this stuff. Is this really what I desire? It’s just not the fast that I have chosen.

It’s just a reward speaking. Is this not the fast that I’ve chosen to lose the bonds of wickedness and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out? When you see the naked that you cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh, then your light shall break forth like the morning. Your healing shall spring forth speedily and your righteousness shall go before you. Rear guard.

Then you shall call and the Lord will answer. You shall cry and he will say, here I am. If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of your finger, the speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry Lord will guide you continually Those from among you shall build the old waste places. You shall raise up the foundations of many generations. You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets, streets to dwell in.

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honor and shall honor him not doing your own ways nor finding your own pleasure nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the. And I will cause you to ride on the high heels of the earth and feed you with the heritage of Jacob, your father, the mouth of the Lord. What your the mouth of the Lord has spoken. What is Isaiah saying to us? And yes, all of those things are important.

You’re fast. You’re going through all of those things. But all of those and Is this not the fast that the Lord has strivenced to clothe the naked, to care for the afflict I’m saying that Jesus is telling us this morning from Matthew chapter 20 5 in a broader sense from his entire connection between our relationship with God and what we do. There’s a direct correlation between our relationship with God and our care for humanity. And can I just tell us from this passage of scripture, Jesus, it And can I just tell us from this passage of scripture, Jesus says, it will be identified by where you spend eternity?

I just tell you if that doesn’t sober us this morning, it should. Fellow neighbor, how I treat the people around me, ultimately reveal where I spend eternity. Makes clear a couple of things about the nature of these works that he’s calling us to. Let me give just 2 of them real quick to you.

And real quick to you. And real quick to you. And real quick to you. And real quick to you. And real quick to you.

And real quick to you. And real quick to you. And real quick to you. And real quick to you. And real quick to you.

And real quick to you. And scenes that Jesus acknowledges in Matthew chapter 25 are a source. It doesn’t take great wealth. It doesn’t take great fame. It doesn’t take a lot of money.

It’s something that all of us can do. Look at it. I was hungry. It’s getting about lunchtime. It It’s Getting About Lunch.

JESUS says I was hungry and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.

What’s Jesus saying? Listen. The things that you and I do don’t have to be some sort of earth shattering event that draws great fanfare or attention. It’s simple things that Jesus says, if you are connected to me, you will do a if you are connected to me, you will do what I did. And it’s the simple acts of how we treat one another.

None of what Jesus mentioned requires any great gifts. Or any great wealth. Second one. All of these events were not calculated. All of these events were not calculated.

None of them were calculated. In fact, whenever he says this to the sheep, the sheep look at Jesus and say, what are you talking about? When did we feed you? When did we see when did we give you something to drink? I never saw you naked and gave you something to clothe yourself.

I never saw you in prison. I didn’t know you were even sick, Lord. What are you talking about? And jesus, when you did it unto the least of these, my brother. You did it unto me.

Can I just say to us this morning, you and I have no idea? The people that we encounter on a daily basis that just need a cup of cold water, or need a hamburger, or need a shirt, and visit with them. You and I have no idea, jeez. For the righteous, they thought they had done nothing special. And on the flip side, the wicked and lazy it was you, sure, we’d have given if we had known that it was you, sure, we’d have given you something to drink.

We’d have given you something to eat. But because it was just humanity, it’s not a big deal. Do you catch that from this passage of scripture? Do you see that? In essence, they If only they would have that homeless person prison.

Oh, they would have gone in. And just tell us this morning what Jesus is trying to communicate to and if you’re not even able to do something like that, you’re connecting them with places that can give them a place. And I just tell us there are some homeless ministries around here, miracle. There’s a place down here in Pickens that you can connect people with. It may be as simple as buying somebody a sleeping bag so that they have something to sleep in.

And you may not realize it, but that fella that’s bearded and smells bad. And you say, no, it’s not Jesus. Now, I have, I’ve met Jesus, the homeless man. At least that’s what he told me. It’s a year ago.

I met this fellow, And what you and I may be doing is walking away. And that a guy he had sung called What if Jesus comes back like that? What if Jesus comes back as a hobo. Hobo? What if Jesus comes back as a hobo?

What if Jesus comes back as a hobo?

What if Jesus comes back as a hobo? A kid who was born to a mother who was hooked on And now it’s easy for us to say, what, Jesus isn’t coming back like that. You and I know that. But can I remind us from this passage of scripture?

What Jesus is trying to communicate And the way that you and I treat those people is really how we treat Did I, did I present the gospel to somebody today? It’s not all about did I do something evangelistic. Sometimes it’s just a cup of cold water and Jesus’ name. Sometimes it’s just looking at a homeless person. Want you to know that God loves you and I want you to know that God loves you.

I care about your life. Sometimes it’s as simple as looking to a drug addicted person and you understand that. You understand there’s something inside of me that says, the Lord give me a the way you treat. Someday I’ll stand before and the roots of my soul have been producing fruit, and it will determine where I spend eternity. It may be as simple as helping an unwed murderer.

And unwed and stored and aborting that child. Go in to -Right. -to help house somebody. It may be as simple as helping underprivileged children in this You and I have no idea. The people that we touch, the God would not ask you at your and at the last day how much you have left in your where you have given so and so much to say to you, I was, and you gave me no food.

I was naked and you did not take these words to heart. The important thing is whether you have given to your neighbor and treated your neighbor given to your neighbor and treated him well. The story is told of Martin of Tours. Devoted Christian 4th century did not want to serve in the Roman army but was eventually conscripted into service. While he was in service, the story is told that one day he was traveling, had nothing with him other than he was dressed in his room and draw.

And he came across a poor beggar. In his room and came across the poor beggar. And he dismounted from his horse it was chivalry. It was and I don’t have anything to give to you. I have no idea what I have, I will, and he took off his cloak, his Roman cloak, and he cut it in to and he wrapped it in to and he’s told The story is told that that night, Martin of Tours had a dream, had a vision of Jesus walking through heaven, Wrapped in that half a cloak.

And as he walked, the angels asked him, Jesus, where did you get that cloak? And he said, and by, what is inside what we are tapped into, where our roots are grounded, and my rares, degree that, yes, we love you with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But help us to love our neighbor. And to do to those who are hurting and broken. And were connected to the let’s stand together as we close this morning.

Father, this morning, I confess that it is so easy to look at a broken world around us and see ruined lives, wrecked lives, And turn our nose and walk away. Lord, would you somehow, through the help of your spirit, would you illuminate our hearts to the reality that the way in which we treat the hurting and the broken and the wounded around us, That’s the way that we treat you. And Lord, someday we’re going to stand before you, and we’re going to give an account of what we have done. And I pray this morning that you would stir our hearts to see that when we have been redeemed by your grace, you have created us under Christ Jesus for good works in your to do something. Lord, would you help us to be faithful just in the simple acts of life, in the simple things as we go about our daily activity.

Give us eyes to see, Lord, humanity as you see them. And then, father, give us hearts that would respond the ways in which you see in our own hearts. There’s callousness to the hurting world around us. I pray holy spirit that you would take the file of your grace and begin to shave all of those calluses off of our heart. Give us hearts that are tender.

Give us hearts that are broken with what breaks your heart. I pray these things in Jesus name. Father, as we go from here, keep your hand upon us. Bring us back safely to worship you again tonight. We ask it in Jesus name.

Amen. Amen. The Lord bless you. You are dismissed.

I’m inviting you this morning to turn in your bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3 last week.

Again, a series of messages entitled do something. And we looked particularly at Ephesians chapter 2 and the idea that God has created us in Christ Jesus for something. What were we created for? Somebody help me out. To do good works.

So god has redeemed us for more than just us to sit and say, what a blessing. I my sins are forgiven. That’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it? Amen? We rejoice in that.

But he has redeemed us to do something. He’s created us in Christ Jesus for good works. There is a tight correlation between our salvation by grace through faith and our good works. You cannot separate faith and good works. I should have asked you.

I think I mentioned to you, brother Austin, last week that, he gave me a phrase. I believe it was your sister. Is that correct? Gave to you. And I think I got it right.

I wrote it down. But I liked it so well, I thought I need to share that. This is what she said. Faith without works is like spirit without a body. That’s a ghost.

And works without faith is like a body without a spirit, that’s a corpse, but faith with works is life. And so I think it’s essential for us to understand when we have been redeemed, when we have been made new creatures nothing, then we may be just a corpse or we may just be a ghost. We’ve got to put those together. Now, I didn’t tell you last week what good works you’re to do, did I? I just simply ended it by saying that we’re called to do good works.

We may touch a little bit on that this week, but we’ll probably touch more on it next week. What are we called to do? This morning in particular, as we look at Exodus chapter 3, I want for us to look at this idea that, yes, we’re called to do something, but it’s more than just that we are created to do something, but we are also called to do something. Yes. God has created us in Christ Jesus to do something, but then he calls us to do something.

Gonna invite you to stand with me as we read Exodus chapter 3, a very familiar passage of scripture, I’m sure, to all of us. Exodus chapter 3 beginning in verse 1. If you’re there, say amen. Amen. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of god even to Horeb.

Now that would also be understood as Mount Sinai. This is the place that Israel would eventually go back to and worship the lord when the lord brought them out of Egypt. Verse 2. And the angel of the lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And he looked and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush is not burnt. Sure you would. I would too. If I saw a bush on fire but it wasn’t being consumed, I think I’d stop and take notice too. Verse 4.

And when the lord saw that he turned aside to see, god called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here am I. And he said, draw not hither or draw not nigh hither. Put off thy shoes from off of thy feet for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover, he said, I am the God of thy father, the god of Abraham, the god of Isaac, and the god of Jacob.

And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon god. And the lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt and have heard their cry to reason of their by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land, unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is coming to me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth thy people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.

And Moses said unto the lord god, who am I that I should go unto pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, certainly, I will be with thee. And this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee. When thou has brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve god or worship god upon this mountain. Let’s bow our heads together.

Father, this morning, we need your help as we allow your spirit to speak truth to our hearts. Would you open our ears, not just our physical ears, but, lord, our spiritual ears. Give us ears to hear your voice today. And I pray, Lord, that you would give us hearts that would be receptive to respond to your voice as you speak to us. Lord, I believe that even in this day, you are calling us to do something.

So give us ears to hear your voice this morning by the help of your spirit. I pray in Christ’s name. Amen. You may be seated. I have a special love for this particular passage of scripture, and one of those reasons is because the second message I ever preached was from Exodus chapter 3.

I assure you that’s not the message that I’m preaching this morning. I can’t even tell you where that message is. Well, I probably could tell you. It’s somewhere consumed by, a landfill somewhere, I’m sure. I don’t know that I still have the notes, to that sermon.

And if I did, I’d probably be embarrassed to look back and read them. This particular passage of scripture fascinates me. We’re stepping into the middle of an account in scripture of god’s work in human history, his work in Israel’s history. I would suggest or say that probably for all of us this morning, we know the background of this particular account. Moses is born in a time of Israel’s history when Israel’s in captivity.

You know the backstory to that. If you go back into the book of Genesis, you discover that a famine sweeps across Canaan. And so, as a result of that, Joseph had been sold into slavery before this. As a result of the famine that took place, the sons of Jacob have come down to Israel to find food, and they encounter who? Joseph.

And through the course of time, Israel moves down to Egypt. They’re, established in Goshen. But as you read the opening verses of Exodus, you discover that pharaoh passes on, Joseph passes on, time lapses, Israel grows in prosperity as far as people. The nation of Israel grows and they become a mighty force. And then it’s recorded that there rose up a king in Egypt who knew not Joseph, began to conspire with the leadership and said, you know, it’s not a good thing that Israel has advanced like they have.

Should we be attacked, they’ll turn on us. They’re mightier than we are. And so they’re forced into captivity, and in that period of time, God places Joseph or I’m sorry. Places Moses right in the middle of that time frame, right in a time frame when pharaoh has said to the midwives of Egypt, every male child born to an Israelite woman, a Hebrew woman, you destroy. If you’ve read the account, if you know the account, you know that the midwives, they struggle with that whole idea of aborting these Hebrew children.

And when Jochebed gives birth to Moses, she looks at him and finds that he’s a very beautiful child and so she hides him. And then to protect him, places him in a basket, takes him down to the Nile, puts him in the Nile River. I want for us to just capture some of what’s going on through all of this. God has raised up Moses in this time period. Then he puts Moses in a basket in the Nile at a time that pharaoh’s daughter comes to the river to bathe.

What a coincidence. Stroke of good luck. Right? No. No.

It is the sovereignty of God that has put Moses where he’s at for his divine purpose. It’s not by chance that pharaoh’s daughter finds Joseph, knows that he’s a Hebrew. In fact, if you go back, you can go back and read the first part of Exodus. And when she opens the basket, she recognizes this is a Hebrew child. You know what’s to happen to the Hebrew boys?

They’re to be destroyed. Who are we talking about? Pharoah’s daughter. Pharoah’s the one who has asked that all of the Hebrew male children be destroyed. And now here comes Pharoah’s daughter, finds 1 and says, oh, no no no no no no.

No. This one will be mine. And here is Miriam waiting in the wings to say, hey. I know somebody that can nurse this child, takes Moses back to Jochebed, raises him up. Joe or, Moses ends up, after he’s been weaned, in the house of pharaoh to be educated, trained by the greatest, at that time, in the greatest realm of learning.

Wow. What a coincidence. Stroke of good luck. Right? No.

Can I just remind us this morning as I read Acts chapter 17 when Paul’s on Mars Hill and he is presenting the gospel to those who have gathered in the Areopagus, he says, god has appointed the times and the habitation of all men? Do you know what that says to me today? It’s not by chance that you were born in this time. You are here on purpose. God designed and created you purposefully for this very moment.

He’s put you where you live for a purpose. He has redeemed you for a purpose. Maybe I could just tie this back in with what we looked at last week. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which god prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. I need to remind us this morning that God knew where you would be, when you would be born, where you would live, and he’s put you here intentionally.

Amen? The same way that he had placed Moses right where he placed him, put him in the place to receive the best of education. You and I know the conclusion to that story. As a young man, somewhere around 40 years old, Moses goes out. He knows he’s a Hebrew.

He observes the way the Egyptian is treating this Hebrew. He kills him, buries him in the sand. The next day when he finds 2 Hebrews fighting amongst themselves and he goes to stop them, they say, what? You’re gonna kill us like you did the Egyptian? You’re gonna treat us the same way?

And Moses becomes keenly aware, oh, no. I’ve been found out. And he runs. And for the next 40 years, Moses has been on the run. Now he’s on the backside of the desert.

He’s tending his father in law’s sheep on the backside of the desert. And right in the middle of the backside of the desert, guess who comes calling? Moses wasn’t out looking for God but God was out looking for Moses. God knew that he had purpose and design and a plan for Moses’ life and so he goes to the backside of the desert and he lights a bush on fire that doesn’t burn. And I can only imagine as I mean, just try to picture this if you have any sense of imagination.

Try to picture yourself on the backside of a barren desert, a bunch of sheep, and all of a sudden there is a bush burning and it’s not burning. I mean, it’s not being consumed. Tell me you wouldn’t respond as Moses did. Woah. Look at the butane bush.

Check it out. It it’s burning, but it’s not being consumed. And god gets his attention. God lights a bush in the backside of a desert where nothing is happening, it would seem, but god is there. And god lights a bush on fire.

And Moses says, I gotta stop and see what’s going on. And as soon as he turns, god begins to speak to Moses. Can I tell you this morning that god’s still burning bushes? Maybe not in a literal sense unless you’re the neighbor of my in laws. A couple months ago, we pulled into their house and I looked over and the side of their house, all of the vinyl siding was just melted down.

And the bush that was right there was burnt. It was a crisp. I don’t know that God spoke from that burning bush. He might have. He might have said, if you wanna use your, your homeowner’s insurance policy, just do that again.

K. I don’t know the ways that god may be calling in your life, but I need for us to know this morning that god is still lighting bushes on the backside of deserts trying to get people’s attention to say, I’ve got something for you. Look at verse 7 if you have your bible still open. When God gets Moses’ attention, when he when he’s got his full attention, He says, Moses, don’t come any closer. Take off your sandals.

The ground that you’re on is holy ground. And then god begins to talk to Moses, and this is what he says. And the lord said, I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. Now I want you to keep in mind these are God’s people that God is talking about. God’s talking about these are the children of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

This is my promised people. I have seen the oppression and the affliction of my people. But the reality is that the Israelites are very far from where god wants them to be. If you begin to read the rest of the old testament, you discover that the Hebrews are not the Israelites, they’re not, well, they’re not actively just engaged in full on bible study and, you know, just serving Yahweh as they ought to. In fact, you read and they’ve picked up all of the trappings of Egypt.

They’re worshiping their idols. In fact, they take some of them with them when they leave Egypt. But god says I see the affliction of my people. And again, if I can just remind us this morning, church, god still sees the affliction of his people. God sees the affliction of those that he’s created in his image that he loved so desperately, loved enough for the purpose why we just celebrated Easter, loves them so much.

He sees the suffering of those that he sent his son to bleed and die for, to pay the penalty of their sin. He still sees the suffering of his people. God notices the burden that they’re under. In this particular case, he sees the slave drivers, the taskmasters that are forcing labor upon them. He sees their affliction.

He says, I’ve seen it and I’ve also heard it. I’ve heard their groanings. And, church, if somehow this morning, you and I can have eyes to see and ears to hear this morning. You and I would see a world that is broken and suffering. We would hear the cries of people saying, I need deliverance.

I’m caught. I need something. I need someone. So many of those ones, the something is drugs or alcohol or illicit sexual relationships or all forms of trying to fill that void. And if you and I could hear the cry of the world around us, we would hear people groaning under travail.

We’d also hear the voice of the Lord saying, I see and I hear. God sees their suffering. Look at verse 8. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from the land to a good and a large land. Now bear with me for just a moment.

I imagine at this point, Moses says, yes, lord. Yes. I’m glad you see and you hear. And then whenever the lord says, I have come down, I’m sure, Moses is saying, come on down, lord. Just come on down.

Go get them. They’re bad people. Just wipe the Egyptians out. They’re terrible. You see what they’re doing.

You know all about it. Go do something about it. I have to imagine that Moses is probably getting a little excited at this point. He knows that he’s a Hebrew. He knows that that’s his people.

And he hears the voice of the lord saying, I’ve seen their suffering. I’ve heard their cries, and I’m gonna come down and do something about it. And I imagine Moses saying, oh, yes, lord. This is great. This is wonderful.

It’s gonna be a great thing. Oh, my people are gonna be delivered from their taskmasters. Their cries are gonna be relieved. And I’m sure Moses is excited. And then God says the strangest thing in the world.

I’ve heard their cry. I’ve seen their affliction. I’ve come down, and then verse 10. Come now, therefore, and I will send you. And at that mo at that point, Moses says, woah.

Wait a second, lord. I was with you until that point. Like the idea that you hear their cry? Like the idea that you see their suffering? Like the idea that you’re coming down?

Don’t like the idea that I’m to do something. Let’s go back just a little bit, lord. Strike them. Come on. You see it.

You’re coming down. Do something. And the lord says I will. I will. I want you to go.

Therefore, I will send you to pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And I have to imagine at that moment, Moses says, oh, lord. That’s not what I thought you were gonna say. I thought surely, you saw the affliction, you heard their cry, and you said you were coming down. I thought surely you were gonna do something.

Maybe something like you did in the day of Noah. Maybe you’d come in and you’d wipe out all of the Egyptians, but you want me, lord? Can I just tell us this morning, church, that god’s plan to come down and to deliver Israel was through the person of Moses The same way that God hears the cry and sees the oppression of his people today and desires to come down, he does it through people? It’s through you and it’s through me. Here’s the valuable principle.

When God chooses to work in the world, he’s chosen to do it through the means of human personalities. He’s chosen to do it through you and through me. There is a song. It’s a newer song. It came out a number of years ago that if I could just give you kind of the concept of the song, the songwriter talks about seeing the oppression of the world around suffering in poverty, and he sees people who are being trafficked, and he sees people that are being afflicted.

And the song says that he turns towards heaven and says, God, why don’t you do something? And it goes on a little farther and the songwriter says that he sees all of these things that are going on and he finally looks to heaven and says, God, why don’t you do something? And the chorus says, I did. I created you. If not you, then who?

If not now, then when? Church, can I remind us this morning that God still hears the cry of his people? And he wants to come down, but he is calling you and I to be the hands and the feet that do, caught in addiction, ministering to those that are just like the ones that will come through the doors down here at crisis pregnancy. He’s using an alert right like that. All right.

Right there is the burning bush. Don’t know whose bush is burning, but the Lord’s calling. Speaking to us today to say, I see and I hear and I know, but I’m calling you to go. And I think that have kept reading her. If we would have continued to read in this passage of scripture, you find that Moses has a lot of we read the first one.

Who am I? Who am I that should go to pharaoh? What’s he saying? God, I’m just me. Furthermore, Lord, you know exactly why I left there.

God says, don’t let your past hinder you. Maybe I need to just stop here for a moment. In of what God has called us to. Now, does the past sometimes impact what we’re able to do? Sure, it does.

Sure, it does. Moses felt inadequate. Moses felt like this is out of my comfort zone. How many of you have ever felt out of your comfort zone? How many like to live out of their comfort zone?

Nobody wants to live out of their comfort zone. Nobody wants to live out of their comfort zone, do they? No. We all like that comfortable place but there are times that the voice of the Lord says, I want you to go. You’re my hands.

You’re my feet. You’re the one that’s going to respond to the cries of my people. Is God calling you this morning out of your comfort zone? I can’t. Who am I?

Versus 13. What will I say? I don’t know what to say. Chapter 4, verse 1. What if they don’t believe Verse 10 of chapter 4, I don’t talk well, Lord.

I I I I I stuttered. Lord Lord Lord, how you know, literally, that’s more than likely what Moses struggled with. He had a stutter, was not able to talk well. Moses was a good excuser. And many times, you and I are good excusers too, aren’t we?

The Lord says, I see and I hear and I’ve come down. Now go. And we say, but Lord but Lord, here’s a reason why I can’t that’s a reason why I can’t No. God asks Moses a very interesting question. When he says, I want you to go, and Moses has all the excuses, God has just one question for him.

Chapter 4, you may want to look at it. Verses 2 and 3. So the Lord said to him, Moses, what’s that in your hand? Staff? Sheepstick?

I got a rod. What am I to do with the rod, Lord? Down and immediately becomes a world class sprinter. The rod becomes a snake and Moses says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I think Moses must have this had this must have had the same feelings about snakes that I have.

I know black snakes are good snakes. The only good snake is a dead snake. All right. Moses ran and the Lord said, Moses, come back. Pick up the stick.

And Moses picks it up and it becomes a rod. I’m sorry, pick up the snake. He picks it up. It becomes a rod. Moses, put your hand in your coat.

He puts it in. Bring it out. Bring it back out, Lord, it’s whole. The Lord says, Moses, what you have in your hand is enough because I’m enough. If I’ve called you, I will go with you.

Church, I believe this is the reason why last Sunday night, we looked at Exodus chapter 30 3 and Moses’ plea to be able to I’m sorry, this was on Wednesday night. Moses’ going to go up with you anymore in Exodus chapter 33. The reason Moses says, if you don’t go up, I’m not going is because Moses understands, Lord, you’re my only. Comes through you and me. We are called to do something.

I don’t know what that may be in your life. I don’t know what that good work is necessarily in your life. Spirit of God may be putting on you. Maybe there are some that the Holy Spirit is saying, you know what? You have a real heart make sure that you’re help have a heart for people that are in poverty.

It might mean that the Lord has you go to places that you would you wouldn’t feel comfortable with, but the Lord says, That’s where I want you. They need to hear. I’m hearing and I’m seeing and I’m trying to get your attention to go and to do something. Many of you may be aware of the story of Dave Wellkerson. Anybody heard the story of Dave Wilkerson?

There’s several of you. Dave Wilkerson was a pastor in Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania 1950 8, there was a Time Magazine article that came out. Front cover was a picture of 7 teenagers that were on trial for the death, a murder that they committed. These 7 guys were a part of a gang in the city of New York City. That Time Magazine became a burning bush for Dave Wilkerson.

He saw all those young men and he was so moved. He drove all the way to New York City. He went into the courtroom where the trial was ongoing for these 7 boys. He went to the judge and he stopped the court proceedings, and he asked the judge, can I speak to these 7 boys? The judge denied his request.

On his way out, Dave Wilkerson was photographed As the man who stopped the trial for these 7 boys. And God began to stir Dave Wilkerson’s heart. Team challenge, began to work in the inner cities, build up a global ministry, moved eventually back to moved to, Texas, moved the ministries to Texas, was there for a number of years. And then in the seventies, I’m sorry, the mid 60s, 1986, Dave Wilkerson was back in New York City. He was walking down through Times Square.

At that particular time, Times Square, Manhattan was notorious as a place of filth. There were strip clubs all along there. There were bars, x rated, places that you could stop. Absolute debauchery. As he was making his way down 42nd Street, he began to cry out to the Lord, God, you gotta do something here.

You’ve gotta do something right here walking by people that were tripping on drugs. Can I just tell us today, If you and I were to walk down the streets in the suburb of Kensington, outside of Philadelphia, or a part of Philadelphia, you know what you would see? Anybody ever seen the pictures? People that literally look like zombies standing there frozen, Why are they there? Because they’re in captivity.

And can I tell you this morning that God sees and he hears that? And he says, I’ve come down. You say, but I don’t live in Kensington. No, you don’t. You live in Easley or wherever it is that you live if your knows exactly where you’re at and he’s put you there on purpose and this morning I believe he’s wanting to light some bushes on fire and say Wilkerson, that night felt the call of God as he walked down saying, God, you got to do something.

Lord said, I did. He created you. Dave Wilkerson went back, founded and pastored Times Square Church for years. Was killed in a car accident back 2011, I believe it was. The ministries that he started, Global Ministries now, are still going on.

Now I know, probably a lot of us say, I’m not a Dave Wilkerson. Guess what? I’m not either. I’m Jonathan Slagan White Kendrick Milton, and you’re Maryland French, and you’re Bob Ravenscraft. Number of years ago, a day.

And they told me an account. He was Moved to Dayton, Ohio. The church was smaller and, he started a side business, a lawn business to supplement his income. And the church had grown over a number of years and he was finally at a point where he said, it was time to get rid of the business. I just I need to let it go.

But there was a guy that he had been ministering to for several years or a period of time anyways, older fella, mid to late fifties as I recall, didn’t have a job. And John said, I was praying 1 morning business. Got a lawn business? So the Lord said, want you to hire that guy you’ve been ministering to. Hire him to work your lawn business.

That’s what you’ve got in your hand. Use it. John hired that guy, became the guy that ran his business on that side, gave him a job, provided an opportunity for him, provided opportunity for further mentoring discipleship. That brings it a little closer to home for us. It’s not just people that have worldwide names that God has put something in their hands.

It’s you and it’s me. And the Lord says, I want you to do something. I’m calling you to do something. I’m calling you to respond to the brokenness of the world around us, inviting us to stand this morning as we close. I’d like for brother Parker to come and lead us in the song that we sang just a moment ago, your love compels me, Lord.

Do something. You may not even know what it is that the Lord wants you to do. Or maybe you’re just simply saying, Lord, I’m gonna make myself available whatever you want me to do. Teach a Sunday school class. Work in this ministry.

Do whatever. Lord, I’m available. I want to hear and I want to see as you hear and see and I want to respond when your voice says, just want to gather around the front. You don’t even have to kneel. You just Those that are willing to say, Lord, as you call me, as your love compels me, I will respond.

And I’m stepping out to say, Lord, here am I. Use me. Those that are willing to say that, if you want to just come and let’s stand together and we’re going to close in prayer in just a moment. But as we hear the voice of God as he says, I see and I hear one to draw. Are you willing to respond to that?

Lord, let your love compel us. Let’s sing this together as we close. 11. Your love compels me, Father, this morning, your love is compelling us. I pray that through the power of your spirit, you would speak to us today.

Light a bush on fire before us. Help us, lord, to see what you see. And then, father, give us a will to cooperate as your spirit says, now go, now do, serve, give. Lord, would you give us hearts that just say, Lord, here am I. Use me.

We give our lives to you today. We surrender our future to you. Whatever your desire is for us, Lord, give us hearts that are ready and obedient to respond to your call. I pray it in Jesus name. Father, go with us.

May your spirit continue to work in us. May it not just be a matter that we hear a truth and we respond in the moment, but Lord, may this truth stir us to do more than just hear, but help us to respond, I pray. In Jesus’ name, amen. Amen. The Lord bless you.

You are dismissed.

I’m inviting you this morning to turn in your bibles. Guess where?

Back to James chapter 1. Remember the broken record from last week? We’re just gonna let that record keep playing. Alright? We’re gonna come back to this, and I wanna look at one particular element as we kinda round out, what I did not intend to be a series on the word of God.

If you have not enjoyed this, it’s Jim’s fault. Alright? This is all Jim’s fault. The other week when we were gathered at, up at Butterbean’s for our men’s morning breakfast on Tuesday, Jim asked the question, how do we hear the word? Yes.

We’re to be quick to hear, but how do we hear the word? What does that look like? And last week, I tried to help us as we began to identify if we’re gonna hear the word, we’ve got to identify the hindrances, things that block out us hearing the word. And last week in particular, we joined James chapter 1, with Matthew chapter 13 and the parable of the what? Sower.

Right? Not the soils. The sower. We looked at the extravagance of God to sow the word. Then we also looked at the ways in which we hear that word and how that word interacts with us.

We talked about the fact that there are times that the word is snatched away because of lack of understanding. We don’t understand what we’ve heard. We talked about being distracted listeners. There are times that the things of this world distract us from hearing what the word has to say. We looked at the idea that sometimes we’re selective hearers, aren’t we?

Like that, like that, don’t like that. There are times that we’re we like to take our little razor knife and cut out sections and say, yeah, it’s a little hard so we put it aside. It’s exactly what we looked at last week. But then there are times that the word of god falls on fertile soil and it bears fruit. That word becomes engrafted and all of a sudden it begins to produce something.

And the idea is that Jesus says there are times that it produces a 160 and 30 fold. And so this morning, we’re gonna come back to James chapter 1, and I wanna talk to us not so much about the hindrances. We’ve already dealt with that. We gotta work it with what we had last week. I wanna talk about developing ears to hear.

Once we begin to remove those hindrances, how do we develop ears that can hear the word? Gonna invite you to stand as we read our passage from James chapter 1. We’re gonna look specifically at just one verse, but I wanna read the entire text. James chapter 1, we’re gonna begin in verse 19. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of god. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity and naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass, for he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whosoever looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueeth therein, he being not a forget fore hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

You may be seated. Before we be go any farther, I meant to mention earlier, welcome to each one of you and welcome to our guests. We have a number of guests with us this morning, and, we wanna say a special welcome. We do have a special guest among us. It’s so good to have brother and sister Eads with us today, Doug and Judy, our conference president and, and first lady.

And she reminded me this morning his only lady too. So just wanna clarify that, first and only lady. And, he agrees that one is enough. And I’m just gonna I want you guys to know because you would not know what just went through my mind, but I want you to know that I just showed some great restraint. You can ask me afterwards how I showed great restraint, but I’ll leave it there.

Alright? It is so good to have them with us, actually. I believe this is brother and sister Edes’ 2nd time to be in Easley and first time at this church. It was a number of years ago that they were here for a funeral back at the old church and, so good to have brother and sister Eads with us. He will be preaching this evening, sharing with us and, so looking forward to that, and I trust you will come back for that.

We’re looking at James chapter 1. I specifically wanna focus on verse 19. Verse 19. If you have your Bible still open, let’s look at it together. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear.

How can we be swift to hear and what does that mean? What does it mean to be swift to hear? As I was looking through this text and thinking about our time together and desiring for the lord’s leadership for what does it mean for us to hear, how do we develop ears to hear, I was struck by the context in which this verse falls. I hope you have your Bible still open because I want you to look at the broad text in which James says these words that we are to be swift to hear. I’ve preached on this verse.

I’ve taught from this verse for a number of years, but I don’t know that I’ve ever fully grasped the broad context in which this passage of scripture falls. So if you look at some important elements of this text, it’s talking about our hearing. Right? It’s talking about our speaking, but it also talks about our emotion that we’re not to be swift to get angry. So that means that we are called to be quick to hear well, let me just broaden that out even a little more.

All of that falls in the context of what? The word of god. So it’s talking about our hearing, talking about our speaking, talking about our emotion, anger, but all of that in the context of the word. That means that we’re called to be quick to hear the word of god. What does that mean to be quick to hear the word of god?

Well, maybe you think that means that the preacher should be short. I’m gonna call him out. Tyler, don’t nod your head and brother Scott hush. It’s not what it means. You know, I’ve thought of this over the years.

This is not in my notes, but this is a side note. You know, preachers have a really tough job because we get paid and for the most part, it’s people are saying, we wanna pay you to preach short. That’s really hard. Let me move on. Alright?

Does not mean that I’m to be short. Alright? Let me assure you that’s not its meaning. Let me share with you a thought that came to my mind as I was preparing for this morning. This context of hearing, speaking, emotions, our anger, and our doing of this word.

I think we run the danger to be quick to speak the word of god to others, initiating or inciting anger from them rather than contemplating the word through our listening. Maybe I could give us an example of that from the life of Jesus. Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 7 in particular, Jesus says these words, judge not that ye not be judged. For with the judgment that you pronounce, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Or how can we say to your or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. I think there’s an element of joining this passage of scripture together with the idea of James chapter 1 of our being quick to hear. How many of you would say that you find it easy, when you hear a passage of scripture preached or you read a text then it’s really easy to see how that applies to another brother or sister in Christ. Anybody with me?

Maybe I should change my text this morning to the 10 commandments because there’s a bunch of liars here this morning. You know, the natural man, when we read scripture, it’s easy for us to see how that fits in somebody else’s life and it’s easy for us to want to correct others. That’s why Jesus tells us this very truth in Matthew chapter 7. Because so many times we’re we are really quick to speak what we’ve heard rather than for us to be swift for us to hear ourselves. It’s easy to wanna take the pitchfork.

I talked about this last week, and we wanna pitchfork it on to somebody else rather than to take the spoon and take that word into our own life. But how do we do that? How do we develop a heart that hears the word of god? I wanna give us 5 things and kinda round it out maybe with a 6th thought this morning of how do we become hearers of the word, swift to hear. This is not a part of it, but I think one of the things that we need to address right up front that I notice about hearing is that hearing begins by the gracious moving of God.

God is a God who speaks. He is an initiator to communicate with us. Amen? Amen. That’s why we have the word of God is that he has initiated for us to have something to hear.

And so God is the initiator. God is a conversation initiator. He’s a starter. He’s the one that speaks to us. We need to understand that.

Hearing happens through communication and God has communicated to us. And the primary way that God has communicated to us is through his word. He speaks in many ways, but primarily, God communicates to us through his word. So our hearing the word is primarily gonna come through what? Somebody help me.

The word of god. Our hearing is gonna come as the word of god is communicated, whether that’s through preaching, whether that’s through listening to the Bible or that’s through reading a scripture. That’s how we primarily hear the word of god. So let me give you the first way. If we’re gonna develop ears to hear, let me give you the first way that we do that.

If God primarily speaks to us through his word, then the primary way in which we hear God’s voice is through reading and listening to the word. You say, pastor, that is really profound. I know. Let me just bring that down to us a little closer. That means that you and I have to regularly be in the word if we’re gonna hear the word.

Somebody say amen. Amen. Let me ask you this morning, how much time do you spend listening to the voice of god? If this is the primary way through which god speaks to us let me just pause here long enough to say this. The reason that we’re to be listening to the voice of God or reading the word of God is not for a checklist.

Amen? We’re reading the word of God because we wanna know his heart. If we wanna hear what he has to say, then we have to be in his word to allow his word to communicate with us. I remember as a young person developing a reading pattern, and there were days that I felt like I’m not getting all that I’m sure that god is trying to say to me. But I realized that as I would take that element of the word, and I might set it somewhere, I needed these other pieces.

We talked a little bit about this last week. I needed other pieces, other blocks to put down until I could take that piece and put it into its rightful spot. But do you know as you develop a regular pattern of reading God’s word, do you know what happens? All of a sudden, those texts sometimes that you look at and say, I’m not sure what that means, you’ll come back to it a year or 2 or 5 years later and all of a sudden you say, I get it. I understand what that word means.

I’m sorry, sound booth. I just realized I didn’t turn on my wireless. It’s on now. Alright? So one of the ways that we hear the word of god or we hear the voice of god is whenever we read the word.

Sadly, I find that there are times it’s far more easy Let me just say this from a personal standpoint. And if it hits where you’re at, you can say, amen. Alright? I find that it’s easier for me to spend time reading the news, or surfing Facebook, or reading a book, Or engaging in some other activity. I find it far easier to spend my time with that, rather than sitting with my face in this book.

Rather than saying, you know, what really matters, is what I hear from this book. So I would suggest to us this morning that if you want to hear the word of God, He goes on and he said, God speaks. The main reason because every single time God speaks, they’ll just discount what he said is their own idea. What he said is their own idea. And so I would suggest to us this morning, position yourself to hear the word, And you do that by being in the word.

Give you a second way in which we can hear the voice of God. Hearing is enhanced through intimacy with God. Hearing is enhanced through intimacy with God. Jesus, the son of God. Did what He went to the synagogue and he would read from the scrolls.

And then he would also do what? Get away and have time alone that he spent with his father. Time alone that he spent with his father. JEZUS developed into The closer that you get to the Lord, the clearer you can hear his voice. Let me just repeat that.

The closer that you get to the Lord, the clearer you can hear his voice. Let me just repeat that. The closer that you get to the clearer you hear his voice. You say, well, how do I do and listening to his word and doing what his word says. You know, whenever you behold the face of God, right, the idea of beholding, the face of.

God speaks to us even sometimes through non verbal ways. Yeah You know what I’m talking about? Without say in a word, just because they know us. You know there are times that just between spouse relations spousal relationships. You can know what the other is thinking based on the look on their face.

My wife tells me that I’m a terrible liar. Right, figured out how I can whatever I’m doing with my face, it gives it away. You wouldn’t know. Most of you would not know if I told you what I’ve tried. And it was intentionally just a but lie.

Fasting and prayer have become lost arts Law. But do you know one of the ways that God communicates I was so touched by the song that we sang right before we prayed together, for a purpose. -Silently we wait. And how many times do I listen for the voice of God in You know, there have been times that I’ve heard clearly the Lord speak in the Lord speak. And there, and we hadn’t been married very long.

We hadn’t been married very long. And then given an invitation to pastor a church and Al Dibout and didn’t feel a lot of clarity, but I remember saying to Tanya, you know, I think we could go and we can make a go of it in Ta Nehisatt. And I don’t think it’s a right. I don’t think it’s a right. I don’t think it’s a right.

I don’t think it’s a right. I don’t think it’s a right. I don’t think it’s a right. I right. I don’t think it’s a right thing.

And so it’s a right thing. And we turned that down. And then the opportunity arose, I was asked to be the youth pastor at Hope’s Inn. Christmas of, I believe it was 19 90 2,006. Gotta get my years straight.

2,006. I remember being in my parents basement, walking around my father’s pool table. We had some carpet underneath it and I was walking around praying. I remember so clearly But it was in a time of prayer. Stripper, if you go to acts chapter 13, discover the church and there’s within the church, there’s prophets and there’s teachers, and then it goes to naming some names.

There’s Barnabas and there’s Saul and there’s Simeon. In their time of fasting and prayer, the Lord says, set apart their fasting and prayer. To start within our circles. All the eastern, religions and the mystics, they’ve taken over the idea of meditation. You know, there’s great power in meditation.

David said that he would meditate on the word of the Lord day and night. Mediate is allowing the word to just soak in to our hearts, and it begins to break parts of our life and the blockages in our And I know that. And I know that. And I know that. And I know that.

And I know that. And I know that. And I know that. And I know that. And I know that.

And I know that. And I know that. And I know that. And I know that. And I enjoy some of the weirdest.

And anybody, anybody enjoy, ear be cleaned out. You don’t understand. I see, I look at that and I think, oh, man, think of the relief that they’re getting from that. Think of the relief that they’re getting from the They couldn’t hear and now they can hear all I mean, that’s just And that’s just this, if you’ve ever experienced an impacted ear where the wax has gotten build up and harden, it deadens your ability to hear.

It blocks your ability to hear. Do you know what they’ll do? You’ll go in and they’ll put drops in your ear, and they’ll let that soak. Sometimes they’ll do it for days in advance. You’ll put drops in your ears to begin to soften that.

Do you know what? That’s what meditate what an analogy. Some of you will never never be able to forget the idea of meditation in that context. Alright. But the word of God, that’s what it does.

Mind. The ways that you hear the word is as you take time to just stop and meditate. You know, there are times that I’ll start reading, scripture, and something will stand out. And I just and that and meditate give you the final one that I want you to community. You may be saying, what do you mean by you hear the word of God in community?

I want you to think about what it meant for James to say, be a here of the word of God, and He’s not writing to us in 21st century specifically in this sense. He’s writing to an audience that doesn’t have a baby maybe some who are wealthy that may have been able to procure a script or, you know, a score. But by and large, where do they go to hear the word of God? Somebody or they’re going to go to a house where this letter is being read or where somebody has bought a scroll and they’re reading from the word. They’re doing it in community.

They’re doing it in community. They’re doing it in community. And they’re reading from the word. They’re doing it in community. And they’re doing it in community.

And they’re doing it in community. And they’re doing it in community assemble ourselves together and we hear the word together, it gives opportunity for us to be able to talk about that. Life? And what is that doing in your life? What does that mean to you?

Right? What does that mean to you? Right? And what does that mean to you? Right?

And what does that mean to you? Right? And what does that mean to you? Right? And what does that mean to you?

Right? And what does that mean to you? Right? And life? What does that mean to you?

Right? Whenever we hear the word of God, it’s not, well, I’ve got my interpretation, you’ve got your interpretation. No, the Lord intended it for a purpose. We’re not interpretation. You’ve got your interpretation.

No. The Lord intended it for a purpose. But there are times as we begin to talk about the word of God. One of the reasons why I believe what we’re going to start next week is of great importance, is because we’re what we’re going to start next week is of great importance is because as we hear the word of God in community, and then we begin to talk about how do we live this out? And then, oh dear, we’re going to go to be in methodous.

Back to our roots. How do we live that You know, one of the things I’m convinced, I’m convinced that if we were to go back to our roots, many of us wouldn’t like it. It’s true. To Wesley’s class meetings, when the word of God was talked about, and then it was there was application made and then it was not just and made, then there was a What are you doing? Uncomfortable.

Were you living this word out in your life and being held accountable to that word? I was struck. I was doing some reading and I came across some material. The written version of the oral teachings of the scribes and the form many groups and study Torah. You know what Torah is, right?

The early scriptures. Form many groups and study Torah. You know what Torah is, right? The early scriptures. Form many groups and study Torah.

You know what Torah is, right? The early scriptures. Right? The early scriptures. For many groups and study Torah, for Torah is only acquired through the study in a group.

Right that and I’m like, wow. And then I start looking throughout history. Community. Community. And I say, Lord, help us to be people who hear your word in community where we’re talking about the word of God together and we’re discussing about how it applies to our lives, and then we’re holding each other accountable.

Amen? To our we hearing the word and living it out. Let me give you the last one, just very quickly. This is the 6. This is the capstone.

I believe that the that probably the most overlooked truth about hearing the word is the fact that we have not truly heard the word until we respond in obedience. You know, I’m told that the Jewish fathers did not consider their children to have heard scriptures until their children did what the scripture said. For example, the Passover. Whenever they would have their Passover Seder, they would do this as a part of teaching their children the importance, but they didn’t consider their children to have learned it, to have truly hurt it until they did it. And I believe James ties that to us today.

Word. When we put all of these things into practice, we’re in the word. We’re listening to the word. Meditate in us. We’re listening for the voice of God through prayer and we’re hearing the word of God through community.

Truely become here whenever it’s more than just sound. And I say, Lord, make us true hearers of the word, Demonstrated through our actions. Amen? Lord Quicken your word, make it active in our lives. Help us to be hearer.

Help us to be hearers. So we can be doers. Let’s stand together as we close in prayer. COURTNEY: And reminded this morning of the song that says word of God speak. Your majesty?

Or teach us to be still and know that you are God. I pray that for us this morning as a. To put into practice the things that we’ve talked about this morning, so that we would be able to hear your word to us. That we would be quick to hear. Laura, help us to do more as we looked at a couple weeks ago.

Help us to be more than just hearers. Help us to be And I pray that you would help us, first of all, to be hearers, to know clearly what you’re saying to us, so that we can live it out. I ask it in Jesus name. Amen. But Lord bless you.

I’m inviting you to turn with me to the book of James for our scripture reading.

James chapter 1. This is a passage of scripture that we have looked at recently. In fact, if you are here on our Wednesday night services, then you will remember that we did a study in the book of James. And, we have looked at this passage recently, not ever been to New York City? How many of you have ever been to New York City?

Anybody ever been to New York City? Beautiful place, isn’t it? Just a beautiful place. You all have no sense of style. There is nothing like New York City.

The hustle, the bustle, the beeping of the horns, the yelling, the you know, all of that. I mean, it’s just it’s wonderful. The smells. Yeah. That’s style.

The smells that come on trash day, from the mounds of trash. It’s just it’s a place that you just have to experience. Yeah. But one of the things that you’ll encounter, in New York City is if you want a good deal on a Rolex watch, you’ll find it on about every other corner. It’s beautiful.

Ladies, you want a Louis Vuitton bag, disdain, right? Louis Vuitton bag is a fake Louis Vuitton bag. Good disguise, looks good on the outside, but in reality, and the danger is, is there are some that will deceive themselves into thinking that they caught a really good deal. Remember as a kid, I think I’ve shared this illustration on more than one occasion here. My brother and I were baseball card collectors.

Some of you maybe in the older segment of the congregation was a $1,000,000 card, even in my day. I knew that the Honus Wagner most expensive card. There was a 8 of them and they were that had been printed and they were down to 6. And if you could come across the Honus Wagner card, you had a $1,000,000 card. And lo and behold, my brother and I came across Kellogg’s box.

Ain’t that phenomenal? One of 6 right there in the Kellogg’s And so we went to our neighbor, boy, who was about our age, and we told him, we said, we have the Honus Wagner $1,000,000,000 the Honus Wagner $1,000,000. They only trade it to you if you give us all of your The one of only 6 in existence left in the world. It was a Kellogg. James chapter 1, James writes In James chapter 1, James writes these words to us.

I’m gonna invite you to stand. Why don’t you stand with me as we read this passage of scripture? I’m sure we’re there. We’ve given you enough time. James chapter 1.

We’re gonna begin reading in verse 19. James chapter 1 verse 19. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear and slow righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughty and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is, and grafted word, salvation of Make that connection before we move on. In grafted word, salvation of source, versus 20 2, be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, your own selves.

Natural face in a glass, but those who look and look into the perfect law of liberty and continue there, he being not a forgetful but a doer of the work, this man shall be bluffed in his deed. You may be take this text that we’ve looked at and narrow it down into one verse that it seems like is the highlight of what James is trying to communicate. Congregation, particularly on Wednesday night, recently latter part of that, divining your own selves, and the word, and the Hearing the word, but failure to practice the word, This name may not mean anything to you, but Heinrich Schliemann back in 18/71 sought out to try to find the city of Troy. We know about the city of Troy, right? If you’ve done any sort of historical, or enjoy any kind of history, then you know about the story of Troy and how, Troy was destroyed.

Right? The Trojan horse presented at the gates. You know, the people of Troy, oh, look, they’ve given us a gift. What a bliss. And they’re leaving.

The Trojan horse into the city, cover of darkness come out, open the city gates. The fleeing enemy apparently turns around, comes in and burns the city of Troy. Heinrich, Schleckman did some excavating and found the city of Troy. Isn’t it a sad thing to be deceived into thinking that everything is okay only to have your city utterly destroyed. That same deception is dangerous when it comes to the Christian Extremely dangerous.

To become a hearer of the word and not a doer and be so deceived that you would destroy your own soul through it. Warren W bybals, but their eyeballs never mark them. That’s a Bibles, and yet, if we were to look at our hearts, and our that highlighted and underlined scripture has not marked us internally. And so look with me if you have your Bible still open, what he says. James and crafted or the implanted, and is able to save your right?

Not just the into your life. James is concerned with the idea that as Christians, you and I would simply read the word, hear the word, but not do the word. It would never take root in us And what’s the remedy of this superficial hearing of the word? On the top. It needs to be more than just a word that is heard.

It actually has to be inserted, implanted into When a tree branch I should ask a horticulturalist. We could ask Austin this. What happens when you sever a branch and just lay it down? In back and you slide that branch down inside of that and you pull it back together and you wrap it a and that branch will begin to take its nourish from all of the roots that send up the nutrition up that plant, and pretty soon that branch is not dead. What’s it do?

It’s barren fruit, isn’t it? Over the years, it’s been obvious that I’ve been losing my hair, right? I don’t buzz my head like this because I think it looks good. Alright? I got tired of looking like a chia pet with mange, and I just decided it’s time to get rid of it.

Alright? Over the years of the process of losing my hair, people have given me advice of what I could do. Mange and tail. That’ll help you. There’s Rogaine.

You can use Rogaine, right? Just put a little bit of Rogaine on there and it’ll grow You know what, the best way to really deal with here lose it. That’s right. Just shave it. Just get rid of it.

It. If you wanna deal with it, you can go out and you can get a toupee, but guess what? A toupee is not gonna grow, is it? But if you go in to a hair transplant clinic, they will take and they’ll harvest go in and they’ll put holes, it begins to actually take the source of life in your scalp again. And you’ll draw Do you want to know why I didn’t do that?

Because it’s about $2 a plug. And with the amount of hair loss I have, that’d be a really expensive transplant. James is concerned about that the word of God would not be something that is just superficial laying on the surface. Because in time, if it’s only on the surface, it dies. You remember, Jesus tells the parables of the soir.

Snatches it up and takes it away. It has to take root. It what’s the danger that James is speaking about in this. It’s easy to receive the to But that’s not good enough. Word.

We know the scriptures. We know all about we do everything that we’re supposed to do. We’re going through all of the motions. But the reality is, is the word has never really taken root in our heart to bear James Remar, to me, comes in verse 22 when he cautions us be several occasions recently how much the latter part of this particular text has just gripped me. Because I’m afraid too many times, word.

Aw, wonderful truth, good truth. Oh, I so enjoyed. Good truth. Oh, I so enjoyed. Changed.

But never it? What’s going to happen as a result of it? The dangers that were stirred but never changed. Being a doer of the word is not who is just a hearer as one who looks into this mirror, sees himself, and walks away and promptly forgets what manner of man. But the one who looks intently And the one who looks int word?

You ever had a kid who, loves bugs. I have some, some kids that don’t always like bugs. In fact, a great illustration of our family. We have one child that used to be if there was a creature and this happened back in Florida when they were younger. There was a turtle in our backyard.

And one of our boys just stood at the door and observed. That was one of our boys just stood at the door and observed. And a lot of our The patio about 12 feet away. That’s, that’s good. There’s another one that goes out on the patio and There’s another one that goes out on the patio in the Then we had one that went right out and just dropped down right in front of the turtle and started beating its back.

Word is that you come to it and you study you see a child that loves bugs, they get down, and I mean they’re mesmerized by it. They’ll pick it up. They’ll look at they’ll let it crawl all over their hand. They’ll Do you know the danger is that sometimes we want to observe the word from a distance. It, it looks so implanted in your life that it transforms you.

You do something. It’s a great observation. He said, if your spiritual life is built on merely, listen to the words of Jesus and not on a bane. And I just repeat that. And I just repeat that.

And I just repeat that. And I just repeat that. And I just repeat that. And I just repeat that. And I just repeat that.

And day, your life will eternally and ultimately end in distraught. And I’ll tell you one of the dangers we run, we want to word. You know, I read this morning. Man, isn’t this powerful? And then we want to get into conversation dialogue about it, and break it apart, and, you know, parse it, and do all of this.

And at some point, I want to say, what you’re going to do? A draw that’s great that you got great new insight, but how’s it going to change your life? And so, I think that you got great new insight, but how is it going to change your life? The danger James says is you deceive yourself. You think, wow, look at this great truth that I just came Oh, in this.

Oh, in this. And you walk away and you promptly forget what manner of man you are and you don’t do it. You deceive your self. And I tell us this morning, church, Satan is happy for you to read the. And, can to try to keep you from reading the word.

But if he can’t keep you from reading the word, you know what? The second best thing is, innate. And meal, putting the ingredients together, fixing it, making the mead and then saying, boy, isn’t that a nice they go just set it on the table and then it just And the danger is if all we ever do is hear the word and never do anything about it, we’ve deceived ourselves. Why did David Platt say that the danger is, is that we become hearers and not doers and we become destructive because God puts his law on our hearts. Jeremiah 31 tells us that God puts his law on our hearts and he puts his spirit in us, word.

About it, we’ve dangerous places that you and I can find ourselves. Word, but we’re not John Wesley was strong on 2 elements. In our case, the foreigner. Do you know it’s really easy for us to fall off onto the ditch on one side or the other. Oh, look at me and all of my piety.

I pray regularly. I fast regularly. Look at my holy character. And then, piety? We’re out there doing this and we’re, we’re feeding the, the hungry and we’re closing those that are innate.

What about your relationship with the Lord about your piety, your time alone with him, listening to his. We’re not hearers of the word we’re not doers of the word. Because it takes the relationship with God and the working maybe this will help us this morning. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7.

I’m gonna hurry. I’m looking at our time. I want to be sensitive to your time this morning. Matthew chapter 7. Jesus is coming to the end of his sermon on the mount.

And in Matthew chapter 7, Jesus verse 21 says this, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom of JUSTICE, the will of the father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name, perform many. Then I will declare to them I never knew you. You who practice lawlessness. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them.

And who hears these words of mine is, is welcome. He who hears We don’t have relationship with them. Why? Because we’re not acting on the word of God. Turn over just a little bit farther to Matthew chapter draw Jesus gives 3 parables.

The last one dealing with judgment. Him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All of the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. And the King will say to those on his right, come you who are blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. Stranger and you invited me naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink?

And when did we see you a stranger and invite you in or naked? When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? The king will answer and say to them, truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these brothers of mine, even the least of the left, apart from me, a cursed one’s into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil in his And you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite me.

Naked and you did not clothe me. And your did not Then they themselves also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or imprisoned and did not take care of one of the least these. You did not do it to me. Torn. Good truth.

And do and just take you back to Matthew chapter 7. Jesus is ending his sermon on the But if you go through the sermon on the mount, Jesus begins to talk about the things that are really important that we’re supposed to do. And so, you know, we’re not going to talk about the things that are really important that we’re supposed to do. And so, And he talks about and or anger is our anger is demonstrated.

So you’ve heard it of old not to murder. I say to you, if you are angry at your brother, you’ve committed murder in your own heart. And all of a sudden our anger arises, and goes through chapter 5, chapter 6, it teaches about and your It’s not good enough to be a hearer of the word. We must be doers. About our marriage relationship.

What about the vows that we make? What do we what about the way in which we respond when we’ve been robbed? Teaches about fasting, the way that we use our What am I saying to us this morning? God is calling us to not just be hearers of the word only, but doers of the word. It’s me this morning that so many Christians claim the name of Christ as their lord and yet in their lives, there is no evidence of the engrafted word bearing fruit.

Still filled with anger, still filled with lust, still filled with, still with, let it be and craft it into your and then you have to obey it here. But you’re not doing well with the Obey. Inviting us to stand as we close in prayer, I realize it’s late, and I’ve called attention to that on numerous occasions. But I also want to be faithful to the holy spirit.

The word of draw You and I cannot just be hearers of the word. And that doesn’t happen by us pulling ourselves up by our boots, but by to the Lord and saying, I need your help and your grace. I need your And to engraft that word into your life so that it can bear fruit. It wants to bow our heads, close our eyes. It’s to draw our heads, close our eyes.

It’s to Want us to bow our heads, close our eyes. And to give you an opportunity to respond to, to draw its worth. Doer? Sthieved your lie that you’re okay because you’re a good hearer of the for your and it’s not bearing fruit in your obeyed. Maybe this morning you want to just slip out and come up and the church that if you have a need, it’s all you’re always welcome to come to the holy spirit has spoken to.

I’m a here, but I’m a the holy spirit to help me. I want to change that. You just want to slip up your hand and say, Pastor, that’s me. I see that hand. I see that hand.

I see the authority of God’s word this morning. I want you to know God’s given us his spirit to and to aid us and help us to live that word, not just to the holy spirit for this truth this morning. I pray those that your spirit is speaking to, and then you’ve been faithful to open our eyes to the reality that when we hear the word, but we don’t do it, we’re deceiving our for not being a doer of your Help me through the power of your spirit to live out your word, not just and your word would bear fruit in our lives. It would cause us to live out the truths that we’ve looked at this morning. We would care for those that are all around us, the poor, the afflicted those that are in prison, but that it would also transform areas of our lives that we looked at in, in Matthews.

Yeah. Change how we respond to people in anger, change how we look with our eyes, the way we engage with our money and our spouse, or help us to be doers of the word and jesus. Amen. Lord bless you. You are dismissed.

And then, Lord bless you. You are dismissed.

I’m going to invite you to turn with me to Luke’s gospel, chapter 1.

She says, Gabriel, there’s this is It’s impossible for me to carry a child. I’m I’ve never known a man. I’m gonna of Mary’s experience with Gabriel. And then we’re going to drop down a few more verses and we’re going to pick up Mary’s song of praise Lord. Look at Luke’s gospel chapter 1.

We’re going to begin reading in verse 26. And in the 6th month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into the city of Galilee named Nazareth man whose name was Joseph of the House of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel came in unto her and said, hail thou that art highly favored. The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women. Be The angel said unto her, fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a shall call his name J. R. He shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father, re and of his kingdom, there shall be no end.

Then Sid Marion to the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father, David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forre and of his kingdom, there shall be no end. Then Sid Marion to the angel. How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And man? And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Be because in Elizabeth, own. And this is the 6 month with nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, behold the handmade of the And Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my savior, For he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden.

For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm. He hath scattered the proud and the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats and exalted them of low degree.

He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath hoping his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever, and Mary abode with her rejoice in the fact that there is nothing that is impossible with God. Are looking at circumstances in their life and saying there is no hope for this situation. We rejoice this morning that with you, all things are possible. I ask this morning that in these next few moments that you would help us as we consider what you want us to do in the periods of time in our lives where we are left to wait with anticipation.

I pray that you would speak truth to our hearts from your word. We ask in Christ’s name. Amen. You may be seated. Last week, I preached to us beginning this series, regarding silently we wait or the world waits.

We silently we wait or the world waits. We talked about waiting patiently for the Lord to work. To you that I was preaching to myself more than I was preaching to anybody else when I preach on the subject of patience or waiting patiently. I think you all probably know that that is not one of my strong virtues in life is waiting. When I was a teenager, I used to listen to some country music and there was a song that I used to listen to and loved.

I’m in a hurry to get things done. I rush and rush until life’s no fun. All I’ve got to do is live and die, but I’m in a hurry and don’t know why. But I’m in a hurry and don’t know why. Not a great spiritual song for you on Sunday morning.

There’s a lot of truth to the I find myself, RUSH, a couple weeks ago, right on the bumper of somebody on 178, who saw me coming and deliberately pulled out in front of me. And they didn’t know what the gas pedal was. You know those cattle catchers on the front of a train In a know, there are times in know what I’m talking about? You know, there are times in life that we find ourselves in situations that we just we wanna push our way through. We want to we don’t want to be patient.

We want to move things through. And yet, there are times I think the Lord, not I think, I know, the Lord deliberately shared with us as a congregation, I shared with us as a congregation back in the summer, preached a message on the importance of rest. You. There was one particular day I was on the phone with Sister Parker, Charlotte Parker, and there was some sickness going around in the church and she said, pastor, I just want you to know I’m praying that the Lord will keep you from sickness. I’m leaving it in the Lord’s hands.

If, if he sees that I need to slow. I guess he’ll let me get sick. You know, there are I guess he’ll let me get sick. You know, there are times that the Lord will purposefully allow things to happen in our lives that just put the brakes on and cause us to slow down. Sometimes we’re called to wait.

Our text this morning reminds us that waiting demands occupation. Waiting demands activity. In the process of our waiting, we do something, don’t we? The danger is, is that oftentimes we waste our waiting periods. Maybe I could give you an example of that.

When you go to the doctor’s office and you sign in, you go and take a seat. And when the doctor has already seen 4 patients before you and each patient took an additional 5 minutes extra, and all of a sudden, your appointment is pushed back. What do you do? Some of you pull out your cell phone and you start scrolling through Facebook. Maybe you do more than scroll through Facebook.

Maybe you post on Facebook what a shame it is that you’re stuck waiting. Ouch. Where you pick up a magazine, We, we all do something in the way. Maybe you clip your fingernails or worse, you bite your nails because you’re annoyed. We’re occupied with And yet in that process of waiting, we all are doing something.

We’re occupied with ‘d some lessons that I see that we’d learned about what we should do in our seasons of waiting. We know very, very little about Mary’s background, very little about her family, very little about, where she’s nature. But we know very little about You read secular city of Nazareth. You go back to the Old Testament. Anybody ever read about the city of Nazareth in the Old Testament?

Ever read about the city of Nazareth in the Old Testament? Anybody In fact, you read in the New Testament and you don’t read a whole lot of details about it. Cities. Nazareth is not mentioned. It’s an uncelebrated forgotten city by and large.

It was a place that was off the beaten path. It was a place that, is not memorable in any way because if Again, I mentioned that secular history tells us very little. You read even secular history. And there’s not much about Nazareth that is really known. We know very little about Mary, who’s from Nazareth.

You to take notice just for a moment this morning. Mary comes from a place, if you will, on the other side of the When you hear about Nazareth, you find Nathaniel. Canadian come out of Nazareth. It was known as a what would seem like an obscure family, more than likely just a working class family. There was nothing special about her that really seemingly draw any particular attention to her to be a potential candidate to carry the masai.

I tell you all of that this morning for the purpose that as we evaluate the Christmas story, here’s a young woman who comes from an obscure town, a town on the other side of the tracks, whose world was completely turned upside down that first Christmas. Stories about a star that announced the birth of her child. But we don’t often stop and really consider life of Mary. I want you to notice a couple of things as we explore the activity of the waiting season. The first is the inconvenience of waiting.

I want you to notice, first of all, Mary is just a young woman, more than likely just a teenage girl. More than likely, just a teenage girl. She’s not in any way, a woman who is, been around, has a husband, has experienced much of life. She’s just a young teenage girl. It may not carry a whole lot of weight with us today as much as it did in 1st century Palestine.

But I want you to consider the fact that here’s this woman who comes from or this girl who comes from an obscure family in an obscure place that I just say to our young people and our children this morning, your age is not a reason for which God would not desire to use you for his glory. Amen? God looked at a young woman and said, this is the one through whom I’m gonna allow the Messiah, the one who will bless the world to come through. Young people, God looks at your life and says, you have great value and purpose. Sure, you may look at your life and you’re waiting, aren’t you?

Let me just talk to our young people and children for a moment. I’ve heard some talk about it waiting until they can get it. There are x amount of more sleeps until Christmas. I’ve heard some talk about it waiting until they can get it. They’re not going to be waiting for Christmas.

I know that because I’ve heard it. There are x amount of more sleeps until Christmas. I’ve heard some talk about it waiting until they can get their driver’s license, waiting until they can go to college, waiting until they can get married. You know, in the middle of your waiting season of life, God has purpose for you even now. Maersities, not only is she just a young woman, but she’s betrothed, not yet married in the fullest sense.

Would have They would have looked at a woman who is betrothed. If we can put it in modern terms, we all understand she’s basically engaged. And here she is now, pregnant. Mary is setting aside all of her future that lies ahead for the purpose of fulfilling God’s call in her life. Imagine that.

She accepts the responsibility to carry the Messiah. She knows good and well what this could mean. Angel of the Lord came and spoke to you. -Yeah, Mary. Sure.

Sure. An angel of the Lord came and spoke to you. -An angel of the Lord came and spoke to you. -Yeah, Mary. -Yeah.

-And an angel of the Lord came and spoke to you. Good excuse, but not gonna work. Fact, Matthew records that that’s exactly what Joseph intended to do. Joseph doesn’t believe her account, obviously, because he seeks to put her away, private. Waiting period.

A waiting period, an inconvenience in that process. Here she is, risking her reputation. What will the townspeople say? The townspeople probably responded the same way that Joseph then, Not only that, but she had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem while pregnant. The throes of pregnancy?

Any ladies volunteer in this story? Now, some of you, when you’re near birth and you want the baby to come, you might would do that just to make sure the baby comes. That was not Mary’s in It was a great inconvenience for Caesar to or a census to be taken that would require all of those in Israel to go to their home, where their family was from. Bethlehem was David’s home. That’s why Mary and Joseph made their way to Bethlehem.

I want you to this is a sideline note. I want you to consider a divorcee in the old testament had said that, you know, this is a sideline note. I want you to consider a death Then he sends Gabriel to a woman in Nazareth, 80 to 90 miles from Bethlehem and says, you are going to give birth to the Messiah. But he’s got to get her from Bethlehem or from Nazareth to Bethlehem. So what does he do?

He has Caesar to apply for a census and taxation that would send Mary and Joseph from their home and Nazareth all the way back to the city of David. And is oftentimes the times that God is working behind the scenes to accomplish his glory. Value whatsoever. Why do I have to pack up in the middle of pregnancy and go all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem just to pay taxes, just for the census? Just for the census.

And by the way, you don’t send Rome a note that says, we’ll take a rain check. Can we send this in by a vote absentee ballot? No, it wasn’t an option. Goal. Are times that God’s pathway in your life and in my life will take detours, won’t it?

Passing of a loved one unexpectedly and all of a sudden we’re left alone by ourselves. There’s loss of job that occurs and all of a sudden, we’re left alone by ourselves. There’s loss of job that occurs and all of a sudden the inconvenience is an opportunity for God’s glory to be manifest. A and We look at childbirth from modern standpoint and all of the conveniences. You go to the hospital where you get your own suite.

I just had the opportunity. I look bad back Jonathan’s. You all need to hook up with Jonathan and Rachel if you’re going to have. I went in to visit them and I got to the end of the hall and they had a 2 room I mean, they had their own little a whole room that was just a seating area. Listen, it wasn’t the convenience of That wasn’t the convenience of Mary.

Mary ended up in a stable where animals were housed. Mary ended up in a place where there was no family. Mary’s with a betrothed husband who she has never known in an intimate way. There’s no luxuries of modern and modern conveniences in birth. In fact, in Mary’s day, the death rate was up there, was higher in the birth process.

An inconvenience This what you think is going to be a routine checkup turns into, hey, we we’d like to go to the doctor. And what you think is going to be a routine checkup turns into, hey, we would like you to come back for another test. All right? That happens. You go back for a second test and they say, now, we’re concerned enough.

We want you to come back for a biopsy. And then all of a sudden, the biopsy takes place and you have that waiting period. And you begin to ask yourself, be? Is it going to be good news or is it going to be bad? What do we do in those waiting periods, the inconvenient times of life?

You know, what seems to be inconveniences for us, for you, is really an opportunity for God to be glorified in your life. Because in that waiting period of life that you and I are doing something, we’re engaged in some form of activity. The waiting process isn’t for our convenience or our comfort. But it’s meant for our good and the glory of just suggest to us this morning, the standard We’re all gonna have to wait for things in We experience it everyday, is shaping the person that you are becoming and giving great demonstration of who. Think about it from an earthly perspective.

What do you do while you’re waiting? A lot of times while we’re waiting, we’re finding something to occupy our mind or our attention, aren’t we? I’ll just confess. I’ve been known and guilty of when I come to a stop, right, rather than waste the time sitting there, I’ll pull out my phone. And you so much for years ago showing me a roundabout way.

That has been such a I don’t even care if I have to drive longer as long as I don’t have to sit. I just don’t want to. What do we do in the waiting period? We scroll. We situation.

Will Joseph say? Happen in this birth? What if it means my life? Well, Joseph understand, store. And, of a trial in your life and you’re looking around and saying, And yet, the Lord is in the process of doing greater things in our lives.

Those ways that you and I deal with the periods of time, God is working out as master plan in our lives. And when those things creep up, our fear can reveal to us our lack of faith in God’s goodness, our doubt can become an anxiety, can reveal to us our lack of belief in God’s striven, our trying to manipulate the situations around us, reveal to us, our lack of faith in God’s ability. Our doubt, and the promises of God reveals our lack of faith in the word of God to be sufficient for our lives. Ramps that you and I take, the activities that we turn to in those waiting seasons. But I want you to notice with me very quickly.

Our time is running out. Let me just show to you 2 activities that Mary engages in the waiting season of her life. First is obedience. Obedience. What do you do in the waiting season of life?

Mary obeys the Lord. Messiah. You it’ll be through you that the world is going to be blessed. And Mary said, wow. It seems impossible with man accepts between faith and obedience is unmistakable.

I get weary in a world where there’s a lot of this, well, that’s just legalism, that’s legalism, that’s legalism. All these you gotta do, you gotta do, you gotta That’s just legalism. This whole idea that people that just want to say I have faith, James says, I will show you my faith by my works. Of what we do. And word.

But I’ve never really stopped and contemplated the indigdoras of the word, being not heres of the word only, but doers also, deceiving your and Because for instance, your desire, Aloe, for instance, what the Lord has asked of her. Here’s the second thing that I want you to notice. Mary worships in her, where she worships in her. Mary worships in her, Mary breaks out into song of worship to the Lord as she considers what the Lord has done for a lot of you just have taken time to stop in the middle of the trials and the difficulties and the waiting periods of life and said, in my waiting, I will worship. I will choose to exalt the bravery finds great joy in the midst of this inconvenience of her life, where her world is totally turned up.

So risking her reputation, her life, she’s risking her. But she says, God is worthy to be praised. He’s found me worthy to carry the masaiah. How many times do we look at the inconveniences of life in those periods where the Lord has just put the brakes on in our life, and all of a sudden, we’re behind a slow driver on 170. It isn’t This isn’t comfortable for me.

This worthy of praise. You are doing something far greater than what I can see. And I praise you. And I praise you. And I praise you.

And I praise you. And I praise you. And it begins to worship the cross, the inconvenience of the cross, and found great joy because of what it produces for us. How to do that in the waiting periods of life. Not a matter of us trying to muster up hearts.

But it’s a matter of us coming to the Lord and say, Lord, I don’t understand it all. I don’t get it all. But I do know that you’re good and you’re working out your good will in my life and you’re working out your goodwill in my life and you’re working your glory through me. And so, father, give me a hard of praise. Lift you up in this season of my life.

So morning. We’re all waiting on we’re all in the season of waiting in some waiting for the test raisait wait to come in, waiting for What are we doing in the middle of waiting? Through gripe and try to find ways to draw the help of the holy spirit. God wants to help us in the middle of that weight to just obey him and worship because of what he’s do. And I say, Lord, breathe fresh faith upon us to trust you in the middle of that.

Faith upon us to trust you in the middle of that waiting is not idle. It’s not empty. God accomplishes much in the waiting. Lord, help us this morning to make great use of the opportunities of our weight. Let’s stand together as we close and pray.

Let’s stand together as we close and pray. Father, this morning, our hearts are rejoicing in you to know and often times that comes through our seasons of weight. As we’ve looked at the life of Mary this morning, our hearts are challenged to worship you and to obey you in the middle of inconveniences of life in those seasons where we wait upon. Way they want them to go. And there’s a process of you working your will out in their lives that seems uncomfortable.

To wait upon you. Would you teach us to grow in faith? Would you teach us to worship you in obeyed a our faith, strengthen our faith, use these as that would turn our gaze towards and your Amen. The Lord bless you. You are dismissed.