This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Thanks for joining us for today's program. At Connect with Skip, we're all about helping you connect with God's Word in a deeper way. That's why we make messages like Today's available to you and others across the globe. And right now, when you sign up for Skip's weekly devotional emails, you'll receive a free download of Chapter 1 from Skip's book, The Biography of God.
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Now let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig.
So Jesus said this, if you know these things, Happy are you if you do them. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them. And then, do you remember on the Sermon on the Mount? Jesus ended the sermon by saying, Whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them I will liken him to a man who builds his house on the rock. And the winds blew, and the storms came, and the house stood because it was built on the rock.
But whoever hears these sayings of mine and doesn't do them, He's like a man who builds his house on the sand, and when the storms of life blow through, Great. will be the fall. of that house.
So James says, Be doers of the word, do what it says. Submission is the first category. Second category is study. Uh If you're going to do what it says, you've got to know what it says, right? You have to get an accurate picture of what the Bible is saying.
So look at verse 25. But he who looks... Key word, but he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it. and is not a forgetful here, but a doer of the work. This one will be blessed in what he does.
The word look is a key word. It means to look. Intently Or to look attentively or to look penetratingly. It it is somebody who studies Gazes at is the idea. It's the word used in the Gospel of John when the Apostle John came to the tomb of Jesus and it said he looked inside.
He looked and believed. That is, he gazed, he studied, and he thought, There's only one explanation for this. A resurrection. That's that kind of look.
So, James is describing somebody examining the word closely to discover its deepest meaning. And for this person, it's not an exercise in curiosity. He's not a forgetful here. It's not like, yep, good message. I'm scale of 1 to 10.
I'll give it a 6. It's somebody who's swift to hear. Swift to hear.
Now you know that hearing God's truth builds up our faith, right? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But as I mentioned, there's a couple of different ways to listen. You can listen actively. You can listen.
Passively. Actively is What is this saying? I'm going to study it carefully. I'm going to apply this diligently. Um passively is I'm auditing God 101.
Auditing the class.
So Jesus Said two different things. In Mark chapter 4, he said, Take heed what you hear, but in Luke chapter 8, he said, Take heed. How you here. Take heed what you hear. Be careful what you allow yourself to listen to.
But then, once you listen to the good stuff, do it the right way. Take heed how you hear.
So here's an example. One time Jesus told his disciples he was going to the cross, he was going to die. They had no idea what he was talking about. Went over their heads. They're not really listening to this.
They didn't want to hear it. He did it again. They didn't want to hear it. So, on one occasion, it says, Jesus said this to his 12 disciples: Let these words sink down into your ears. Let these words sink down into your ears.
Funny little story, but true. FDR, you know who FDR was? Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, only President in history to serve four terms. Four terms.
Now, by the end of his fourth term, he was just tired of being president. And um He used to say that he didn't like the formal gatherings at the White House where people would come in and meet him and he'd have to smile and small talk. He didn't like that. He got tired of it.
So one formal function was people were coming into the White House. He was standing in line and he decided to mix things up a bit.
So as people were coming by to shake his hand, he would flash that big smile. But he said this. I murdered my grandmother today. Nobody listened to him. As he said, I murdered my grandmother today.
People would say, Oh, how nice, Mr. President. Or keep up the good work, Mr. President. He said, nobody listened to what I was saying except one, one foreign diplomat.
As I said, I murdered my grandmother this morning. He leaned in, shook my hand, and said, She probably had a coming tour, Mr. President. Now, why are we to look so carefully at? The Word of God.
Because notice in verse 25 what it's called, but he who looks into the, what is it called? What's it called? Verse 25. Read it with me. Perfect law.
That's why we should be so careful in reading it. It's perfect. It's perfect. Psalm 19: the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. It's complete.
It's inerrant. It's sufficient for all of our needs. It is, as Peter said, it'll give us everything we need for life and godliness. You don't have to go anywhere else for the needs of your soul. Then this book.
Remember what Jesus said? Man shall not live by bread alone, but... Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. That's why. It's the perfect law.
Also, notice it's called the law of liberty. It frees us from bondage. The bondage of our sin, it frees us from Corrupt values around us. It frees us from the opinions of other people. We become free.
It's the perfect law. It's the law of liberty.
So. Two areas. Submission? Study. Submission study.
Do what it says, read what it says. Third area. Speech. Verse twenty-six. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, Now, I'm not going to give you a show of hands.
I'm not going to ask if you feel religious or if you're a religious person, because it would be a trick question. I am not a religious person. People think I am, oh, you're religious. I'm not religious.
So follow it. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue. But deceives his own heart, this one's religion. is useless.
Now there's a lot of references in the book of James to Speech. And so I get the impression that there was a real problem in some of the early congregations that James is writing to with people's tongue. And there'll be a lot in this book. We'll uncover more later, but look at the word religious again. James uses a very particular word that describes the outward.
Show of religion, the outward trappings of religion, the externals, things like ceremonies and rituals and routines.
So here's the point. If anybody's walking around, oh holy and devout and pious because I'm religious, but he's a gossip. He slanders people. He uses filthy language. That's just empty religion.
It's just an outward show, all show and no go.
Now, back to this idea of Christianity and religion. Christianity is not a religion. In fact, it is the anti-type of religion. Religion is all about I'm on earth and I'm trying to reach God. It's man's attempt to reach God.
Christianity is God's attempt to reach man. God discloses, reveals himself to humanity in the person of Jesus through the gospel. It is God reaching us, not us reaching up to God. Religion is man trying to reach God through ceremonies and rituals and. Rights and etc, etc.
Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is a person. It's Jesus. It's a relationship with God. through Jesus Christ.
It's not what you know, it's who you know. And if you know him, Doesn't it make sense that that would affect the way you talk? Would affect your speech. You know what it's like when you meet somebody from a different part of the country and you say, Are you from the south? And they say, well, how could you figure that out?
Your accent gave it away. Or, if you hear somebody speak from Scotland or from England, they have an accent. You can tell where they're from by the accent. And I've told you before, when I was in England once, I tried to give my best British accent when I ordered a coffee and croissant, and the guy looked at me and said, You're from California.
Okay.
So, I don't know, I've got something in my speech that gives it away.
Well, there's something in our speech that gives us away. And listen. Speech is a big deal in the Bible. It's a big deal because it reveals What? Reveals a heart.
It reveals the heart. If your heart is right, your tongue will be right. If your heart is not right, your tongue will not be right. I mean, you might say the right things now, but just keep listening to that person. Eventually, the accent will come out.
Jesus in Matthew twelve said, Out of the abundance of the heart. The mouth speaks. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good things, and an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word that men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig.
Before we return to today's message, what does real spiritual maturity actually look like and how can you achieve it? In his new series, Adulting, A Study Through the Book of James, Pastor Skip gives straight talk from scripture on how to grow up in your faith through trials, temptations, and daily life. This eye-opening 21 message series is our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to help reach more people with God's Word through Connect with Skip. Request your CD package or digital download of adulting when you give at connectwithskip.com/slash offer or call 800-922-1888.
Now, let's get back to today's teaching from Pastor Skip.
Now the tongue is not the only indicator. of true spirituality, but it It is a reliable one. Our speech will change. Our accent will change. You know how many words the average person speaks in a day?
16,000 is the going rate. The average person.
Some speak way more than that. I mean, way more than that. Other people speak like a couple words here and there. They don't speak many words, but. 16,000 words In a day, is enough to give you away.
To reveal who you really are. At some point, people will figure that out.
So 16,000 words a day, that's one-fifth of your life you spend talking. A tongue that is out of control. reveals a bogus Religious devotion.
So, our speech, our speech should be under the authority of the Word of God.
So, submission, we do what it says, study, we gotta read what it says. Speech, we have to speak what it says. Fourth area is the area of service. service. We should love like it says.
Verse 27. Pure An undefiled religion before God. And the father. is this. to visit Orphans and widows.
In their trouble, And to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Let's take the first section of that. James is touching now on the real deal, the real McCoy, the authentic Christian experience. Which is love. Jesus said, By this shall all know that you are my disciples, by your love.
So once we Hold the mirror of the Word of God up, and we see who we really are and where we need to change. We also have now the ability to see other people. and the need that they have. And we want to meet that need.
Now he mentions two specific groups: orphans. And widows, and here's why I believe. They were the neediest two groups in the early congregations. Back then, there was no life insurance, back then, there was no welfare program, few jobs for orphans and widows.
So, orphans and widows required family members. to take care of them. They didn't have family members. All bets are off.
So, this is why in the law, in Deuteronomy, God made provision for orphans and widows. And he said to the children of Israel. Every Three years Bring one-tenth of all your stuff and put it in a storehouse in the town.
So that Levites and orphans and widows can get what they need. In Psalm 68, God is called a father of the fatherless, a defender of the widows. And so According to James, it follows. That if we're really God's people, really. Listening and doing the word of God, that we should have some personal contact.
with the sorrow of this world. We'll talk more about it. In the book of James, but let's just kind of end this little section by saying: it's always dangerous to have a religion. in the sanctuary only. We need a religion not in the sanctuary, but in the street.
Because if it's, oh man, when I get to church and I worship and I praise God, but then put me in a car and get me driving on the road. And I'm a different animal.
Now we need a religion in the street that sees need and is willing to meet that need.
So Four areas so far: submission, do what it says, study. Read what it says. speech, speak what it says. Service, love, like it says. And then fifth and finally, separation.
Stop. what it says.
So look at the very end of verse 27, where we end this message. Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and. And to keep One self. Unspotted from The world. What does that mean the world?
You read that a lot in the New Testament. Don't be worldly. That's the world. What does that mean? The Bible, the New Testament specifically uses the term world, not the earth, but the world system.
The philosophy of the world, the values of this world system. The world in the New Testament simply means society. Without God. It's that world.
So Jesus called Satan the prince of this world in John 14. He referred to the unsaved as the sons of this world. Luke chapter 16. Jesus said to his followers, You are in the world, but you are not to be. the world, John chapter 17.
Paul in Romans 12 said, don't be conformed to this world. And John in 1 John chapter 2 said, love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. Simply put, don't be bogged down. And so enamored with this society apart from God. Keep yourself unspotted.
What does that mean? Means Doesn't mean perfect. It doesn't mean unflawed, it means undefiled. Unsmudged. You know that As you walk through this world, the world wants to smudge you.
Spot you. They get very uncomfortable that you claim to be different than they are. And they don't like that difference. They want you to be like they are. They want you to think like they think.
So they're trying to conform you into their image while God is wanting to conform you into His image. The more you are conformed into His image, the less spot and smudge that this world will put on you.
So Keep oneself unspotted from the world. By the way. The more you expose yourself to the truth of the scripture, and you are swift to hear it and swift to put it into practice. the more you will become. Unspotted from the world and conformed to his image.
There's another word for all this. Holy. Holy. Remember that word? Remember that old word?
Whatever happened to that word? It's like uh that's like an absent word in most churches. But God said, be holy because I am holy.
So biblical Christianity is Christianity that is biblical. We hear it. and we heed the word. I heard about a couple, and I'll close with this. They were married for 40 years.
And after 40 years of marriage, The wife died. Man was brokenhearted. It was the true love of his life. She was gone. Months went by, about a year went by, and This man had a friend who owned a pet store.
And the friend who owned the pet store said, you know, look. I know a pet cannot take any place at all of your wife, but I think it would be good for you to get a pet in your house, somebody you can care for and and train and be with you and so He said, okay, I'll give it a shot.
So we went down to the pet store to look for a pet. He didn't want a dog. cleanup after it didn't want a cat They kind of smell Um Didn't want like a lizard or a snake or a cricket. I mean, he wanted, he wanted. He wanted a pet that he could talk to and would talk back to him, so he got a A parrot.
He saw a parrot, and the guys who owned the store said, Oh, this parrot's very expensive, but it's because. It's a chatter box. This bird will talk to you.
So the man laid down the money, bought the parrot, took it home. Came back a week later. The owner of the pet store said, Is the bird talking? Guy said, nope, not a single word. Hmm.
Pet store owner said, hmm. Um Did you put a mirror in the cage? He said, no, he didn't. Uh Well, let me sell you a mirror and put the mirror in the cage. I find that birds, when they see a reflection of themselves, like seeing another bird.
puts them at ease and they start talking.
So he bought a mirror, took it home, put it in the cage. Came back a week later. Man said, Is your bird talking? Not at all. Did you put a mirror in?
Put a mirror in. Didn't work. Did you put a ladder in the cage?
Now I find that a bird will check itself out in the mirror, go up and down the ladder. A little exercise will help, loosen it up a little bit, bird will start talking.
So we bought a ladder, took it home, put it in the cage, came back a week later. Is that bird talking? Not a single word. You know, you should put a swing inside the cage.
Now I found that if the mirror doesn't work and the ladder doesn't work, that the bird will look at itself in the mirror, climb up and down the ladder, swing a little bit, and pretty soon that bird will start talking.
So he bought the swing, put it in the cage. Came back a week later. Mad, angry. The owner of the pet store said, Did that bird talk? The guy who bought the bird said, the bird died.
The bird is dead at the bottom of the expensive cage I bought for it. The pet store owner said, gosh, that's so weird. Did the birds say anything at all? The man said, as a matter of fact, he did. As he was taking his last breath, he said, don't they have any food down at that store?
Oh, yeah. You gotta eat. You can go to plenty of churches that'll have you swing and move and. Reflect. Is there any food down at that store?
And even if there is food down at that store. It will do you no good. Unless you Consume it and let it change you. As it says In the book of Hebrews, chapter 2, therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard. Last We Drift Away.
I can't tell you how many people I have known. who have come to this church. Over the years. who have drifted away.
So, what do you do? Shoe leather. Be a doer. Doer's translation. Be determined by the grace of God with the help of the Holy Spirit as a child of God to put into practice what the word tells you.
Do What? It. Says. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, don't forget to request this month's featured resource, Adulting, a study through the book of James, Pastor Skip's 21 Message Series that gives you straight talk from Scripture about how to grow in spiritual maturity and live out your faith in the real world.
Adulting is our thanks for your generous gift of $50 or more to help share God's word with more people. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com slash offer. And while you're there, sign up for Skip's weekly devotional emails and get a free download of a chapter of Skip's The Biography of God. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's Word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection.
Make a connection, never fool. Of the crossing castle burden. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of connection communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
