1 00:00:15,458 --> 00:00:16,750 Howdy Mars Hill Church. 2 00:00:16,833 --> 00:00:19,833 Pastor Sutton Turner here and I'm in Ethiopia. 3 00:00:19,875 --> 00:00:21,667 And I just want to thank Jesus 4 00:00:21,708 --> 00:00:25,000 for continuing to use Mars Hill Church 5 00:00:25,042 --> 00:00:28,583 to make disciples and plant churches. 6 00:00:29,167 --> 00:00:34,292 Mars Hill Global is the arm of Mars Hill Church 7 00:00:34,333 --> 00:00:35,917 that makes disciples 8 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,833 and plant churches all over the world. 9 00:00:38,917 --> 00:00:40,375 We not only do church planting, 10 00:00:40,458 --> 00:00:43,333 but we help better equip church planters. 11 00:00:43,417 --> 00:00:47,042 Most recently we shipped and now distributed 12 00:00:47,125 --> 00:00:49,500 1,000 bibles into Amharic, 13 00:00:49,542 --> 00:00:52,125 which is the language here in Ethiopia. 14 00:00:52,167 --> 00:00:54,042 And we launched a project 15 00:00:54,125 --> 00:00:59,250 to translate Pastor Mark Driscoll's doctrine book into Spanish. 16 00:00:59,333 --> 00:01:02,583 We have people from over 29 different countries 17 00:01:02,667 --> 00:01:06,167 that are giving on a monthly basis to Mars Hill Global. 18 00:01:06,208 --> 00:01:08,125 So whether you're a member 19 00:01:08,167 --> 00:01:11,083 of one of our Mars Hill church locations 20 00:01:11,167 --> 00:01:12,542 in the United States, 21 00:01:12,625 --> 00:01:18,208 or you're 1 of 100,000 podcasters every single week, 22 00:01:18,292 --> 00:01:19,667 we encourage you to pray 23 00:01:19,750 --> 00:01:23,083 about giving above and beyond your tithe 24 00:01:23,167 --> 00:01:24,625 to Mars Hill Global. 25 00:01:24,667 --> 00:01:28,958 Thank you and let's see more materials translated, 26 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,167 more pastors sent out, more churches planted, 27 00:01:32,250 --> 00:01:34,500 and more people saved by Jesus Christ. 28 00:01:54,542 --> 00:01:58,333 Brotherhood, it's a bond as old as time. 29 00:01:58,375 --> 00:02:00,833 It's a love that runs deep. 30 00:02:00,917 --> 00:02:03,292 It's bold. It's strong. 31 00:02:03,333 --> 00:02:05,042 It's enduring. 32 00:02:05,125 --> 00:02:07,667 There's a trust that's built among brothers, 33 00:02:07,708 --> 00:02:10,750 from the trials to the triumphs. 34 00:02:10,833 --> 00:02:14,292 It's a trust that comes from living life together. 35 00:02:14,333 --> 00:02:17,000 No one knows you like your brother. 36 00:02:17,042 --> 00:02:20,583 He knows your strengths; he knows your weaknesses. 37 00:02:20,667 --> 00:02:25,250 A bold brother will lay it all down for his family. 38 00:02:25,333 --> 00:02:28,833 It is difficult to describe that kind of loyalty, 39 00:02:28,917 --> 00:02:32,833 that kind of courage, that kind of strength. 40 00:02:32,917 --> 00:02:34,875 It's the love of a brother. 41 00:02:34,958 --> 00:02:37,583 It's that kind of love that compelled James to become 42 00:02:37,667 --> 00:02:41,167 Jesus' bold little brother. 43 00:02:46,167 --> 00:02:47,542 In eternity past, 44 00:02:47,625 --> 00:02:49,292 God the Father and God the Son, 45 00:02:49,333 --> 00:02:51,083 they knew that we would sin. 46 00:02:51,167 --> 00:02:53,208 They knew that we would rebel, 47 00:02:53,292 --> 00:02:56,000 they knew that we would walk away, 48 00:02:56,083 --> 00:02:59,167 and they devised a plan to pursue us, 49 00:02:59,250 --> 00:03:03,000 and the plan was that a sinless Savior would come 50 00:03:03,042 --> 00:03:05,500 as the sinners' Savior. 51 00:03:05,542 --> 00:03:08,083 And in the fullness of time, the Lord Jesus Christ, 52 00:03:08,167 --> 00:03:12,833 he exited his throne in heaven, and he entered into 53 00:03:12,917 --> 00:03:15,083 human history humbly. 54 00:03:15,167 --> 00:03:18,500 And he knew exactly what he was sent to do and the work 55 00:03:18,542 --> 00:03:21,292 that he was commissioned to accomplish. 56 00:03:21,333 --> 00:03:25,375 Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with men and God. 57 00:03:25,458 --> 00:03:30,167 He preached the truth, he helped the hurting, he healed the sick, 58 00:03:30,208 --> 00:03:33,875 he gave sight to the blind, he raised the dead, 59 00:03:33,958 --> 00:03:37,583 he rebuked the demons, he contended with the religious, 60 00:03:37,667 --> 00:03:39,667 and he emerged victorious. 61 00:03:39,750 --> 00:03:42,667 And on the precipice of the most important event 62 00:03:42,750 --> 00:03:44,542 in the history of the world, 63 00:03:44,625 --> 00:03:46,667 the crucifixion of the Son of God, 64 00:03:46,750 --> 00:03:52,167 the atonement for our sin, Jesus paused, in John 17. 65 00:03:52,250 --> 00:03:54,500 And he paused to have yet another meeting with 66 00:03:54,583 --> 00:03:56,292 God the Father, 67 00:03:56,333 --> 00:03:59,708 and it's the longest recorded prayer in the entire Bible. 68 00:03:59,792 --> 00:04:03,167 And Jesus says this in John 17:4. 69 00:04:03,250 --> 00:04:05,875 He says, "Father, while on the earth, 70 00:04:05,958 --> 00:04:12,500 I have completed the works that you have sent me to do." 71 00:04:12,542 --> 00:04:15,750 Jesus knew exactly what he was to be doing, 72 00:04:15,833 --> 00:04:18,375 and that is exactly what he was doing. 73 00:04:18,458 --> 00:04:23,583 Jesus completed the works that he and the Father had agreed to. 74 00:04:23,667 --> 00:04:27,833 Then, Jesus proceeded forward boldly and he went to the cross 75 00:04:27,917 --> 00:04:31,458 where he substituted himself for us. 76 00:04:31,500 --> 00:04:36,000 The God-man put himself in our place and suffered and died 77 00:04:36,042 --> 00:04:38,042 the punishment we deserve, 78 00:04:38,125 --> 00:04:40,333 that we might receive the salvation 79 00:04:40,417 --> 00:04:42,875 that he alone secures. 80 00:04:42,958 --> 00:04:47,375 And friends, everything Jesus did is everything 81 00:04:47,458 --> 00:04:50,208 that need be done. 82 00:04:50,292 --> 00:04:53,875 He said this on the cross, breathing out his last 83 00:04:53,958 --> 00:04:57,583 in triumphant victory cry, 84 00:04:57,667 --> 00:05:03,000 "It is finished!" 85 00:05:03,042 --> 00:05:07,292 The work of salvation was completed. 86 00:05:07,333 --> 00:05:09,875 We don't add to it. 87 00:05:09,958 --> 00:05:14,167 It's not Jesus plus baptism, Jesus plus a good life, 88 00:05:14,208 --> 00:05:16,583 Jesus plus speaking in tongues, 89 00:05:16,667 --> 00:05:18,583 Jesus plus tithing, 90 00:05:18,667 --> 00:05:21,375 Jesus plus doing better and trying harder, 91 00:05:21,458 --> 00:05:25,083 because Jesus plus anything ruins everything. 92 00:05:25,167 --> 00:05:29,583 It's all Jesus, it's only Jesus, it's always Jesus, 93 00:05:29,667 --> 00:05:32,083 and Jesus alone saves. 94 00:05:32,167 --> 00:05:35,500 And that's Jesus' saving work. 95 00:05:35,542 --> 00:05:40,458 We are not to do anything; we are to trust the one 96 00:05:40,500 --> 00:05:43,042 who has done everything. 97 00:05:43,125 --> 00:05:45,542 And the Bible calls that faith. 98 00:05:45,625 --> 00:05:49,333 And as we trust Jesus, as we have faith in Jesus, 99 00:05:49,375 --> 00:05:53,625 we are plugging in to the life of Jesus. 100 00:05:53,667 --> 00:05:56,500 Just as you would take dead technology and plug it into 101 00:05:56,583 --> 00:05:59,208 its power source that it would come to life, 102 00:05:59,292 --> 00:06:01,667 so we who are spiritually dead by faith, 103 00:06:01,708 --> 00:06:05,250 we have access to the power of the living Jesus, 104 00:06:05,333 --> 00:06:07,583 we are made spiritually alive. 105 00:06:07,667 --> 00:06:13,542 Jesus' work for us begins a work in us. 106 00:06:13,625 --> 00:06:17,250 Jesus' work begins to transform and change us. 107 00:06:17,333 --> 00:06:21,250 Our appetites, our desires, our longings change. 108 00:06:21,333 --> 00:06:23,375 We no longer love what we used to love, 109 00:06:23,458 --> 00:06:25,583 we no longer do what we used to do, 110 00:06:25,667 --> 00:06:29,500 because we are no longer who we were. 111 00:06:29,542 --> 00:06:33,792 And Jesus' work for us then continues with Jesus' work 112 00:06:33,833 --> 00:06:38,375 in us, and it culminates with Jesus' work through us to love, 113 00:06:38,458 --> 00:06:40,083 and to serve, and to give. 114 00:06:40,167 --> 00:06:42,792 Not so that God would love us, but because in Christ 115 00:06:42,833 --> 00:06:44,167 he already has. 116 00:06:44,250 --> 00:06:46,875 Not so that God would accept us, but because in Christ 117 00:06:46,958 --> 00:06:48,292 he already does. 118 00:06:48,333 --> 00:06:51,208 It's the life of Jesus for us, in us, 119 00:06:51,292 --> 00:06:54,708 and through us so that all of that--hear me on this-- 120 00:06:54,792 --> 00:06:57,917 all of that is the work of Jesus. 121 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,958 All of that is the work of Jesus. 122 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,667 And there is often confusion regarding this, 123 00:07:04,708 --> 00:07:08,792 so then preachers and teachers need to clarify this. 124 00:07:08,833 --> 00:07:11,667 One of them is a man named James, 125 00:07:11,708 --> 00:07:13,375 who's Jesus' little brother, 126 00:07:13,458 --> 00:07:16,500 and he's working as a pastor in the great city of Jerusalem, 127 00:07:16,542 --> 00:07:18,875 and he's dealing primarily with religious people 128 00:07:18,958 --> 00:07:21,000 who have been going to meetings like this 129 00:07:21,042 --> 00:07:23,667 and hearing sermons like this for a really long time. 130 00:07:23,708 --> 00:07:28,750 And he's going to clarify them-- Jesus' works and your works. 131 00:07:28,833 --> 00:07:31,000 If you've got a Bible, find this place: 132 00:07:31,042 --> 00:07:36,750 James 2:14-26. 133 00:07:36,833 --> 00:07:40,167 And he's going to speak of faith in three categories. 134 00:07:40,208 --> 00:07:45,083 The first two are counterfeits, and the last is authentic. 135 00:07:45,167 --> 00:07:48,167 The first counterfeit faith is a dead faith. 136 00:07:48,208 --> 00:07:51,833 James 2:14-17, "What good is it, my brothers." 137 00:07:51,875 --> 00:07:53,917 He's writing to religious people. 138 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,000 Some are Christians, some are not, but most are Jewish. 139 00:07:57,042 --> 00:08:00,875 He is Jewish, they are Jewish by descent, 140 00:08:00,958 --> 00:08:03,292 and they are his Jewish brothers and sisters. 141 00:08:03,333 --> 00:08:07,250 "What good is it, my brothers, 142 00:08:07,333 --> 00:08:13,000 "if someone says he has faith 143 00:08:13,042 --> 00:08:15,958 "but does not have works? 144 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:20,500 Can that faith save him?" 145 00:08:20,542 --> 00:08:26,500 Very significant, important question. 146 00:08:26,542 --> 00:08:30,292 We're saved from Satan, sin, death, hell, torment, 147 00:08:30,333 --> 00:08:32,958 and the wrath of God. 148 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:39,500 Being saved is incredibly important. 149 00:08:39,542 --> 00:08:45,958 Can this kind of dead faith save you from that fate? 150 00:08:48,167 --> 00:08:51,500 And then he uses a case study, an example. 151 00:08:51,542 --> 00:08:56,500 "If a brother or sister," a fellow Christian, 152 00:08:56,542 --> 00:09:00,750 "is poorly clothed." 153 00:09:00,833 --> 00:09:03,833 There's somebody in your Community Group, 154 00:09:03,917 --> 00:09:05,833 there's somebody in your church service, 155 00:09:05,917 --> 00:09:07,583 there's somebody in your neighborhood, 156 00:09:07,667 --> 00:09:10,667 and as all the kids walk to the bus stop in the morning, 157 00:09:10,750 --> 00:09:13,792 you notice every day one kid doesn't have a coat. 158 00:09:13,833 --> 00:09:16,667 It's cold, and it's raining, and the child is shivering 159 00:09:16,750 --> 00:09:19,750 and shaking. 160 00:09:25,750 --> 00:09:29,083 Or you see one "lacking in daily food." 161 00:09:29,167 --> 00:09:31,167 The single mom in your Community Group, 162 00:09:31,250 --> 00:09:33,083 the single mom in your service, 163 00:09:33,167 --> 00:09:35,500 the single mom in your neighborhood, 164 00:09:35,542 --> 00:09:40,083 she's trying to make ends meet, but she's fallen short 165 00:09:40,167 --> 00:09:42,458 again this month. 166 00:09:42,500 --> 00:09:49,208 As a result, she's distressed because she can't buy groceries. 167 00:09:49,292 --> 00:09:53,292 "And you say"-- you don't do anything. 168 00:09:53,333 --> 00:09:55,208 This is the problem with religion. 169 00:09:55,292 --> 00:10:00,417 Religion says a lot of things, it doesn't do anything. 170 00:10:00,500 --> 00:10:02,417 "You say to them, 'Go in peace.'" 171 00:10:02,500 --> 00:10:05,333 Oh, it's religious hyperbole. 172 00:10:05,375 --> 00:10:07,833 Quote a little verse, give them a little truism, 173 00:10:07,875 --> 00:10:13,000 a little--"When God closes a door, he opens a window. 174 00:10:13,083 --> 00:10:15,417 "I'm sure he has great things for you. 175 00:10:15,500 --> 00:10:18,417 "Just trust the Lord. I'll be praying. 176 00:10:18,500 --> 00:10:21,000 I'll be praying he gives you a coat." 177 00:10:21,083 --> 00:10:24,708 He already did; it's at your house! 178 00:10:24,792 --> 00:10:26,500 "I'll pray he gives you a sandwich." 179 00:10:26,542 --> 00:10:28,500 He does; the sandwich is in your fridge. 180 00:10:28,542 --> 00:10:31,167 Go get it. 181 00:10:31,250 --> 00:10:33,625 If you're going to pray, answer the prayer. 182 00:10:33,667 --> 00:10:39,792 You say, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled." 183 00:10:39,833 --> 00:10:43,167 Religious people are smarmy. 184 00:10:43,250 --> 00:10:45,500 They're annoying. 185 00:10:45,583 --> 00:10:52,000 When they talk, it makes you want to hit them. 186 00:10:54,625 --> 00:10:57,333 "'Oh, go in peace, beloved. 187 00:10:57,375 --> 00:11:03,083 Be warm, be filled'-- 188 00:11:03,167 --> 00:11:06,000 without giving them the things needed for the body." 189 00:11:06,083 --> 00:11:10,000 Here's a good question, "What good is that?" 190 00:11:10,083 --> 00:11:13,125 What good is that? 191 00:11:13,167 --> 00:11:18,625 "See also faith by itself, if it does not have works, it's dead." 192 00:11:18,667 --> 00:11:21,625 You know what dead people do? 193 00:11:21,667 --> 00:11:23,792 Do you know what dead people do? 194 00:11:23,833 --> 00:11:25,167 Nothing. 195 00:11:25,250 --> 00:11:26,583 It's not a trick question. 196 00:11:26,667 --> 00:11:28,500 They do nothing. 197 00:11:28,542 --> 00:11:30,375 You know what dead faith does? 198 00:11:30,458 --> 00:11:32,500 Do you know what dead faith does? 199 00:11:32,583 --> 00:11:35,208 Nothing. 200 00:11:35,292 --> 00:11:42,208 Dead faith is all lip service and no lifestyle. 201 00:11:42,292 --> 00:11:46,208 Dead faith is a profession of faith that you do not practice 202 00:11:46,292 --> 00:11:51,167 because you do not possess. 203 00:11:51,250 --> 00:11:54,417 This is like a guy who says, "I love my wife." 204 00:11:54,500 --> 00:11:56,625 Do you talk to her? 205 00:11:56,667 --> 00:11:58,000 "No." 206 00:11:58,083 --> 00:11:59,417 Do you serve her? 207 00:11:59,500 --> 00:12:00,875 "No." 208 00:12:00,958 --> 00:12:02,292 Do you live with her? 209 00:12:02,333 --> 00:12:03,792 "No." 210 00:12:03,833 --> 00:12:05,167 You don't love her. 211 00:12:05,250 --> 00:12:07,167 "Yes I do, don't judge my heart." 212 00:12:07,250 --> 00:12:11,167 Well, the problem is your heart has overflowed into your life, 213 00:12:11,208 --> 00:12:16,375 and we see it. 214 00:12:16,458 --> 00:12:22,083 Dead faith is lip service, not lifestyle. 215 00:12:22,167 --> 00:12:24,292 Some of you have dead faith. 216 00:12:24,333 --> 00:12:28,875 Some of you have inherited dead faith. 217 00:12:28,958 --> 00:12:34,583 You don't give, you don't serve, you don't care, 218 00:12:34,667 --> 00:12:38,667 but you believe in God. 219 00:12:38,750 --> 00:12:43,042 This is classic lazy, 220 00:12:43,125 --> 00:12:49,333 lukewarm, lifeless religion. 221 00:12:49,375 --> 00:12:51,708 And some of you have gotten theological about it 222 00:12:51,792 --> 00:12:57,083 and you've got arguments for why you are fruitless. 223 00:12:57,167 --> 00:12:58,708 You know what? 224 00:12:58,792 --> 00:13:00,583 You can be baptized in the church, 225 00:13:00,667 --> 00:13:05,292 you can grow up in the church, you can sit in the church 226 00:13:05,333 --> 00:13:07,792 every week, you can have your wedding in the church, 227 00:13:07,833 --> 00:13:10,500 you can have your funeral in the church, close your eyes, 228 00:13:10,542 --> 00:13:13,375 and wake up in hell. 229 00:13:13,458 --> 00:13:16,792 Because church doesn't save; Christ saves. 230 00:13:16,833 --> 00:13:18,833 Tradition doesn't save; Christ saves. 231 00:13:18,917 --> 00:13:21,625 Religion doesn't save; Christ saves. 232 00:13:21,667 --> 00:13:24,500 It's not what you do, it's not what the church does, 233 00:13:24,583 --> 00:13:28,208 it's what Jesus does and whether or not you trust him. 234 00:13:28,292 --> 00:13:29,875 Jesus said this: 235 00:13:29,958 --> 00:13:32,625 A good tree bears what kind of fruit? 236 00:13:32,667 --> 00:13:34,167 Good fruit. 237 00:13:34,250 --> 00:13:36,208 A bad tree bears what kind of fruit? 238 00:13:36,292 --> 00:13:38,000 Bad fruit. 239 00:13:38,042 --> 00:13:40,625 In our yard, we planted two trees. 240 00:13:40,667 --> 00:13:45,125 One rooted and is fruitful, the other did not and is dead, 241 00:13:45,167 --> 00:13:47,833 but they're both still standing there. 242 00:13:47,875 --> 00:13:50,083 I haven't taken them out yet. 243 00:13:50,167 --> 00:13:52,875 Some of you are like that. 244 00:13:52,958 --> 00:13:55,375 It's only a matter of time before Jesus comes back, 245 00:13:55,458 --> 00:13:59,125 chops you down, and burns you up because you're a bad tree 246 00:13:59,167 --> 00:14:02,875 and you don't bear good fruit. 247 00:14:02,958 --> 00:14:05,583 You have dead faith. 248 00:14:05,667 --> 00:14:09,292 It's not rooted and as a result of not being rooted, 249 00:14:09,333 --> 00:14:11,167 it's not fruitful. 250 00:14:11,250 --> 00:14:12,958 Some of you are like that. 251 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,167 You're rooted in morality, you're rooted in religion, 252 00:14:16,250 --> 00:14:19,667 you're rooted in spirituality, you're rooted in tradition, 253 00:14:19,750 --> 00:14:24,375 but you're not rooted in Christ, so there's no life in you, 254 00:14:24,458 --> 00:14:27,417 there's no life through you. 255 00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:31,167 The result is, it's fruitless. 256 00:14:31,250 --> 00:14:33,500 It's fruitless. 257 00:14:33,583 --> 00:14:36,708 How many of you are discouraged and a little scared? 258 00:14:36,792 --> 00:14:39,000 It's going to get worse. 259 00:14:39,083 --> 00:14:40,500 Next section. 260 00:14:40,583 --> 00:14:43,000 OK, that's dead faith. 261 00:14:43,083 --> 00:14:44,625 How about this one? 262 00:14:44,667 --> 00:14:47,583 How about demonic faith? 263 00:14:47,667 --> 00:14:52,708 James 2:18-19, "But someone will say"-- 264 00:14:52,792 --> 00:14:54,125 You know why? 265 00:14:54,167 --> 00:14:57,500 Because theologians and nerds, they always like to argue about 266 00:14:57,583 --> 00:14:59,000 what they're not doing. 267 00:14:59,083 --> 00:15:01,292 "I'm not doing it because I read the Bible. 268 00:15:01,333 --> 00:15:03,000 It said not to do anything." 269 00:15:03,042 --> 00:15:07,167 Using the Bible to excuse your disobedience to the Bible 270 00:15:07,250 --> 00:15:11,167 is not rightly using the Bible. 271 00:15:11,250 --> 00:15:12,958 "But someone will say," hypothetically in their 272 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,375 Community Group because they're a nerd, and they love footnotes, 273 00:15:15,458 --> 00:15:16,792 and they don't do anything. 274 00:15:16,833 --> 00:15:18,375 Hypothetically, "But someone will say, 275 00:15:18,458 --> 00:15:21,500 'You have faith; I have works.'" 276 00:15:21,583 --> 00:15:23,667 "We believe in pluralism, tolerance, and diversity. 277 00:15:23,750 --> 00:15:27,000 "That's your path, this is mine, let's not judge each other. 278 00:15:27,083 --> 00:15:29,625 We're both right." 279 00:15:29,667 --> 00:15:33,125 He says, "Show me your faith apart from your works, 280 00:15:33,167 --> 00:15:35,625 "and I will show you my faith by my works. 281 00:15:35,667 --> 00:15:37,833 "You believe that God is one; you do well. 282 00:15:37,875 --> 00:15:39,333 Even the demons believe that--and shudder!" 283 00:15:39,375 --> 00:15:42,333 So, there are two groups having a little argument in the church. 284 00:15:42,375 --> 00:15:46,125 Two thousand years later, these groups still having an argument. 285 00:15:46,167 --> 00:15:49,792 We have the works people, and we have the faith people. 286 00:15:49,833 --> 00:15:52,208 And the works are works minus faith, 287 00:15:52,292 --> 00:15:55,917 and the faith is minus works. 288 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,125 So, the works-minus-faith people, they are saying, 289 00:15:58,167 --> 00:16:00,375 basically, "You can earn your salvation. 290 00:16:00,458 --> 00:16:04,792 "It's not what Jesus does; it's what you do. 291 00:16:04,833 --> 00:16:07,000 "Be a good person. Try harder. 292 00:16:07,042 --> 00:16:09,667 "Reincarnate. Pay off your karmic debt. 293 00:16:09,750 --> 00:16:11,667 "Go to Mecca. Tithe 10 percent. 294 00:16:11,708 --> 00:16:13,542 "Speak in tongues. Get baptized. 295 00:16:13,625 --> 00:16:17,250 Do something." 296 00:16:17,333 --> 00:16:21,917 This functions oftentimes formally in religion. 297 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,000 And depending upon what religion you go to, 298 00:16:24,042 --> 00:16:26,000 they're going to hand you another job description. 299 00:16:26,042 --> 00:16:28,167 Do these things, and then God will love you, 300 00:16:28,250 --> 00:16:30,667 and God will save you, and God will forgive you, 301 00:16:30,750 --> 00:16:32,875 and you can go off to Never Never Land. 302 00:16:32,958 --> 00:16:34,875 It's going to be awesome for you forever. 303 00:16:34,958 --> 00:16:36,625 Just do these things on the list. 304 00:16:36,667 --> 00:16:38,625 Every, every, every single religion is about works 305 00:16:38,667 --> 00:16:40,000 except for Christianity. 306 00:16:40,083 --> 00:16:41,500 That's why I get frustrated. 307 00:16:41,542 --> 00:16:43,500 People are like, "Oh, Christianity is just like 308 00:16:43,542 --> 00:16:45,000 other religions." 309 00:16:45,042 --> 00:16:46,500 No, it's not. 310 00:16:46,542 --> 00:16:48,125 Like, babysitting is not like terrorism. 311 00:16:48,167 --> 00:16:51,083 They're different. 312 00:16:51,167 --> 00:16:54,208 They treat people differently. 313 00:16:54,292 --> 00:16:56,500 Religion and Christianity are different, 314 00:16:56,583 --> 00:16:58,500 and all religions are works. 315 00:16:58,542 --> 00:17:02,542 You work hard and save yourself. 316 00:17:02,625 --> 00:17:07,833 Christianity: Jesus does all the work, you just trust him. 317 00:17:09,708 --> 00:17:11,083 I was talking to Ravi Zacharias. 318 00:17:11,167 --> 00:17:13,083 I was interviewing him for a book project. 319 00:17:13,167 --> 00:17:15,792 If you've not read Ravi, read him, but if you can, 320 00:17:15,833 --> 00:17:17,167 listen to him. 321 00:17:17,250 --> 00:17:18,667 He's Canadian, we still love him. 322 00:17:18,708 --> 00:17:22,833 And he's East Indian with a British accent. 323 00:17:22,875 --> 00:17:24,625 The guy could read the phone book 324 00:17:24,667 --> 00:17:28,375 and make it sound amazing, OK? 325 00:17:28,458 --> 00:17:30,333 And he's one of the foremost Christian experts 326 00:17:30,375 --> 00:17:31,917 on world religions. 327 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,708 And I was interviewing Ravi, and here's what he said: 328 00:17:34,792 --> 00:17:38,208 "Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Judaism, 329 00:17:38,292 --> 00:17:42,292 "Islam--all of them have one common assumption in one way 330 00:17:42,333 --> 00:17:46,125 "or the other, whether they be pantheistic or theistic, 331 00:17:46,167 --> 00:17:52,000 "that the means to your destination is good works at 332 00:17:52,083 --> 00:17:55,708 "the keeping of a certain moral framework, or certain laws, 333 00:17:55,792 --> 00:17:59,167 or certain rules." 334 00:17:59,250 --> 00:18:05,167 Every religion except for Christianity says there is 335 00:18:05,250 --> 00:18:10,458 a savior, and you meet them every morning in the mirror. 336 00:18:10,500 --> 00:18:15,292 This leads to pride-- "I save myself"--or despair, 337 00:18:15,333 --> 00:18:18,583 "I failed and lost my salvation." 338 00:18:18,667 --> 00:18:22,875 There's great uncertainty and anxiety if salvation 339 00:18:22,958 --> 00:18:26,375 is accomplished by me. 340 00:18:26,458 --> 00:18:29,000 And these people are having this argument with the faith people. 341 00:18:29,083 --> 00:18:31,000 So, the works people are having an argument 342 00:18:31,083 --> 00:18:32,417 with the faith people. 343 00:18:32,500 --> 00:18:34,917 And the faith people are faith minus works. 344 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:40,333 They're saying, "You know what? 345 00:18:40,375 --> 00:18:42,625 "We just need to calm down. 346 00:18:42,667 --> 00:18:46,167 "There's no need to get so serious like these 347 00:18:46,250 --> 00:18:49,500 "devoutly religious people. 348 00:18:49,583 --> 00:18:54,125 "We don't need to pray. God's sovereign; 349 00:18:54,167 --> 00:18:58,000 "he already takes care of everything. 350 00:18:58,042 --> 00:19:01,667 "We don't need to give; 351 00:19:01,750 --> 00:19:06,792 "God will provide. 352 00:19:06,833 --> 00:19:12,792 "We don't need to serve; that would be legalism and works, 353 00:19:12,833 --> 00:19:17,333 "and we should sit down. 354 00:19:17,417 --> 00:19:22,583 "We should just trust the Lord, and maybe argue theology, 355 00:19:22,667 --> 00:19:28,833 "and publish some books, and wait for Jesus to come back. 356 00:19:28,875 --> 00:19:31,208 "You don't want to do anything. 357 00:19:31,292 --> 00:19:33,208 "You're not religious, are you? 358 00:19:33,292 --> 00:19:34,792 "You don't want to do anything. 359 00:19:34,833 --> 00:19:36,500 "You're not legalistic, are you? 360 00:19:36,542 --> 00:19:39,000 "Why are you trying? Don't you trust Jesus? 361 00:19:39,042 --> 00:19:41,000 "Why are you helping? Why are you praying? 362 00:19:41,042 --> 00:19:43,000 "Why are you caring? Why are you serving? 363 00:19:43,042 --> 00:19:44,375 "That's not very godly. 364 00:19:44,458 --> 00:19:46,500 "You look like the Pharisees. 365 00:19:46,583 --> 00:19:49,833 Remember those religious guys?" 366 00:19:49,875 --> 00:19:52,625 So, the faith people are over here saying, 367 00:19:52,667 --> 00:19:55,917 "Don't do anything like those religious people." 368 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,208 And the works people are over here saying, 369 00:19:58,292 --> 00:19:59,708 "You don't need Jesus. 370 00:19:59,792 --> 00:20:05,208 "Like a virgin had a baby who rose from the dead. 371 00:20:05,292 --> 00:20:07,000 "How about something more practical like, 372 00:20:07,042 --> 00:20:11,167 you figure it out yourself and you fix it yourself?" 373 00:20:11,250 --> 00:20:13,875 And James says they're both wrong. 374 00:20:13,958 --> 00:20:15,417 They're both wrong. 375 00:20:15,500 --> 00:20:18,000 Now, there are versions of this in Christianity. 376 00:20:18,083 --> 00:20:20,375 There are whole churches and denominations that basically 377 00:20:20,458 --> 00:20:22,583 take one of these options: the faith option 378 00:20:22,667 --> 00:20:24,208 or the works option, 379 00:20:24,292 --> 00:20:27,917 and both are demonic. 380 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,333 Now, there's an informal third way that exists in our culture, 381 00:20:31,375 --> 00:20:33,833 and that is, "No, I'm not going to do nothing 382 00:20:33,875 --> 00:20:36,333 "and I'm not going to do a lot of things. 383 00:20:36,375 --> 00:20:39,000 I'll just assume that what I'm already doing is good enough." 384 00:20:39,083 --> 00:20:41,208 These are people who are like, "If you died, 385 00:20:41,292 --> 00:20:42,708 do you know where you're going?" 386 00:20:42,792 --> 00:20:44,208 "I'm going to heaven." "Why?" 387 00:20:44,292 --> 00:20:46,417 "I believe in God. I'm a pretty good person." 388 00:20:46,500 --> 00:20:48,625 Which means, "I'm not going to try any harder. 389 00:20:48,667 --> 00:20:52,333 "I feel like he grades on a curve, and I think I'm OK. 390 00:20:52,375 --> 00:20:54,208 "I'm one of those C students, 391 00:20:54,292 --> 00:20:56,792 "but you know, he grades on a curve. 392 00:20:56,833 --> 00:20:59,292 "Oh, I could do more, but I could do less. 393 00:20:59,333 --> 00:21:01,083 I'm a pretty good person." 394 00:21:01,167 --> 00:21:03,167 How many of you thought, or think, 395 00:21:03,250 --> 00:21:05,875 or know someone who thinks they're a pretty good person. 396 00:21:05,958 --> 00:21:07,292 They believe in God. 397 00:21:07,333 --> 00:21:09,292 "I'm sure it'll be fine when I die. 398 00:21:09,333 --> 00:21:12,042 If there's a happy place, I'll go there." 399 00:21:12,125 --> 00:21:18,042 Most people are in that category. 400 00:21:18,125 --> 00:21:19,667 What's the answer? 401 00:21:19,750 --> 00:21:23,667 James says, 402 00:21:23,750 --> 00:21:30,083 "You are like a demon." 403 00:21:31,250 --> 00:21:33,875 He talks about demonic faith. 404 00:21:33,958 --> 00:21:35,292 "Demonic faith." 405 00:21:35,333 --> 00:21:36,667 I'll put it in quotes. 406 00:21:36,750 --> 00:21:38,833 It's not saving faith. 407 00:21:38,917 --> 00:21:45,125 Demonic faith approaches God the way demons approach God. 408 00:21:45,167 --> 00:21:47,625 He says, "Oh, you believe in one God. 409 00:21:47,667 --> 00:21:50,333 Congratulations, you're a monotheist." 410 00:21:50,375 --> 00:21:54,625 Even the demons are monotheists. 411 00:21:54,667 --> 00:22:00,792 You can have an understanding of Jesus 412 00:22:00,833 --> 00:22:04,042 without an affection for Jesus. 413 00:22:04,125 --> 00:22:05,750 You know what's curious? 414 00:22:05,833 --> 00:22:07,292 I'll give you a couple examples. 415 00:22:07,333 --> 00:22:09,792 As you read the Gospels-- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-- 416 00:22:09,833 --> 00:22:11,792 and they talk about the life of Jesus, 417 00:22:11,833 --> 00:22:14,542 there's a lot of people that don't know who Jesus is, 418 00:22:14,625 --> 00:22:16,250 like his family. 419 00:22:16,333 --> 00:22:18,458 They don't know who he is. 420 00:22:18,500 --> 00:22:22,875 His disciples-- he calls them dull. 421 00:22:22,958 --> 00:22:24,500 I'm sure it didn't bother them. 422 00:22:24,542 --> 00:22:26,667 When you're that dull, it just flies right by. 423 00:22:26,750 --> 00:22:30,792 But anyways--because they didn't know who he was. 424 00:22:30,833 --> 00:22:36,292 The religious people didn't know who he was. 425 00:22:36,333 --> 00:22:38,833 The demons knew who he was. 426 00:22:38,917 --> 00:22:42,833 As you read the gospels, the demons know who Jesus is. 427 00:22:42,917 --> 00:22:44,292 I'll give you some examples. 428 00:22:44,333 --> 00:22:47,292 Mark 1:34, "He," Jesus, "would not permit the demons to speak 429 00:22:47,333 --> 00:22:50,625 because they knew him." 430 00:22:50,667 --> 00:22:54,500 Luke 4:33-34, "There was a man who had the spirit of 431 00:22:54,583 --> 00:22:57,500 "an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 432 00:22:57,583 --> 00:23:02,333 'I know who you are-- the Holy One of God.'" 433 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,667 Luke 4:41, "Demons also came out of many, saying, 434 00:23:07,708 --> 00:23:11,667 "'You are the Son of God!' 435 00:23:11,708 --> 00:23:14,458 "But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak 436 00:23:14,500 --> 00:23:18,958 because they knew that he was the Christ." 437 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,500 There's dead faith, friends. 438 00:23:22,542 --> 00:23:26,500 I had dead faith until I was 19 and met Jesus. 439 00:23:26,542 --> 00:23:29,250 I would have said, "Oh, I was baptized as a baby. 440 00:23:29,333 --> 00:23:32,583 "I believe in God and I'm a good person, better than most. 441 00:23:32,667 --> 00:23:34,167 I'm sure I'm fine." 442 00:23:34,250 --> 00:23:36,792 Dead faith. 443 00:23:36,833 --> 00:23:38,792 I didn't know Jesus, I didn't love Jesus, 444 00:23:38,833 --> 00:23:40,667 I didn't enjoy the life of Jesus, 445 00:23:40,750 --> 00:23:43,583 I wasn't growing in Christ-likeness. 446 00:23:43,667 --> 00:23:48,000 The life of Jesus was not flowing through my life. 447 00:23:48,042 --> 00:23:53,333 Some of you have dead faith, and some of you have demonic faith. 448 00:23:53,375 --> 00:23:56,833 You know who Jesus is, but you don't love him. 449 00:23:56,875 --> 00:23:58,833 You're not responding to him. 450 00:23:58,875 --> 00:24:03,000 His life has not overtaken your life. 451 00:24:03,042 --> 00:24:06,875 There's three aspects of demonic faith, and again, 452 00:24:06,958 --> 00:24:08,583 I use these in quotes. 453 00:24:08,667 --> 00:24:11,958 Demonic faith has information but not transformation. 454 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:18,750 OK, do demons become Christians, yes or no? 455 00:24:18,833 --> 00:24:21,875 No. 456 00:24:21,958 --> 00:24:24,583 Do Jesus--excuse me, let me ask it a different way. 457 00:24:24,667 --> 00:24:27,875 Do demons know who Jesus is, yes or no? 458 00:24:27,958 --> 00:24:29,375 Yes. 459 00:24:29,458 --> 00:24:32,375 So, they know who Jesus is, and they go to hell. 460 00:24:32,458 --> 00:24:38,667 You can know who Jesus is and go to hell because you need 461 00:24:38,708 --> 00:24:40,792 more than just information. 462 00:24:40,833 --> 00:24:46,083 You need that information to result in your transformation. 463 00:24:46,167 --> 00:24:48,917 Some of you could pass a test. 464 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:50,500 "Jesus is the Son of God. 465 00:24:50,583 --> 00:24:52,292 You are the Holy One." 466 00:24:52,333 --> 00:24:57,625 And you could score 100 percent along with the demon 467 00:24:57,667 --> 00:25:00,167 and be with them forever, 468 00:25:00,250 --> 00:25:04,542 because the test is not just fill-in-the-blank-- 469 00:25:04,625 --> 00:25:07,292 it's fill in the life. 470 00:25:07,333 --> 00:25:11,458 It's not just what you know; it's what that knowledge 471 00:25:11,500 --> 00:25:14,792 does to transform you. 472 00:25:14,833 --> 00:25:17,042 The idea is this: 473 00:25:17,125 --> 00:25:20,833 You can't say, "I met Jesus and nothing changed." 474 00:25:20,917 --> 00:25:24,500 You can't. 475 00:25:24,542 --> 00:25:31,500 You can't meet the Creator of the universe and not change. 476 00:25:31,542 --> 00:25:35,500 Number two, demonic faith knows about Jesus 477 00:25:35,542 --> 00:25:37,833 but does not love Jesus. 478 00:25:37,917 --> 00:25:40,500 "You are the Holy One. You are the Son of God. 479 00:25:40,542 --> 00:25:41,875 We know who you are." 480 00:25:41,958 --> 00:25:44,042 They don't say, "And we love you. 481 00:25:44,125 --> 00:25:46,833 "And we're so glad to meet you. 482 00:25:46,875 --> 00:25:49,500 "And we want to become more like you. 483 00:25:49,583 --> 00:25:52,708 "And we want to follow you, and we want to listen to you, 484 00:25:52,792 --> 00:25:55,583 "and we want to submit to you, and we want others 485 00:25:55,667 --> 00:25:57,833 to see you through us." 486 00:25:57,875 --> 00:25:59,708 They don't love him. 487 00:25:59,792 --> 00:26:02,208 Do you love Jesus? 488 00:26:03,458 --> 00:26:05,500 Do you love Jesus? 489 00:26:05,542 --> 00:26:07,292 Has he changed you? 490 00:26:07,333 --> 00:26:10,292 Is he changing you? 491 00:26:10,333 --> 00:26:14,333 Thirdly, demonic faith is rebellious and not repentant. 492 00:26:14,417 --> 00:26:16,833 "You are the Holy One, the Son of God, 493 00:26:16,917 --> 00:26:19,458 "and we're not going to do what you say. 494 00:26:19,500 --> 00:26:21,167 "We're not going to submit to you, 495 00:26:21,250 --> 00:26:24,375 "we're not going to obey you, we're not going to yield to you. 496 00:26:24,458 --> 00:26:26,167 "We're not going to bend our knee 497 00:26:26,208 --> 00:26:28,167 "and bow our head in honor of you. 498 00:26:28,208 --> 00:26:29,542 No way." 499 00:26:29,625 --> 00:26:33,167 Some of you, you know who Jesus is and you disobey 500 00:26:33,250 --> 00:26:35,875 and you rebel. 501 00:26:35,958 --> 00:26:37,667 And if somebody confronts you, they're like, 502 00:26:37,750 --> 00:26:39,083 "What you're doing is wrong." 503 00:26:39,167 --> 00:26:40,500 "Look, don't talk to me. 504 00:26:40,542 --> 00:26:41,875 "I know who Jesus is. 505 00:26:41,958 --> 00:26:45,417 He's the Holy One, the Son of God." 506 00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:49,167 You are like a demon. 507 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:58,875 You're like a demon. 508 00:26:58,958 --> 00:27:01,958 These are two kinds of counterfeit faith. 509 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,167 Dead faith, demonic faith. 510 00:27:05,250 --> 00:27:11,167 Dead faith does not produce fruitful living. 511 00:27:11,250 --> 00:27:15,958 Demonic faith is entirely, exclusively, 512 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:20,458 continually theological and theoretical. 513 00:27:20,500 --> 00:27:25,375 It's not practical; it's not actual. 514 00:27:25,458 --> 00:27:28,833 The demons in the New Testament 515 00:27:28,917 --> 00:27:33,083 have a theology of Jesus that 516 00:27:33,167 --> 00:27:37,000 is better than a great multitude of Bible college 517 00:27:37,042 --> 00:27:43,000 and seminary professors. 518 00:27:43,042 --> 00:27:47,417 If the demons were to write a book on Jesus, 519 00:27:47,500 --> 00:27:50,417 it would be clearer than some of the junk at the Christian 520 00:27:50,500 --> 00:27:54,500 bookstore for sale right now, because when they talk about 521 00:27:54,542 --> 00:27:59,917 Jesus, they actually get it right. 522 00:28:00,042 --> 00:28:05,000 Some of you, you live in a world of theoretical and theological, 523 00:28:05,042 --> 00:28:09,500 and you are using the Scriptures to explain away and defend 524 00:28:09,542 --> 00:28:12,917 your fruitless, faithless life. 525 00:28:20,250 --> 00:28:24,667 And there's a third way. 526 00:28:24,750 --> 00:28:27,458 It's dynamic faith. 527 00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:31,667 It's not dead faith, it's not demonic faith; 528 00:28:31,750 --> 00:28:35,667 it's dynamic faith. 529 00:28:35,750 --> 00:28:39,958 James continues, chapter 2, verses 20-26. 530 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:45,917 "Do you want to be shown, you foolish person?" 531 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,375 How many of you think you're pretty smart? 532 00:28:49,458 --> 00:28:52,875 You're like, "I don't know, he's yelling. 533 00:28:52,958 --> 00:28:55,417 "I'm pretty smart. 534 00:28:55,500 --> 00:29:00,792 "I don't feel like you should yell at someone as smart as me. 535 00:29:00,833 --> 00:29:03,292 "Oh yeah, there's a dumb guy sitting next to me. 536 00:29:03,333 --> 00:29:04,667 "All right, it's OK. 537 00:29:04,750 --> 00:29:07,292 He needs to yell at that guy." 538 00:29:07,333 --> 00:29:09,583 We think we're pretty smart, don't we? 539 00:29:09,667 --> 00:29:11,958 I'm pretty smart. 540 00:29:14,917 --> 00:29:17,500 I'm pretty smart. 541 00:29:17,542 --> 00:29:20,542 He says, "No, you're a foolish person." 542 00:29:20,625 --> 00:29:22,667 Here he's echoing the Wisdom Literature. 543 00:29:22,708 --> 00:29:25,875 A lot of the Bible's about sin and holiness, 544 00:29:25,958 --> 00:29:29,875 but the Wisdom Literature's about folly and wisdom. 545 00:29:29,958 --> 00:29:31,375 He says, "You know what? 546 00:29:31,458 --> 00:29:33,875 This is foolish, I want you to be wise." 547 00:29:33,958 --> 00:29:35,792 Some of you say, "I'm a Christian!" 548 00:29:35,833 --> 00:29:37,583 Maybe a foolish Christian. 549 00:29:37,667 --> 00:29:42,083 You can be a foolish Christian. 550 00:29:42,167 --> 00:29:44,292 "Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, 551 00:29:44,333 --> 00:29:47,583 that faith apart from works is useless?" 552 00:29:47,667 --> 00:29:51,000 So, he's going to do two case studies-- 553 00:29:51,042 --> 00:29:54,542 Abraham, Rahab, a man and a woman. 554 00:29:54,625 --> 00:29:58,875 "Was not Abraham our father justified by works 555 00:29:58,958 --> 00:30:01,958 "when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 556 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,958 "You see that faith was active along with his works, 557 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:06,750 and faith was completed." 558 00:30:06,833 --> 00:30:09,250 I want you to pay careful attention to that word. 559 00:30:09,333 --> 00:30:11,000 We're going to come back to it. 560 00:30:11,042 --> 00:30:12,667 Super important. 561 00:30:12,750 --> 00:30:14,167 "Completed by his works; 562 00:30:14,250 --> 00:30:16,792 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says"-- 563 00:30:16,833 --> 00:30:19,000 and he goes back and quotes Genesis. 564 00:30:19,042 --> 00:30:20,875 Massive verse of the Bible. 565 00:30:20,958 --> 00:30:22,583 It echoes through the whole Bible. 566 00:30:22,667 --> 00:30:25,167 It's a massive, massive concept and theme. 567 00:30:25,208 --> 00:30:30,167 And Abraham becomes for us this towering figure of faith. 568 00:30:30,208 --> 00:30:33,292 "'Abraham believed God,'" there's faith, 569 00:30:33,333 --> 00:30:37,167 "'and it was counted to him as righteousness'--and he was 570 00:30:37,208 --> 00:30:39,333 "called a friend of God. 571 00:30:39,417 --> 00:30:43,042 "You see that a person is justified by works 572 00:30:43,125 --> 00:30:45,042 "and not by faith alone. 573 00:30:45,125 --> 00:30:47,583 In the same way"-- second case study-- 574 00:30:47,667 --> 00:30:52,208 "was not also Rahab the prostitute." 575 00:30:52,292 --> 00:30:54,708 OK, if you're here and you've done some things 576 00:30:54,792 --> 00:30:56,500 you're ashamed of, 577 00:30:56,583 --> 00:31:01,042 the Bible talks about God loving people like you. 578 00:31:01,125 --> 00:31:03,167 This is the real problem with religion. 579 00:31:03,250 --> 00:31:04,667 The real problem with religion is, 580 00:31:04,708 --> 00:31:06,667 "Be a good person and save yourself." 581 00:31:06,750 --> 00:31:11,875 You're like, "I've been a bad person, what now?" 582 00:31:11,958 --> 00:31:15,000 Rahab was a prostitute. 583 00:31:15,042 --> 00:31:17,875 Do you know what it was like to be a prostitute 584 00:31:17,958 --> 00:31:19,375 thousands of years ago? 585 00:31:19,458 --> 00:31:21,833 No more socially acceptable than today. 586 00:31:21,917 --> 00:31:23,583 You think Rahab's going to die, 587 00:31:23,667 --> 00:31:26,000 stand before the holy and righteous God of the universe, 588 00:31:26,042 --> 00:31:27,667 God's like, 589 00:31:27,708 --> 00:31:30,292 "All right, tell me what you did to earn your salvation?" 590 00:31:30,333 --> 00:31:31,667 "I was a good prostitute." 591 00:31:31,750 --> 00:31:34,333 Uh, no. 592 00:31:34,417 --> 00:31:41,167 If God saves, that's the most loving, 593 00:31:41,250 --> 00:31:43,792 and it's the most hopeful, 594 00:31:43,833 --> 00:31:49,792 and it welcomes the worst sinner, like me. 595 00:31:49,833 --> 00:31:52,000 "Was not Rahab the prostitute was justified by works when she 596 00:31:52,083 --> 00:31:55,125 "received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 597 00:31:55,167 --> 00:31:57,667 "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, 598 00:31:57,750 --> 00:32:02,583 so also faith apart from works is dead." 599 00:32:02,667 --> 00:32:06,042 He says, "You know Rahab? She was a sinner. 600 00:32:06,125 --> 00:32:08,167 "Everybody knew it. 601 00:32:08,208 --> 00:32:09,792 "She wasn't one of God's people. 602 00:32:09,833 --> 00:32:11,792 "And then God's people showed up in town, 603 00:32:11,833 --> 00:32:13,292 "and God's people were in danger. 604 00:32:13,333 --> 00:32:14,792 "They were gonna lose their life, 605 00:32:14,833 --> 00:32:17,000 "so what Rahab did is she had a conversion, 606 00:32:17,042 --> 00:32:18,500 "and she identified with God's people, 607 00:32:18,542 --> 00:32:20,500 "and she realized that her life was wrong, 608 00:32:20,542 --> 00:32:22,167 and she immediately started making some changes." 609 00:32:22,250 --> 00:32:24,375 What he's saying is as soon as Rahab converted, 610 00:32:24,458 --> 00:32:26,583 you could see it. 611 00:32:26,667 --> 00:32:29,583 Her life started changing. 612 00:32:29,667 --> 00:32:32,083 She wasn't perfect, but she was different. 613 00:32:32,167 --> 00:32:35,333 Friends, Christians aren't perfect, but they're different, 614 00:32:35,417 --> 00:32:37,792 and they're on the path to perfection that ends 615 00:32:37,833 --> 00:32:39,333 with the resurrection, 616 00:32:39,417 --> 00:32:42,833 which is where they see their perfection. 617 00:32:42,917 --> 00:32:45,833 So, what Rahab did is she endangered herself by helping 618 00:32:45,875 --> 00:32:47,917 God's people escape. 619 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,333 She identified with God's people, she changed, 620 00:32:50,375 --> 00:32:54,792 and she served God's people and God's purposes. 621 00:32:54,833 --> 00:32:57,500 She didn't just say, "I trust the Lord. 622 00:32:57,583 --> 00:33:03,000 Good luck getting out of town. Good luck!" 623 00:33:03,042 --> 00:33:05,667 She said, "I'm here to help. 624 00:33:05,750 --> 00:33:07,667 "Because God loves me, I love you. 625 00:33:07,708 --> 00:33:09,375 "Because God served me, I serve you. 626 00:33:09,458 --> 00:33:12,083 "Because God was there for me, God is there for you. 627 00:33:12,167 --> 00:33:14,833 "Because God got me out of the mess I was in, 628 00:33:14,917 --> 00:33:17,792 "I want to help get you out of the mess you're in. 629 00:33:17,833 --> 00:33:19,792 "It's God's work for me and in me 630 00:33:19,833 --> 00:33:21,292 and through me to your benefit." 631 00:33:21,333 --> 00:33:22,667 He says, "What about Abraham?" 632 00:33:22,750 --> 00:33:24,667 And Abraham's this great, towering figure of faith. 633 00:33:24,750 --> 00:33:28,375 Well, the story of Abraham is that he was to be a father, 634 00:33:28,458 --> 00:33:29,875 but he didn't have a son. 635 00:33:29,958 --> 00:33:32,542 And so the promise was given that a son was coming, 636 00:33:32,625 --> 00:33:35,042 and the son would come through a miracle. 637 00:33:35,125 --> 00:33:38,167 A woman who couldn't have a baby--she was barren and 638 00:33:38,208 --> 00:33:42,167 elderly--would give birth not just to a child, but to a son, 639 00:33:42,250 --> 00:33:46,208 a firstborn son, a beloved son, a son of a promise through whom 640 00:33:46,292 --> 00:33:49,917 would come a Savior named Jesus. 641 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,833 And they waited a long time, and the promise was fulfilled, 642 00:33:53,875 --> 00:33:58,833 and the son was born, and he was loved. 643 00:33:58,875 --> 00:34:03,833 And as he grew to be a young man, God told Abraham, 644 00:34:03,917 --> 00:34:06,292 "I want you to take your son, your only son, 645 00:34:06,333 --> 00:34:08,375 "your firstborn son, the son of the promise, 646 00:34:08,458 --> 00:34:10,083 "the son that you waited for, 647 00:34:10,167 --> 00:34:12,292 "the son that was born by a miracle, 648 00:34:12,333 --> 00:34:17,583 and I want you to offer him as a sacrifice to me." 649 00:34:17,667 --> 00:34:20,292 That a father would kill his son, 650 00:34:20,333 --> 00:34:23,167 all of this is foreshadowing the forthcoming of Jesus. 651 00:34:23,208 --> 00:34:26,583 That the Father would send his only begotten Son, 652 00:34:26,667 --> 00:34:30,167 the Lord Jesus Christ; that we would wait a long time for him; 653 00:34:30,208 --> 00:34:33,375 that he would be born through a miracle to a woman who was 654 00:34:33,458 --> 00:34:36,333 a virgin and not otherwise able to conceive apart from 655 00:34:36,417 --> 00:34:39,000 the intervention of God; that when born, 656 00:34:39,042 --> 00:34:42,750 he would be greatly loved, and he would be the Son of the promise 657 00:34:42,833 --> 00:34:45,042 from the line of Abraham. 658 00:34:45,125 --> 00:34:47,625 So, all of this points to Jesus. 659 00:34:47,667 --> 00:34:51,500 And what the Bible says in Genesis is that they went, 660 00:34:51,542 --> 00:34:54,833 and Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac 661 00:34:54,875 --> 00:34:57,000 in obedience to the Lord, 662 00:34:57,042 --> 00:35:00,792 and that Isaac literally carried the wood on his own back, 663 00:35:00,833 --> 00:35:03,333 just like Jesus carried the cross to his place 664 00:35:03,417 --> 00:35:05,875 of crucifixion and execution. 665 00:35:05,958 --> 00:35:11,375 And in faith, Abraham was going to sacrifice his only son. 666 00:35:11,458 --> 00:35:15,583 And God intervened through the angel of the Lord, 667 00:35:15,667 --> 00:35:22,458 perhaps even Jesus, and said, "Don't sacrifice your son. 668 00:35:22,500 --> 00:35:24,500 "There's an animal as a substitute. 669 00:35:24,542 --> 00:35:27,167 But on the Mountain of the Lord, it will be provided," 670 00:35:27,250 --> 00:35:30,167 meaning there would be another day when the Father would send 671 00:35:30,250 --> 00:35:32,958 another Son who would carry different wood, 672 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:36,458 and he instead would substitute himself for the salvation 673 00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:39,667 of sinners. 674 00:35:39,708 --> 00:35:42,000 And what James is saying, 675 00:35:42,042 --> 00:35:43,500 particularly to these Jewish Christians 676 00:35:43,542 --> 00:35:45,667 who are in the city of Jerusalem attending this 677 00:35:45,750 --> 00:35:48,583 large church, is, "What if Abraham would have said, 678 00:35:48,667 --> 00:35:51,708 "'I have faith, but not works? 679 00:35:51,792 --> 00:35:54,875 I trust the Lord; I just don't do anything.'" 680 00:35:54,958 --> 00:35:59,125 Faith is not just what we believe internally, 681 00:35:59,167 --> 00:36:02,792 it's how we behave externally. 682 00:36:02,833 --> 00:36:05,000 I'll give you a simple analogy. 683 00:36:05,042 --> 00:36:07,792 With every one of my kids, this happened. 684 00:36:07,833 --> 00:36:09,667 Summer comes, I'm in the pool. 685 00:36:09,750 --> 00:36:12,375 They don't know how to swim, they need to learn, 686 00:36:12,458 --> 00:36:14,375 they're terrified of jumping in the pool. 687 00:36:14,458 --> 00:36:16,333 OK, some of you didn't have that kid. 688 00:36:16,417 --> 00:36:19,750 They jumped in the pool, and you had to be their rescuer, OK? 689 00:36:19,833 --> 00:36:22,167 My kids are more scared to jump in the pool. 690 00:36:22,250 --> 00:36:25,875 So, I would be in the pool having this conversation with 691 00:36:25,958 --> 00:36:27,875 every one of my children at some point 692 00:36:27,958 --> 00:36:29,583 when they were very, very little. 693 00:36:29,667 --> 00:36:33,000 "Jump," and they would say, "No," OK? 694 00:36:33,042 --> 00:36:35,333 "Jump." 695 00:36:35,417 --> 00:36:37,000 "I'll die." 696 00:36:37,042 --> 00:36:39,833 "No, no, no, you can trust me. 697 00:36:39,917 --> 00:36:42,500 "I wouldn't lie to you 698 00:36:42,542 --> 00:36:44,750 "and I wouldn't tell you something wrong. 699 00:36:44,833 --> 00:36:47,875 Trust me. Jump in the pool." 700 00:36:47,958 --> 00:36:51,292 Invariably, because I raised five small attorneys, 701 00:36:51,333 --> 00:36:54,208 the negotiation would go something like this. 702 00:36:54,292 --> 00:36:57,125 I would ask, "Do you trust your dad?" 703 00:36:57,167 --> 00:36:59,833 They would say, "I trust you, Dad." 704 00:36:59,875 --> 00:37:01,292 "Then jump." 705 00:37:01,333 --> 00:37:02,833 "No." 706 00:37:02,917 --> 00:37:06,958 OK, so here we are, edge of the pool, all right? 707 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:08,667 "I trust you, Dad." 708 00:37:08,708 --> 00:37:10,333 "No you don't." 709 00:37:10,417 --> 00:37:11,792 "I trust you in here." 710 00:37:11,833 --> 00:37:13,375 "OK, that's a good start. 711 00:37:13,458 --> 00:37:15,167 Jump." 712 00:37:15,250 --> 00:37:17,792 If they never jump, do they trust me? 713 00:37:17,833 --> 00:37:21,667 No, because trust in here 714 00:37:21,708 --> 00:37:25,042 results in action out there. 715 00:37:25,125 --> 00:37:30,458 Once they jump, they really have faith in their father. 716 00:37:30,500 --> 00:37:35,875 Until then, they have faith in their footing. 717 00:37:35,958 --> 00:37:41,500 What he's saying here is, Rahab-- she trusted the Lord in here 718 00:37:41,542 --> 00:37:44,083 and you could see it out there; 719 00:37:44,167 --> 00:37:46,417 that Abraham trusted the Lord in here 720 00:37:46,500 --> 00:37:49,792 and you could see it out there; that when the Father asked them 721 00:37:49,833 --> 00:37:52,833 to jump, they jumped, and he caught them, 722 00:37:52,875 --> 00:37:57,500 and he cared for them, and everything was OK. 723 00:37:57,583 --> 00:38:00,500 That's dynamic faith. 724 00:38:00,542 --> 00:38:03,292 Now, here's what happens. 725 00:38:03,333 --> 00:38:05,292 How many of you are armchair theologians? 726 00:38:05,333 --> 00:38:07,042 You've been looking forward to this week. 727 00:38:07,125 --> 00:38:08,458 You've been reading ahead. 728 00:38:08,500 --> 00:38:09,958 You're all loaded for Community Group. 729 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:13,167 Whoo hoo hoo, ready to go, OK? 730 00:38:13,250 --> 00:38:15,875 And you know--you know, "Oh boy, this is a big text. 731 00:38:15,958 --> 00:38:17,583 "This is a theological text. 732 00:38:17,667 --> 00:38:20,542 "A lot of books have been written, a lot of debates had, 733 00:38:20,625 --> 00:38:23,375 a lot of nerds blogging, can't wait." 734 00:38:23,458 --> 00:38:30,000 And your question is this: "Does James contradict Paul?" 735 00:38:30,042 --> 00:38:33,250 How many of you, OK, be honest, 736 00:38:33,333 --> 00:38:36,583 you know that this is a debate? 737 00:38:36,667 --> 00:38:38,292 The denominations have split over it, 738 00:38:38,333 --> 00:38:40,958 churches have split over it, books have been written over it, 739 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,292 debates have been had regarding it. 740 00:38:43,333 --> 00:38:44,667 Here it is. 741 00:38:44,750 --> 00:38:46,500 We go through books of the Bible. 742 00:38:46,542 --> 00:38:48,667 It forces us to deal with things that sometimes 743 00:38:48,750 --> 00:38:50,083 we wouldn't get into. 744 00:38:50,167 --> 00:38:51,833 Praise be to God, here it is. 745 00:38:51,875 --> 00:38:53,833 Here's the question, do James and Paul contradict? 746 00:38:53,875 --> 00:38:56,000 How many of you have heard this from somebody? 747 00:38:56,083 --> 00:38:57,708 They're like, "I don't believe the Bible. 748 00:38:57,792 --> 00:38:59,500 The Bible has a lot of contradictions." 749 00:38:59,542 --> 00:39:00,958 OK, here's what you do. 750 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:02,667 First thing, you're like, "Such as?" 751 00:39:02,750 --> 00:39:07,083 And then usually, here's what you get, "Uh, I don't know." 752 00:39:07,167 --> 00:39:09,583 I've asked this for 20 years. 753 00:39:09,667 --> 00:39:11,083 Every time somebody comes up, 754 00:39:11,167 --> 00:39:12,750 "It has a lot of contradictions." 755 00:39:12,833 --> 00:39:14,167 Oh, big claim. 756 00:39:14,208 --> 00:39:15,542 Ooh, big claim. 757 00:39:15,625 --> 00:39:16,958 Where? Where? 758 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:18,333 Give me one. 759 00:39:18,417 --> 00:39:21,292 "Uh, I don't know." 760 00:39:21,333 --> 00:39:27,042 OK, you are a contradiction, OK? 761 00:39:27,125 --> 00:39:29,500 So, first thing you've got to ask is, 762 00:39:29,542 --> 00:39:30,875 "Where's the contradiction?" 763 00:39:30,958 --> 00:39:34,083 And then go study it and see if it's a contradiction. 764 00:39:34,167 --> 00:39:37,292 The accusation is made that herein lies a contradiction. 765 00:39:37,333 --> 00:39:40,583 James 2:24, "You see that a person is justified by works 766 00:39:40,667 --> 00:39:42,042 and not by faith alone." 767 00:39:42,125 --> 00:39:43,542 We just read that. That's James. 768 00:39:43,625 --> 00:39:44,958 Here's Paul. 769 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:49,167 Romans 3:28, "One is justified by faith apart from"--without-- 770 00:39:49,250 --> 00:39:51,375 "works of the law." 771 00:39:51,458 --> 00:39:54,417 Which is it? 772 00:39:56,208 --> 00:40:00,958 Which is it? 773 00:40:03,917 --> 00:40:06,167 Let me give you an important analogy. 774 00:40:06,250 --> 00:40:08,250 I hope it's a helpful analogy. 775 00:40:08,333 --> 00:40:09,667 You're in a doctor's office. 776 00:40:09,750 --> 00:40:14,167 The doctor's got two rooms where they meet with patients. 777 00:40:14,208 --> 00:40:16,458 And you're, let's say, out in the waiting room 778 00:40:16,500 --> 00:40:18,458 and it's going to be your turn. 779 00:40:18,500 --> 00:40:21,083 And you hear the doctor walk into one room and say, 780 00:40:21,167 --> 00:40:22,667 "You need to start jogging. 781 00:40:22,750 --> 00:40:24,833 "You need to get up and start running. 782 00:40:24,917 --> 00:40:27,000 You need to be active." 783 00:40:27,042 --> 00:40:30,167 Doctor walks into the other room, "You need to sit down. 784 00:40:30,250 --> 00:40:31,667 "You need to stop running. 785 00:40:31,750 --> 00:40:34,000 You shouldn't be active." 786 00:40:34,042 --> 00:40:36,667 Contradiction. 787 00:40:36,750 --> 00:40:39,375 No, different patients. 788 00:40:39,458 --> 00:40:41,875 All right, this guy's really heavy, 789 00:40:41,958 --> 00:40:44,875 and this guy broke his leg. 790 00:40:44,958 --> 00:40:49,000 So, this guy needs to run, and this guy needs to sit down. 791 00:40:49,042 --> 00:40:53,333 It's not a contradiction when you consider the patient. 792 00:40:53,375 --> 00:40:57,417 Then the diagnosis makes sense. 793 00:40:57,500 --> 00:41:00,083 James is writing primarily to highly religious people who 794 00:41:00,167 --> 00:41:02,542 don't do anything, been going to church for a while, 795 00:41:02,625 --> 00:41:04,292 yawn, fill in the blanks, 796 00:41:04,333 --> 00:41:07,750 blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 797 00:41:07,833 --> 00:41:09,583 Paul's writing primarily to Gentiles. 798 00:41:09,667 --> 00:41:11,292 He's out dealing with all these non-Christians 799 00:41:11,333 --> 00:41:13,292 and newly converted Pagans, and they're all terrified. 800 00:41:13,333 --> 00:41:15,750 "Am I going to hell? Am I going to hell? 801 00:41:15,833 --> 00:41:18,375 "Am I going to hell? What do I got to do? 802 00:41:18,458 --> 00:41:20,375 "How much money do I need to give? 803 00:41:20,458 --> 00:41:23,375 "Do I need to reincarnate? Do I need to slaughter a bull? 804 00:41:23,458 --> 00:41:26,583 "Do I need to get baptized? Do I need to speak in tongues? 805 00:41:26,667 --> 00:41:28,083 What do I need to do?" 806 00:41:28,167 --> 00:41:29,583 And Paul's like, "Jesus did everything." 807 00:41:29,667 --> 00:41:31,333 "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I'm very sure. 808 00:41:31,417 --> 00:41:32,750 Jesus did everything." 809 00:41:32,833 --> 00:41:35,958 "Well, what about if I just try some other stuff just in case 810 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:37,667 he didn't cover--" "No, don't do that." 811 00:41:37,750 --> 00:41:39,667 "What if I get circumcised? Will that help?" 812 00:41:39,750 --> 00:41:41,083 "No, no, probably not. 813 00:41:41,167 --> 00:41:43,250 "I don't think that God dying on a cross, 814 00:41:43,333 --> 00:41:45,375 "and you going to the rabbi-- 815 00:41:45,458 --> 00:41:50,500 I don't think that's really going to help." 816 00:41:50,583 --> 00:41:54,292 Different patients, different problems, 817 00:41:54,333 --> 00:41:58,000 different treatments. 818 00:41:58,083 --> 00:42:00,500 If you're writing to religious people who know everything 819 00:42:00,542 --> 00:42:02,875 and do nothing, you're like, "Do something." 820 00:42:02,958 --> 00:42:06,167 You're writing to people who are doing a lot but don't know that 821 00:42:06,250 --> 00:42:10,250 Jesus has done everything, they need to trust in what he 822 00:42:10,333 --> 00:42:13,583 has done before they worry about what they do. 823 00:42:13,667 --> 00:42:17,667 Paul is primarily focused on how we become Christians, 824 00:42:17,750 --> 00:42:21,292 and James is primarily focused on what it means to live 825 00:42:21,333 --> 00:42:25,958 as a Christian, that once Jesus' life invades your life, 826 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,500 it changes your life. 827 00:42:28,542 --> 00:42:30,500 So, you're not saved by your works, 828 00:42:30,542 --> 00:42:33,667 you're saved to your works by Jesus, 829 00:42:33,708 --> 00:42:37,292 and it's ultimately his works through you. 830 00:42:37,333 --> 00:42:40,750 So, here's how we can reconcile Paul and James. 831 00:42:40,833 --> 00:42:42,750 First of all, Paul and James are friends, 832 00:42:42,833 --> 00:42:45,417 and friends don't need to be reconciled. 833 00:42:45,500 --> 00:42:47,917 All right, you can read the Bible for yourself, 834 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:49,625 but in Galatians 1, Paul says, "Yeah, 835 00:42:49,667 --> 00:42:52,333 I took a long trip to go see James in Jerusalem." 836 00:42:52,375 --> 00:42:55,000 You only travel a long way to go meet with somebody 837 00:42:55,083 --> 00:42:57,000 you get along with and you're friends with. 838 00:42:57,042 --> 00:42:59,167 Galatians 2, Paul says, "When I became a Christian, 839 00:42:59,250 --> 00:43:01,750 "I felt like I was supposed to be a pastor. 840 00:43:01,833 --> 00:43:03,958 "I needed somebody to examine me, and approve me, 841 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,583 and lay hands over me, and commission me, and ordain me," 842 00:43:06,667 --> 00:43:09,292 so he says in Galatians 2, "So I went to Jerusalem 843 00:43:09,333 --> 00:43:11,333 to meet with James." 844 00:43:11,417 --> 00:43:14,000 James is like Paul's pastor. 845 00:43:14,042 --> 00:43:15,500 These guys get along fine. 846 00:43:15,542 --> 00:43:17,250 Throughout Acts, Paul keeps making long journeys 847 00:43:17,333 --> 00:43:19,458 to go back to Jerusalem to meet with James. 848 00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:20,958 They're friends; they get along fine. 849 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:23,458 And Paul's not afraid to have a conflict with somebody. 850 00:43:23,500 --> 00:43:24,833 He does with Peter. 851 00:43:24,917 --> 00:43:28,000 He says, "I put my finger in Peter's chest because I told him 852 00:43:28,042 --> 00:43:30,750 "he was a racist and he wasn't acting in accordance with 853 00:43:30,833 --> 00:43:32,667 the gospel, and we had a good conflict." 854 00:43:32,750 --> 00:43:34,667 It never says that about Paul and James. 855 00:43:34,750 --> 00:43:36,083 They get along fine. 856 00:43:36,167 --> 00:43:39,167 They meet all the time, not to figure out their arguments, 857 00:43:39,250 --> 00:43:42,958 but so that Paul can report to James what God is doing, 858 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:46,500 and also James could give some counsel and wisdom to Paul, 859 00:43:46,542 --> 00:43:48,208 because if you want to learn something, 860 00:43:48,292 --> 00:43:51,708 who better to meet with than Jesus' brother who's a pastor? 861 00:43:51,792 --> 00:43:54,208 So, we can't just look at the words they say. 862 00:43:54,292 --> 00:43:56,708 We need to look at the relationship that they have. 863 00:43:56,792 --> 00:43:59,667 Number two, James emphasizes horizontal faith; 864 00:43:59,750 --> 00:44:01,542 Paul, vertical faith. 865 00:44:01,625 --> 00:44:05,583 Paul's is, "How do you get in right relationship with God?" 866 00:44:05,667 --> 00:44:07,000 And then James' focus is, 867 00:44:07,042 --> 00:44:09,292 "And once you're in right relationship with God, 868 00:44:09,333 --> 00:44:11,375 "how does that affect community, 869 00:44:11,458 --> 00:44:13,667 "and relationships, and loving people, and serving people, 870 00:44:13,708 --> 00:44:16,000 and helping people." 871 00:44:16,042 --> 00:44:19,375 Once you're connected to God, 872 00:44:19,458 --> 00:44:21,375 God wants to connect you with people 873 00:44:21,458 --> 00:44:23,083 so you can love and serve them 874 00:44:23,167 --> 00:44:25,167 the way that he's loved and served you, 875 00:44:25,250 --> 00:44:28,000 and that his love and service for you and in you 876 00:44:28,042 --> 00:44:30,875 would flow through you. 877 00:44:30,958 --> 00:44:33,875 Number three, James emphasizes the end of salvation 878 00:44:33,958 --> 00:44:35,292 and Paul the beginning. 879 00:44:35,333 --> 00:44:38,792 So, Paul is saying, "You start your relationship solely by 880 00:44:38,833 --> 00:44:42,292 trusting in all that Jesus has done," and James is saying, 881 00:44:42,333 --> 00:44:45,417 "And 40 years later, when you're looking back on it, 882 00:44:45,500 --> 00:44:48,917 "you see that your life changed. 883 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:50,875 "You can see it. 884 00:44:50,958 --> 00:44:53,708 "I met Jesus and my desires changed, my mind changed, 885 00:44:53,792 --> 00:44:55,875 "my life changed, the way I spent my money, 886 00:44:55,958 --> 00:44:57,375 "the way I invested my time. 887 00:44:57,458 --> 00:44:59,375 Man, there was a lot of change there." 888 00:44:59,458 --> 00:45:01,667 If you come to me and you ask me, 889 00:45:01,708 --> 00:45:04,167 "Pastor Mark, how do I know if I'm a Christian?" 890 00:45:04,208 --> 00:45:05,875 I'm going to ask you two questions: 891 00:45:05,958 --> 00:45:07,292 "Do you know Jesus?" 892 00:45:07,333 --> 00:45:10,500 And the second question will be, "What has he done in your life?" 893 00:45:10,542 --> 00:45:12,500 And if you say, "I don't know Jesus," 894 00:45:12,542 --> 00:45:13,875 then you're not a Christian." 895 00:45:13,958 --> 00:45:15,583 If you say, "I do know Jesus." 896 00:45:15,667 --> 00:45:17,083 OK, then look at your life. 897 00:45:17,167 --> 00:45:19,292 You say, "Well, I made a decision for Christ 898 00:45:19,333 --> 00:45:22,000 at a youth camp when I felt guilty 27 years ago." 899 00:45:22,042 --> 00:45:24,000 What has he done in your life? "Nothing." 900 00:45:24,042 --> 00:45:25,667 You didn't meet him. 901 00:45:25,708 --> 00:45:29,000 You can't meet Jesus and not change. 902 00:45:29,042 --> 00:45:35,542 You can't meet Jesus and not change. 903 00:45:35,625 --> 00:45:39,875 Number four, James emphasizes religious, lazy people, 904 00:45:39,958 --> 00:45:42,167 and Paul, lost people. 905 00:45:42,250 --> 00:45:44,167 Religious, lazy people are like, 906 00:45:44,250 --> 00:45:46,333 "Yeah, I was in a Bible study years ago. 907 00:45:46,375 --> 00:45:48,333 "I think I got all my questions answered, 908 00:45:48,375 --> 00:45:49,833 "put the book down, whatever. 909 00:45:49,875 --> 00:45:51,333 "Yeah, I go twice a month. 910 00:45:51,375 --> 00:45:53,833 "I try to park my chariot in the same place, 911 00:45:53,875 --> 00:45:56,333 "but every once in a while, a visitor takes my spot, 912 00:45:56,375 --> 00:45:57,833 "and I don't know about that. 913 00:45:57,875 --> 00:46:00,875 "And then I came in, and I don't know, we had coffee, 914 00:46:00,958 --> 00:46:02,667 "but the coffee was not that great. 915 00:46:02,708 --> 00:46:05,167 "And I sat in the seat I usually sit in, 916 00:46:05,208 --> 00:46:06,667 "and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 917 00:46:06,708 --> 00:46:09,667 "Mark yelled at me, but you know, the kids, they enjoyed it, 918 00:46:09,708 --> 00:46:12,167 "so--and then we went home, and they passed the plate, 919 00:46:12,208 --> 00:46:13,667 "and I thought that was funny. 920 00:46:13,708 --> 00:46:15,042 We'll go again next year." 921 00:46:15,125 --> 00:46:17,042 They're just indifferent; they don't care. 922 00:46:17,125 --> 00:46:20,125 Ritual has become for them routine. 923 00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:26,583 And Paul is talking to lost people. 924 00:46:26,667 --> 00:46:28,792 And sometimes, if you've been a Christian for a while, 925 00:46:28,833 --> 00:46:30,500 and you know that Jesus loves you, 926 00:46:30,542 --> 00:46:33,250 and your salvation is secure, and you're not going to hell, 927 00:46:33,333 --> 00:46:36,000 and everything's taken care of, you can forget what it's like 928 00:46:36,042 --> 00:46:38,375 to live in the terror of, "You're going to hell." 929 00:46:38,458 --> 00:46:40,167 There's some people that are terrified, like, 930 00:46:40,208 --> 00:46:41,542 "Am I going to hell?" 931 00:46:41,625 --> 00:46:43,500 We had a gal like this in college. 932 00:46:43,542 --> 00:46:45,000 Every week at our college ministry, 933 00:46:45,042 --> 00:46:47,000 she would come forward crying, freaking out, shaking, 934 00:46:47,042 --> 00:46:48,708 asking to become a Christian, for months. 935 00:46:48,792 --> 00:46:53,708 You know, imagine, men, every day you come home from work 936 00:46:53,792 --> 00:46:56,000 and your wife is like, "Will you marry me?" 937 00:46:56,083 --> 00:47:00,167 You're like, "We have been married 37 times." 938 00:47:00,208 --> 00:47:03,333 "But I feel like we got unmarried today." 939 00:47:03,417 --> 00:47:06,542 "No, look, we're married, all right? 940 00:47:06,625 --> 00:47:09,500 "We don't need to put the dress on again. 941 00:47:09,542 --> 00:47:15,500 Like, we did that 37 times. We're good." 942 00:47:15,542 --> 00:47:19,292 There are people who, they meet Jesus, and then they feel like, 943 00:47:19,333 --> 00:47:20,792 "I did something wrong this week. 944 00:47:20,833 --> 00:47:23,000 "Now he hates me and I'm going to hell. 945 00:47:23,042 --> 00:47:25,167 "I need to come back and get saved again, 946 00:47:25,250 --> 00:47:27,167 "and get saved again, and get married again, 947 00:47:27,250 --> 00:47:28,583 and get married--" 948 00:47:28,667 --> 00:47:30,083 And Paul's like, "No you don't. 949 00:47:30,167 --> 00:47:32,083 "Jesus is a groom who loves his bride. 950 00:47:32,167 --> 00:47:33,500 "He's not filing for divorce, 951 00:47:33,542 --> 00:47:35,667 "and he's not setting the house on fire. 952 00:47:35,750 --> 00:47:41,875 Take a deep breath, and move on with your relationship." 953 00:47:41,958 --> 00:47:46,875 Number five, James emphasizes works that complete faith; 954 00:47:46,958 --> 00:47:51,417 Paul emphasizes works that compete with faith. 955 00:47:51,500 --> 00:47:53,125 There's a big difference. 956 00:47:53,167 --> 00:47:56,125 Works that compete with faith are religious routines, 957 00:47:56,167 --> 00:47:59,000 and traditions, and rituals, or just morality, 958 00:47:59,083 --> 00:48:02,833 or spirituality that compete with faith 959 00:48:02,917 --> 00:48:05,167 in the finished work of Jesus. 960 00:48:05,250 --> 00:48:07,875 There's a difference between works that compete with faith 961 00:48:07,958 --> 00:48:11,667 and works that complete faith. 962 00:48:11,708 --> 00:48:14,792 I didn't just marry Grace, I live with her. 963 00:48:14,833 --> 00:48:19,167 That completes our covenant. 964 00:48:19,250 --> 00:48:21,958 I read it to you, but it's in Galatians--or excuse me, 965 00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:26,792 it's in James 2:22, speaking about Abraham. Hear it again. 966 00:48:26,833 --> 00:48:30,000 "You see that faith was active along with his works and faith 967 00:48:30,042 --> 00:48:36,792 was completed by his works." 968 00:48:36,833 --> 00:48:39,792 So, they're talking about different kinds of faith. 969 00:48:39,833 --> 00:48:42,792 Paul says, "There's a bad kind and a different kind of works." 970 00:48:42,833 --> 00:48:45,042 Paul is saying, "There's a bad kind of works 971 00:48:45,125 --> 00:48:46,417 "that competes with faith. 972 00:48:46,500 --> 00:48:47,833 We don't believe in that." 973 00:48:47,875 --> 00:48:50,500 And James is saying, "But there's a good kind of works 974 00:48:50,583 --> 00:48:51,917 "that completes faith. 975 00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:55,000 We really need that." 976 00:48:55,083 --> 00:48:57,000 I'll show it to you. 977 00:48:57,083 --> 00:48:59,208 So, let's just put the two texts up there 978 00:48:59,292 --> 00:49:00,875 where everybody freaks out. 979 00:49:00,958 --> 00:49:04,042 James 2:26, of course written by James, 980 00:49:04,125 --> 00:49:06,667 and then Ephesians 2:8,9,10, written by Paul. 981 00:49:06,750 --> 00:49:08,958 And almost all the Christians I've ever met 982 00:49:09,000 --> 00:49:12,500 quote Ephesians 2:8-9 skip verse 10. 983 00:49:12,542 --> 00:49:15,375 OK, so read it with me, James 2:26. 984 00:49:15,458 --> 00:49:17,250 OK, what word? What's the first word? 985 00:49:17,333 --> 00:49:18,667 Big word. 986 00:49:18,750 --> 00:49:20,333 Say it a little better. 987 00:49:20,417 --> 00:49:22,000 What's the first word? 988 00:49:22,042 --> 00:49:26,042 "Faith apart from works is dead." 989 00:49:26,125 --> 00:49:27,958 What comes first? 990 00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:29,667 Faith, then works. 991 00:49:29,750 --> 00:49:31,542 You don't work your way into faith. 992 00:49:31,625 --> 00:49:34,958 Your faith works itself out in your life. 993 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:37,750 OK, now what does Paul say? 994 00:49:37,833 --> 00:49:40,667 And this is one of the most dynamic summaries 995 00:49:40,750 --> 00:49:42,583 of Paul's teaching. 996 00:49:42,667 --> 00:49:44,250 "For by grace." 997 00:49:44,333 --> 00:49:46,000 You didn't earn it, didn't deserve it. 998 00:49:46,042 --> 00:49:47,375 Here's the good news: 999 00:49:47,458 --> 00:49:48,875 that means you can't lose it. 1000 00:49:48,958 --> 00:49:50,583 God gives you something you don't deserve, 1001 00:49:50,667 --> 00:49:53,500 you can't do something to disearn it. 1002 00:49:53,542 --> 00:49:57,500 I think I made up a word, but you can't--if you didn't deserve 1003 00:49:57,542 --> 00:50:00,792 it and you have it, you can't do anything to lose it 1004 00:50:00,833 --> 00:50:03,000 because you didn't earn it in the first place. 1005 00:50:03,042 --> 00:50:04,875 It was a gift. 1006 00:50:04,958 --> 00:50:07,083 "By grace you have been saved." 1007 00:50:07,167 --> 00:50:09,542 Past, present, future. 1008 00:50:09,625 --> 00:50:12,292 Conquered Satan, sin, death, hell, the wrath of God. 1009 00:50:12,333 --> 00:50:13,792 It's all taken care of. 1010 00:50:13,833 --> 00:50:15,292 Take a deep breath. 1011 00:50:15,333 --> 00:50:17,167 Yay, Jesus! Thanks a lot. 1012 00:50:17,250 --> 00:50:20,083 "For by grace you've been saved, through"--big word. 1013 00:50:20,167 --> 00:50:22,750 What's the big word? "Faith." 1014 00:50:22,833 --> 00:50:25,667 Trusting in Jesus. 1015 00:50:25,750 --> 00:50:27,375 "And this is not your own doing." 1016 00:50:27,458 --> 00:50:29,292 It's not your works. 1017 00:50:29,333 --> 00:50:30,792 "It is the gift of God--" 1018 00:50:30,833 --> 00:50:33,167 Jesus' works, "not a result of works," 1019 00:50:33,208 --> 00:50:36,542 your bad religious works that compete with faith, 1020 00:50:36,625 --> 00:50:38,167 "so that no one may boast." 1021 00:50:38,208 --> 00:50:40,167 "I'm a good person. I save myself. 1022 00:50:40,208 --> 00:50:42,167 "I reincarnated. I used to be a cow. 1023 00:50:42,208 --> 00:50:43,875 "I got baptized. I went to Mecca. 1024 00:50:43,958 --> 00:50:45,625 "Blah, blah, blah. I speak in tongues. 1025 00:50:45,667 --> 00:50:47,833 I'll give you more money. I'm a holy man." 1026 00:50:47,875 --> 00:50:49,708 No. 1027 00:50:49,792 --> 00:50:52,708 No one may boast. 1028 00:50:52,792 --> 00:50:55,875 You didn't do anything to save yourself. 1029 00:50:55,958 --> 00:50:58,375 Jesus saved you, and you trust him. 1030 00:50:58,458 --> 00:51:01,292 You say, "Is that it? Is that it? 1031 00:51:01,333 --> 00:51:03,583 "Ephesians 2:8-9. Jesus did it all. 1032 00:51:03,667 --> 00:51:05,000 "I'm saved. 1033 00:51:05,042 --> 00:51:07,292 "There's nothing that he asks of me. 1034 00:51:07,333 --> 00:51:11,542 "Yay, I just sit down, and read books, and wait for the Rapture. 1035 00:51:11,625 --> 00:51:13,083 Whoo!" 1036 00:51:13,167 --> 00:51:14,750 Is that it? 1037 00:51:14,833 --> 00:51:16,292 Another verse. 1038 00:51:16,333 --> 00:51:18,375 "For we are his workmanship." 1039 00:51:18,458 --> 00:51:22,083 Point number one, Jesus' work for you on the cross 1040 00:51:22,167 --> 00:51:24,042 through the empty tomb. 1041 00:51:24,125 --> 00:51:25,667 Workmanship. 1042 00:51:25,750 --> 00:51:27,750 Jesus is working on you, changing your desires, 1043 00:51:27,833 --> 00:51:30,167 changing your nature, changing your proclivities, 1044 00:51:30,208 --> 00:51:32,500 changing your budget, changing your mouth, 1045 00:51:32,542 --> 00:51:36,583 changing your lifestyle, changing your orientation. 1046 00:51:36,667 --> 00:51:41,083 "Created in Christ Jesus for good--" 1047 00:51:41,167 --> 00:51:43,875 Not bad works that compete with faith, 1048 00:51:43,958 --> 00:51:47,000 good works that complete faith. 1049 00:51:47,083 --> 00:51:50,333 Not works that you're trying to make yourself a Christian, 1050 00:51:50,375 --> 00:51:55,375 but works that show that you belong to Christ. 1051 00:51:55,458 --> 00:51:57,625 It's Jesus' work for you. 1052 00:51:57,667 --> 00:51:59,000 It's Jesus' work in you. 1053 00:51:59,083 --> 00:52:00,667 It's Jesus' work through you. 1054 00:52:00,750 --> 00:52:03,500 It's all Jesus' work. 1055 00:52:03,542 --> 00:52:06,250 Somebody comes along and says, "Boy, you've really changed." 1056 00:52:06,333 --> 00:52:08,875 "Well, I still got a lot of work to do, 1057 00:52:08,958 --> 00:52:12,667 but thankfully Jesus is working on me." 1058 00:52:12,750 --> 00:52:15,000 "Hey, you really were loving. You were gracious. 1059 00:52:15,042 --> 00:52:16,667 "You were kind. You were generous. 1060 00:52:16,708 --> 00:52:18,250 You responded differently." 1061 00:52:18,333 --> 00:52:24,333 "Yep, Jesus is working on me, and he's working through me. 1062 00:52:24,417 --> 00:52:27,667 "And I'm not changing because I have to but because I want to. 1063 00:52:27,708 --> 00:52:29,667 "I'm not changing so that he'll love me 1064 00:52:29,750 --> 00:52:32,250 but because his love is changing me." 1065 00:52:32,333 --> 00:52:34,667 Do you see the difference? 1066 00:52:34,750 --> 00:52:37,083 You're saved by grace 1067 00:52:37,167 --> 00:52:40,167 through faith in Christ alone to good works 1068 00:52:40,208 --> 00:52:43,667 that God has prepared in advance for you to do. 1069 00:52:43,750 --> 00:52:46,667 And we don't do those works--giving, loving, praying, 1070 00:52:46,750 --> 00:52:48,708 serving, growing, helping, trying, 1071 00:52:48,792 --> 00:52:53,292 caring--out of legalism, 1072 00:52:53,333 --> 00:52:55,125 "You need to do this!" 1073 00:52:55,167 --> 00:52:58,083 but out of love, "Jesus has done that for me. 1074 00:52:58,167 --> 00:53:00,333 "Jesus is doing that in me. 1075 00:53:00,417 --> 00:53:02,667 "Jesus wants to do that through me. 1076 00:53:02,708 --> 00:53:05,750 "He loves me, I love him. That's what I want to do. 1077 00:53:05,833 --> 00:53:09,292 I want to be like him." 1078 00:53:09,333 --> 00:53:13,167 That results in great joy, the greatest joy of all. 1079 00:53:13,250 --> 00:53:16,167 Let me summarize it for you. 1080 00:53:16,208 --> 00:53:19,583 Internal devotion to God, which is faith, 1081 00:53:19,667 --> 00:53:23,833 produces external devotion to God, which is works, 1082 00:53:23,917 --> 00:53:28,458 because a good tree bears good fruit. 1083 00:53:31,125 --> 00:53:34,042 Non-Christian, religious person, 1084 00:53:34,125 --> 00:53:36,250 moral person, 1085 00:53:36,333 --> 00:53:41,667 you're not a good person-- you're a sinful person. 1086 00:53:41,708 --> 00:53:48,000 There's nothing you can do to fix yourself and please God. 1087 00:53:48,083 --> 00:53:52,708 You need to stop whatever you are doing and start trusting in 1088 00:53:52,792 --> 00:53:56,583 what Jesus has done. 1089 00:53:56,667 --> 00:54:01,250 Christian, God has prepared 1090 00:54:01,333 --> 00:54:04,958 good works for you to do. 1091 00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:07,458 There are people for you to love. 1092 00:54:07,500 --> 00:54:10,667 There are people for you to talk to about Jesus. 1093 00:54:10,750 --> 00:54:12,958 There are things for you to learn. 1094 00:54:13,000 --> 00:54:15,083 There are ways for you to grow. 1095 00:54:15,167 --> 00:54:17,375 There are desires that need to be changed. 1096 00:54:17,458 --> 00:54:20,375 There are mindsets that have yet to be altered. 1097 00:54:20,458 --> 00:54:23,667 There is generosity for you to share. 1098 00:54:23,708 --> 00:54:25,792 There's a kingdom for you to serve. 1099 00:54:25,833 --> 00:54:29,167 There is a mission for you to be a part of. 1100 00:54:29,208 --> 00:54:35,167 And Jesus invites you to join him in this wonderful, glorious, 1101 00:54:35,250 --> 00:54:40,500 good works of the gospel, moving through the nations of the earth, 1102 00:54:40,542 --> 00:54:42,958 starting in the lives of his people. 1103 00:54:43,000 --> 00:54:46,417 Mars Hill, we've got so much work to do. 1104 00:54:46,500 --> 00:54:49,500 We've got churches to plant, buildings to buy, 1105 00:54:49,542 --> 00:54:52,917 people to disciple, hurting people to help, 1106 00:54:53,000 --> 00:54:56,583 poor people to feed, church planters to fund. 1107 00:54:56,667 --> 00:54:59,292 We've got new services to kick off. 1108 00:54:59,333 --> 00:55:02,333 We need Community Group leaders, and Redemption Group leaders, 1109 00:55:02,417 --> 00:55:04,333 and elders, and deacons. 1110 00:55:04,417 --> 00:55:06,875 And don't sit back in your seat and be like, 1111 00:55:06,958 --> 00:55:08,958 "Oh, it sounds like he's preaching works." 1112 00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:12,000 No, he's preaching love-- 1113 00:55:12,042 --> 00:55:15,000 love for Jesus, and love for his people, 1114 00:55:15,042 --> 00:55:18,375 and love for the world compels us to action. 1115 00:55:18,458 --> 00:55:21,792 It's the same love that got Jesus off his throne, 1116 00:55:21,833 --> 00:55:26,167 and got Jesus into history, and got Jesus caring, 1117 00:55:26,250 --> 00:55:29,333 and loving, and seeking, and saving, and serving. 1118 00:55:29,417 --> 00:55:34,292 And it's not us, it's Christ in us, the hope of glory. 1119 00:55:34,333 --> 00:55:39,792 It's Christ in us, the hope of glory. 1120 00:55:39,833 --> 00:55:42,542 So, don't have two categories, Jesus and me. 1121 00:55:42,625 --> 00:55:43,958 No way! 1122 00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:46,000 It's Jesus through me. 1123 00:55:46,083 --> 00:55:49,208 Jesus through me. 1124 00:55:49,292 --> 00:55:52,375 All glory to him, all joy to me, amen? 1125 00:55:52,458 --> 00:55:54,000 Now you know why you're here. 1126 00:55:54,083 --> 00:55:55,792 Now you know why you were born. 1127 00:55:55,833 --> 00:55:58,208 Now you know why you have the experiences you do, 1128 00:55:58,292 --> 00:55:59,708 and the gifts that you do, 1129 00:55:59,792 --> 00:56:02,000 and the opportunities that God has set before you, 1130 00:56:02,042 --> 00:56:04,042 because he has good works prepared in advance 1131 00:56:04,125 --> 00:56:05,458 for you to do. 1132 00:56:05,500 --> 00:56:07,875 And here's the good news: he doesn't need you, 1133 00:56:07,958 --> 00:56:10,375 but he loves you 1134 00:56:10,458 --> 00:56:13,875 just like a good dad 1135 00:56:13,958 --> 00:56:18,042 allows the children he loves 1136 00:56:18,125 --> 00:56:22,000 to participate with him in the things that he does. 1137 00:56:22,042 --> 00:56:28,000 Our loving father loves to have his kids go to work with him. 1138 00:56:28,042 --> 00:56:30,667 We get to see what he's like, and what he's doing, 1139 00:56:30,750 --> 00:56:33,500 and where he's working, and what he's building, 1140 00:56:33,542 --> 00:56:35,167 and who he's changing. 1141 00:56:35,250 --> 00:56:37,292 And we learn more about our Father, 1142 00:56:37,333 --> 00:56:39,292 and we get to see the family grow, 1143 00:56:39,333 --> 00:56:42,667 and we get to share in his joy, and we become more like him 1144 00:56:42,750 --> 00:56:45,500 as we work alongside of him. 1145 00:56:45,542 --> 00:56:50,125 And he doesn't force us to work with him because he's using us. 1146 00:56:50,167 --> 00:56:53,417 In fact, we make his work much harder. 1147 00:56:53,500 --> 00:56:56,333 But he invites us to walk alongside of him and to work 1148 00:56:56,375 --> 00:57:00,042 with him because he loves us, and he wants us to love 1149 00:57:00,125 --> 00:57:04,292 what he loves, and see who he is, and does what he does. 1150 00:57:04,333 --> 00:57:06,292 Amen? 1151 00:57:06,333 --> 00:57:09,167 So, at this point, we're going to give you something to do. 1152 00:57:09,250 --> 00:57:11,958 We're going to collect our tithes and offerings as we give 1153 00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:14,375 generously to the God who gave generously to us. 1154 00:57:14,458 --> 00:57:18,500 We give because we've received. 1155 00:57:18,542 --> 00:57:20,292 We're going to partake of Communion, 1156 00:57:20,333 --> 00:57:22,792 remembering the broken body, shed blood of Jesus, 1157 00:57:22,833 --> 00:57:27,333 that Jesus' finished work is the basis of my salvation. 1158 00:57:27,417 --> 00:57:30,000 And as we partake of the elements, 1159 00:57:30,042 --> 00:57:32,583 we're to remember his broken body and shed blood. 1160 00:57:32,667 --> 00:57:34,542 And as we take it into us, 1161 00:57:34,625 --> 00:57:36,500 we remember that it's the life of Jesus 1162 00:57:36,542 --> 00:57:38,667 that comes into us, so his work for us 1163 00:57:38,750 --> 00:57:40,667 becomes a work in us. 1164 00:57:40,750 --> 00:57:43,083 And then as we leave here, it's that his work 1165 00:57:43,167 --> 00:57:45,167 would continue through us. 1166 00:57:45,250 --> 00:57:47,500 And lastly, we're going to give you an opportunity 1167 00:57:47,583 --> 00:57:49,167 to help some people in need 1168 00:57:49,250 --> 00:57:52,875 because that's what Christians want to do, amen? 1169 00:57:59,333 --> 00:58:01,958 Howdy, Mars Hill Church and our extended family 1170 00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:03,667 of Mars Hill Global. 1171 00:58:03,750 --> 00:58:07,583 Pastor Sutton Turner here in Awasa, Ethiopia. 1172 00:58:07,667 --> 00:58:09,792 I want to introduce you to Zodu. 1173 00:58:09,833 --> 00:58:14,667 He was sponsored as a child at the age of 9. 1174 00:58:14,708 --> 00:58:21,292 I'm Zodu Takeye, and I have grown in Addis Ababa. 1175 00:58:21,333 --> 00:58:24,292 In Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. 1176 00:58:24,333 --> 00:58:31,042 And by the age I came to 9, I was a shoeshine boy 1177 00:58:31,125 --> 00:58:32,750 in the streets of Addis. 1178 00:58:32,833 --> 00:58:38,250 I was a shoeshine boy, and this local governmental offices 1179 00:58:38,333 --> 00:58:41,167 came to our village and told our father, 1180 00:58:41,250 --> 00:58:46,375 "If you have a kid with an age of less than 10 or 9, 1181 00:58:46,458 --> 00:58:51,125 he can register in this project and can attend the school." 1182 00:58:51,167 --> 00:58:57,125 And my father rushed to the church with me, 1183 00:58:57,167 --> 00:59:00,458 and the churches accepted me. 1184 00:59:00,500 --> 00:59:03,167 OK, now, was your father a Christian or were you 1185 00:59:03,208 --> 00:59:04,875 a Christian at this time? 1186 00:59:04,958 --> 00:59:06,375 No, no. 1187 00:59:06,458 --> 00:59:08,583 The church teach us from the Bible, 1188 00:59:08,667 --> 00:59:10,292 through Sunday School. 1189 00:59:10,333 --> 00:59:14,500 And after learning more from the Bible, 1190 00:59:14,542 --> 00:59:18,500 I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. 1191 00:59:18,542 --> 00:59:20,000 Wow, praise God. 1192 00:59:20,042 --> 00:59:23,375 So, tell us all the things that have happened to you since 1193 00:59:23,458 --> 00:59:25,792 that point in time, what you're doing now. 1194 00:59:25,833 --> 00:59:28,167 Now I'm an employee in 1195 00:59:28,250 --> 00:59:30,167 Compassion International Ethiopia 1196 00:59:30,250 --> 00:59:32,667 as a partnership facilitator. 1197 00:59:32,750 --> 00:59:35,500 How much has your life changed? 1198 00:59:35,542 --> 00:59:39,500 Words can't express. 1199 00:59:39,542 --> 00:59:44,375 Just think of me 9 years old, 1200 00:59:44,458 --> 00:59:48,000 receiving that much responsibility, 1201 00:59:48,042 --> 00:59:51,375 with that shoeshining box. 1202 00:59:51,458 --> 00:59:55,667 It's heavy, it has different materials, and on the street. 1203 00:59:55,750 --> 01:00:00,167 And after spending the whole day, 1204 01:00:00,250 --> 01:00:06,375 I may or may not get even a small amount of money. 1205 01:00:06,458 --> 01:00:13,375 And currently, thanks to God, above all I know Christ, 1206 01:00:13,458 --> 01:00:16,458 which is the bread for my life. 1207 01:00:16,500 --> 01:00:22,375 And besides that, today I am serving in Compassion Ethiopia, 1208 01:00:22,458 --> 01:00:25,583 and for my subsistence, I earned good. 1209 01:00:25,667 --> 01:00:30,375 And there weren't--words can't express the difference while 1210 01:00:30,458 --> 01:00:33,667 I was a shoeshine boy and now. 1211 01:00:33,708 --> 01:00:38,292 If you could talk to someone through the camera 1212 01:00:38,333 --> 01:00:42,875 that was considering sponsoring a child, 1213 01:00:42,958 --> 01:00:45,917 what would you tell them? 1214 01:00:46,000 --> 01:00:49,833 These children are images of God. 1215 01:00:49,875 --> 01:00:55,083 They are the image of God, and so by praying for these 1216 01:00:55,167 --> 01:01:00,875 individuals, by telling they are loved, by sharing what they had, 1217 01:01:00,958 --> 01:01:04,167 it's a blessing for the individuals 1218 01:01:04,208 --> 01:01:06,875 who you can sponsor. 1219 01:01:06,958 --> 01:01:13,083 And I will say for them, it's a blessing to sponsor a child. 1220 01:01:13,167 --> 01:01:14,667 Thank you. 1221 01:01:14,708 --> 01:01:18,042 And I praise God that what Jesus has done in your life 1222 01:01:18,125 --> 01:01:20,542 and he's only just begun, 1223 01:01:20,625 --> 01:01:22,083 because you're a very young man. 1224 01:01:22,167 --> 01:01:24,625 So, thank you. 1225 01:01:29,500 --> 01:01:30,833 Pastor Sutton here, 1226 01:01:30,917 --> 01:01:33,875 we've just finished our services here in the Bellevue church 1227 01:01:33,958 --> 01:01:39,708 and really excited today to tell the extended family of Mars Hill Global 1228 01:01:39,792 --> 01:01:41,375 about Text to Give. 1229 01:01:41,458 --> 01:01:44,125 Just came out and many of you know my story: 1230 01:01:44,167 --> 01:01:48,292 2007 heard Pastor Mark at a pastor's conference 1231 01:01:48,333 --> 01:01:50,583 went there, started podcasting. 1232 01:01:50,667 --> 01:01:53,500 I still gave my tithe to my local church, 1233 01:01:53,583 --> 01:01:56,917 however, gave a contribution amount to Mars Hill Church. 1234 01:01:57,000 --> 01:02:01,667 So this Text to Give, the video that we have produced for you, 1235 01:02:01,708 --> 01:02:03,875 you're going to love, so check this out. 1236 01:02:06,042 --> 01:02:08,750 Hey Mars Hill, my name is Rene and I work here 1237 01:02:08,833 --> 01:02:11,292 at the Media and Communications team at Mars Hill Church. 1238 01:02:11,333 --> 01:02:13,042 If you're a mobile user like me, 1239 01:02:13,125 --> 01:02:15,208 I've got some exciting news to share with you. 1240 01:02:15,292 --> 01:02:17,667 There's a new way to give at Mars Hill Church 1241 01:02:17,750 --> 01:02:19,958 and it's just as easy as sending a text. 1242 01:02:20,000 --> 01:02:22,708 Now, many of you take advantage of our online giving options, 1243 01:02:22,792 --> 01:02:25,458 which is a great way to set up recurring gifts, 1244 01:02:25,500 --> 01:02:28,667 but until now, we haven't had a way to set up mobile, 1245 01:02:28,750 --> 01:02:31,583 where you can give on the spot during our services. 1246 01:02:31,667 --> 01:02:33,625 If you're like me, you don't carry cash 1247 01:02:33,667 --> 01:02:37,208 you don't carry a checkbook, so Text to Give is the way to go. 1248 01:02:37,292 --> 01:02:41,667 It's fun, it's simple, and best of all, it's secure. 1249 01:02:41,708 --> 01:02:43,625 I want you to do something with me. 1250 01:02:43,667 --> 01:02:45,542 Take out your smart phone right now; 1251 01:02:45,625 --> 01:02:47,375 we're going to do something together. 1252 01:02:47,458 --> 01:02:49,333 Don't worry, you're not obligated to give, 1253 01:02:49,375 --> 01:02:51,333 but try this out. 1254 01:02:51,375 --> 01:02:54,167 Simply send the amount you want to give 1255 01:02:54,250 --> 01:03:00,292 and the word "Mars Hill" at the end to the following number: 45777. 1256 01:03:01,500 --> 01:03:03,167 The first time you give via text, 1257 01:03:03,208 --> 01:03:05,833 you will be asked to fill out a one-time form, 1258 01:03:05,875 --> 01:03:08,917 which will safely link your card to your smart phone. 1259 01:03:09,000 --> 01:03:12,333 Now, this new way of giving doesn't go into your phone bill, 1260 01:03:12,417 --> 01:03:14,250 and in case you make a mistake, 1261 01:03:14,333 --> 01:03:18,000 you can always get a refund for the gift that you've given. 1262 01:03:18,042 --> 01:03:20,000 And that's it; you're done. 1263 01:03:20,083 --> 01:03:22,167 You'll receive a text back confirming your gift 1264 01:03:22,250 --> 01:03:24,708 and from this moment forward, you'll be able to give 1265 01:03:24,792 --> 01:03:27,458 anywhere, anytime with just a single text. 1266 01:03:27,500 --> 01:03:30,208 Don't forget to save the number in your contact list. 1267 01:03:30,292 --> 01:03:33,333 I've saved it as "Mars Hill Text to Give." 1268 01:03:33,417 --> 01:03:35,208 For more information about our giving options 1269 01:03:35,292 --> 01:03:38,500 you can visit marshill.com/give. 1270 01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:45,958 Each year, over 10 million Mars Hill church sermons 1271 01:03:46,000 --> 01:03:49,042 are downloaded worldwide for free. 1272 01:03:49,125 --> 01:03:51,667 This ministry is generously supported 1273 01:03:51,708 --> 01:03:54,292 by Mars Hill church members and listeners like you. 1274 01:03:54,333 --> 01:03:57,833 If you'd like to support our efforts to preach Jesus to the world, 1275 01:03:57,917 --> 01:04:00,917 Please consider making a tax-deductible donation 1276 01:04:01,000 --> 01:04:03,833 by visiting marshill.com/give.