I have to say that I really started to feel like this day was never going to come for my family. Any of you guys feel like that? On Easter, we were planning to join you guys. So many people came in person on Easter — that was already a month ago, weird, right? So we were going to be here, and then, of course, something happened because I feel like “expect the unexpected during the pandemic,” right?

So the night before we were going to come, all of a sudden, my wife, Brandi, had this weird sensation. She was cooking hamburger, which tends to smell up the house with onions and everything that goes with it, and she said, “This is weird. This hamburger doesn’t smell like much.” And I’m like, “Ooh that’s ... yeah, that’s strange.” So then she picked up a lemon, and she’s like, “Well, this lemon must not work right.” So then she put the lemon in her mouth and she chewed it, and she is not someone who loves sour taste, and she said, “I don’t know what’s going on.” So, of course, I told her the hamburger has a ton of smell and the lemon is a normal-strength lemon. So we had that feeling that so many people have gotten in the last year of, “Oh my gosh, is it COVID?” It’s that game that everybody has played like, “Oh my gosh, is it allergies or is it COVID? Is that a headache or do I need to go to the ER? Like, what is happening right now?”

So of course, you know, we want to be right with people and relationships, so we’re not going to just show up at church when Brandi has lost her taste and smell. So we didn’t get to come a month ago. She had two tests in a row — a rapid test, which came back negative but she kept getting sicker, and then she had a second test and that came back negative too — and then, within two days, her taste and smell were totally back. So we still have no explanation. So we’re finally here.

I love getting to see you guys in person. I really do. It’s so good to see you. It’s so good to feel ... there’s such a difference between just being online and in-person, but I also want to say, like, it’s very evident to me that the future of the church will always include being online, right? So we want to welcome everybody that is online as well. You guys are a part of our community just the same. So, welcome to our in-person friends and our friends online.

For those of you who don’t know me — maybe in-person, or maybe you forgot my name because you haven’t seen me in so long — I am Neil, and I’m one of the pastors here at The Edge, and we’re just super, super glad to have you here and very, very grateful to be here. We’re continuing in our sermon series today called James: The Intersection of Faith & Life.

The reality is, if your theology does not intersect with your everyday life, I would say that you probably have a theology that isn’t very useful, right? Theology is the knowledge of God. It’s the understanding of God. And if the Lord does not intersect with your daily life, there’s some disconnect, and I would suggest that it’s not with God, but it’s an understanding of God. Because God intersects with our lives. He wants to be with us. He’s the God who left heaven to come and be with us. He’s an incarnational God. He wants to be with us. So we’re going to talk about — throughout this whole series — about how the Lord intersects with our life because James is a super practical book of theology, and one of my goals as a pastor and a preacher has always been to show, to give context to how God intersects with us on a regular basis through what was written 2,000 years ago to 2021. There always should be a connection.

If you missed the message last week that Brandi preached, I highly encourage you to go back and watch it. It was encouraging and challenging. You can watch all of the messages online on Facebook — Facebook.com/edgeaurora. And we are going to continue in this series. I’m going to start with James 1:19–27. It says:

19 My dear brothers and sisters,

It says,

take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.

26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (NIV).

So, in just nine verses, we get a whole lot of stuff thrown at us, right? There’s a whole lot of information there, and just like with everything else in the Bible, it’s very, very easy to get lost in the weeds and forget that he’s actually calling you to dance. You’re supposed to look at this and be able to pull this into your life rather than say, “Let me get a list of things that I have to do.” There’s no joy in a list. There’s no joy in just being religious because being religious — the heart of it is about you being good enough to get to God. And what Jesus always says to us, the message of the cross, is that none of us were good enough to get to God and so Jesus came. So the whole point is not, “Hey, make sure you tick off this list of things,” but it’s describing what life being filled by the Spirit of God looks like, and there’s a lot here.

So let’s look at the 30,000-foot view. Let’s back up and say, “So, if it’s not about ticking off this religious list of things, what is this all about?” I really see two themes in this passage that are demonstrated in two different ways. Two themes, two different ways. But before we get to that, I always want to go directly to what Jesus says himself. When Jesus says, “Hey, there are a couple of things in life that are the most important things,” take note of that. Right? Super important. So we can find that in Matthew 22:36–40.

Here’s the background. One of the religious leaders of Jesus’s time wanted to trap him into diminishing The Ten Commandments. Now here’s what he wanted to do — he wanted him to get in trouble with the Jews by basically blaspheming Moses and God. He basically said, “Tell me what’s most important.” So he came up with his question in front of Jesus, and, like attorneys often do, they feel like they gotcha. Right? We’ve seen that in trials that have been on TV recently — these gotcha moments. So he really thought he had trapped Jesus, and this is what he said. He said:

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Remember there were ten. So basically, tell me about the nine that don’t matter and tell me the one that does.

37 Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

And you would think that he might’ve stopped there, but of course he continued. He said:

39 And the second is like it:

In other words, the second one’s important too. You asked for one, but this is important.

’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (NIV).

So basically he’s saying, “No, there’s not one answer. There’s two.” The law that Jesus was referring to, of course, were The Ten Commandments. And I find it super interesting that in The Ten Commandments, the first four are about our connection to God. It’s about how we love and we honor God. And then the next six, the rest of them, are about people’s relationships to each other. So it tells us what it looks like to love and give honor to God and then love and give honor to people, and Jesus is saying if you do those things, you fulfill the heart of The Ten Commandments. So instead of saying, “Well, I’ve got to make sure that I don’t lie today, “ why don’t you try to be in good relationships with people? Because we know that if you’re lying to each other, you aren’t in good relationship.

So, the bigger picture is: How do I connect with the Lord? Well, if you get the heart of the first four commandments, that’s what it looks like to connect with the Lord. And if you get the heart of the next six, that’s what it looks like to be in right relationship with people. But we tend to make it overly complicated, don’t we? And we tend to make it religious because, ultimately, our bent is to show that we are good enough for God — we’re good enough for his acceptance.

So, here’s the thing; here’s the challenge that I find — maybe it’s just my challenge; I suspect more of you feel this way as well: Sometimes I want to just focus on loving God. Okay? Sometimes I just want to look at the first four. Why? Because people can be tough, right? People can be tough and I’m just like, “You know, actually, I’d rather just have a quiet time — just me and the Lord. No people. Not going to answer a text today. I don’t really want to talk to people. Just me and Jesus. I just want to hang out with the Lord.”

And sometimes, I actually just want to hang out with people. There are times when I’m just like, “You know, there are all these needs that need to be filled. I wanna make sure that I am meeting needs because it makes me feel pretty good about me.” It makes me feel pretty good about myself, and what Jesus is saying to us is, basically, “Listen, you will have times in life that you’re going to lean one way or the other. You feel you want to feel more connected to God because you’re struggling with people or you want to feel more connected to people because you’re struggling with God.” And what he’s saying is: The love of God and the love of people can never be separated.

We want to do that though, right? Because different times in our lives, we have different circumstances that make us feel closer to God or closer to people, but what he’s saying is: Live in that tension. Live in that tension. These are the two things that matter the most. Lean into the tension. 1 John 4:20 — it’s a warning for those who claim to be religious but live like devils with people, right? We’ve probably all done that before, too. And we’ve definitely seen people that have done that. Listen to this. It says:

20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen (NIV).

Is it any wonder that, when our relationships get a little bit rough, that we lean more towards God? “Yeah, God, I love you, but I don’t love those people that you put around me.” But in 1 John, we’re told you can’t separate the two because if you love God and you hate people, the love of God is not in you. He doesn’t hold back. He doesn’t mince words. He says, “You’re actually a liar.” This isn’t speaking to people who are wounded. This isn’t speaking to moments in life where you’re struggling. We are all strugglers — you’re never going to walk this out perfectly — but what it’s saying is: If you see a consistent pattern, you see a trajectory in your life that leads you away from people and just to God, it could be that you’re not understanding what the love of God and the love of people looks like. And on the other side, Jesus shared a parable about what it looks like to live in a way without considering God, because that’s very possible too. Luke 12:16–21:

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ’What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops’ (NIV).

I mean, don’t you guys think that all the time here in the suburbs? Like, I don’t know what I’m going to do with all these crops, right? So very pertinent to us today in the suburbs, right? But we understand the concept. The whole idea is sometimes you accumulate things. I don’t know anybody in this room who has not accumulated a lot of things. And you know that when you move people — *cough* Birkeys. It’s awesome. If you guys have not seen the Birkey’s new house, you need to. I called Taylor “Mr. President’’ when I walked up to the house yesterday ’cause it is the white house and it is stunning, and we are super happy for them. I still don’t have any grip strength from moving his piano, though. So, pray for my hands. So we all can accumulate things, and so this rich guy had this great harvest, and he thought to himself, What do I do? I don’t have enough room.

18 “Then he said, ’This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself,

How many of you guys do this? And I say to myself,

… Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

Okay, we don’t necessarily say that to ourselves, but we do it, don’t we? In our minds we’re like, “You know what? With that stimulus money, I’m just going to feed the poor. That’s what I’m going to do with all of it. I’m just going to feed the poor ’cause that’s what Christians do. Right? Let’s be real. Most of us are like, “I know what I’m going to do. I’ve been locked up for a year because of COVID, and I want to do some fun things with my family.” Nothing wrong with doing fun things with your family, right? But I’m just speaking to what Jesus says is the heart of people. It’s our tendency to — when we get things — to use it for ourselves rather than think of others, and this is what the rich man did.

20 “But God said to him, ’You fool!

Oh, look out. Brace yourselves. He says:

This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God” (NIV).

It doesn’t say just the rich man, and even if it said just the rich man, do you know that we are in the top five percent of the wealthy people in the entire world of anyone who’s ever existed? So this is us. This is for us. You might say, “Yeah, but you haven’t seen my neighbor’s house. It’s way bigger than mine.” “Oh, you don’t understand, like sometimes, I struggle to pay my Comcast bill.” “Oh, you don’t understand. I don’t get to go out to eat all the time” and “Well, maybe I do. But it’s just McDonald’s. Like who cares?” Right? Well, no, we’re rich in the context of what it looks like to be rich in human history. It’s us that he’s speaking to, and he’s saying, “Are you living in a way that is rich to God?” So God places a high priority on right relationships — we see from these two passages — with him and with each other.

James was practical, and I picture him basically saying, ”This is one way for you to show your changed life.” Remember, you’re never trying to do something to get favor with God, but what you’re doing is saying God’s Spirit lives in me, and this is what it looks like coming out of me. That’s what James is all about. It’s practical.

So we’re going to look at these ideas today, and the first theme that I see in this passage is that the love of neighbors looks like listening well. The love of neighbors looks like listening well. Some of you might be going, “Yeah, that passage doesn’t ... I don’t see anything where it says loving people looks like listening well.” So don’t be super literal about it, but look at the context because in the passage we see “Let every person be,” — what? — “quick to hear.” What does it mean to be quick to hear? It means that you’re not focusing as much on talking. It means to hear, you’re actually being active listeners. I’ve said this before, but if you want to stand out among people today, particularly in the U.S., just be someone who practices the art of listening. Listen without thinking about what you’re trying to come up with next, but actually sit with people and really listen to them. You will stand out. You will be like a star in a night sky. It is a huge thing.

So let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak. Those are connected because you can’t speak and hear at the same time. Be slow to speak and slow to anger. Why? For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Have you noticed that there is not a lot of patience on social media? Have you noticed there’s not a lot of grace on cable news? It’s all these salacious stories that, honestly, are designed to stir people up. I’m not saying that with the news there isn’t some fact that’s reported, but you know, news, there are so many other things that are going on that make people get riled up because that’s what sells stories. That’s what makes people want to watch channels. Social media is the same way.

Twenty-four hours of cable news and social media and, honestly, we get so much information into our brains that we get overwhelmed, don’t we? We get overwhelmed and we’re agitated and we have a hard time sleeping. And then we find ourselves getting really angry. You’re getting angry sometimes at people who have posted something that you’ve never had a conversation with. You have to wonder, like, what is actually going on? And who is behind this? Like, we need to pull the curtain back and say, “Who is actually pulling the strings here because this is serious stuff and it riles us up.”

It’s almost like we are this ... I picture this dry Northern California season. If you’ve ever been in Northern California, like, in the summer, you smell fire almost as soon as you walk outside because it’s so dry. And there are all these warnings out there, like, “Hey, make sure you don’t smoke anything near this because it’s gonna light up around your house. The houses are gonna burn down.” And then it’s like, wait a second. That’s just like social media. I feel like we need to say, “This is a particularly dry season.” Be careful what you post. Be careful how you respond. Listen more. Have conversations where you’re not trying to just drive an agenda.

One of my favorite tweets though, speaking of social media — I think it can be used for good. One of my favorite tweets that I see some really wise people post on a semi-regular basis is this: “Good morning, Twitter? What are we angry about today?” It’s one of my favorite ones. I always laugh inside. I’m just like, “Oh, this person really does understand Twitter-world.” What are we angry about today? Because every day there’s going to be someone who’s angry, and there will be someone else who will amen your anger. And all of a sudden, we have this echo chamber that creates this chorus of angry people that feel really great about being angry. And there’s something really mixed up about that, right? Like that’s not the way it’s supposed to be, but it happens.

Here’s the deal: There are plenty of things to get angry about that are righteous. Plenty of things. Plenty of things. God is angry when the poor are oppressed. We know this — all throughout Scripture, his heart’s with the poor. God is angry when there are people who don’t have enough and then the rich people (read: us) don’t do enough to take care of their needs. He’s angry about that. He’s disappointed. He wants us to step into people’s need. God is angry when there is abuse and we turn away from it because it feels too messy or it messes with our comfort levels. But this is not what James is addressing.

In this passage, James is telling us ultimately what we already know, that when we are fired up about something, it’s the absolute worst time to open your Twitter app. It’s the worst time. When you’re really fired up about something, slow your roll. Make your thumb slow down a little bit. You don’t have to tweet every single thing you think, right? It’s the worst time to do it, and yet it’s the time that we are most likely to do it.

Haven’t you ever heard before, like, if you’re mad about something, draft an email first, sit with it a while, and then kind of mellow it out? And if you need to send something, great, send it. But if you look back and you’re like, “Wow, I was a little fired up.” Like there is some wisdom in slowing down and being willing to look at what’s actually happening before you send that message. It is so hard to care for people when we are actively seeking to destroy them on social media. Really hard.

It’s also really hard to care for people when you’re vaguebooking about them. Do you know what I mean by that? You know what vaguebooking is? When you’re posting something about someone but you don’t use their name, but everyone knows who it is, right? That’s not a good look. It’s really not, and particularly for Christians. Like, we shouldn’t do that. There are certain things that we should look different in. Proverbs 10:19 says it very simply. It says:

Sin is not ended by multiplying words,

but the prudent hold their tongues (NIV).

I think today, the author of Proverbs would say the prudent will slow down their thumbs. You don’t have to say every single thing that you think. James is telling us the simple, practical ways that faith looks like. It looks like in the context of communication, and it starts with listening because when we listen first, we’re honoring the other person, and we’ve talked about this a lot at The Edge, that we want to be a culture that really does honor people. And I think that fosters relationships and it honors the Lord too.

To be very clear, sometimes having to talk about things like this, I’m like, “Yep. I’m convicted.” Because I certainly haven’t always spoken in honorable ways about people. I’m sure some of you guys haven’t either — you know, the less-than-perfect ones at least. We’re all learning this lesson. But I can make snap judgments with the best of them. Can’t you? Like, I can see something and be like, “Well, I know all about them from that tweet.” It’s like, no, not really. But I’m learning because God wants me to, and truthfully I’ve been hurt by those same kinds of things. Sometimes it takes getting hurt by a situation to realize, “Oh wait, I’ve done that kind of thing before.”

When I was involved in the Drew Peterson murder trial — I was one of the witnesses in the case — and that was a very interesting thing that happened because there are a bunch of things that happened in that case that people were saying about me that weren’t true. And I was just like, “But you don’t know. You don’t know. That’s not true. How can you say that?” And one of the worst — it was very damaging at the time — a major newspaper in the Chicago area went to my seminary president and wanted to really get at me. And they actually asked him, they said, “So what do you think about Pastor Schori and how he counseled someone from his church at Starbucks?” And the seminary president at the time was really caught off guard, and he said, “Oh, we’re going to use Neil as a case study of what not to do.” I know, I was like, “Oh boy, this is bad. It’s really bad.” Like there’s a lot of bad potential here. So I reached out to him, and he just goes, “Oh my gosh.” Basically he said, “I’m really sorry. I spoke before I knew the details.” So we’re good. We worked it out. But it just made me realize, like, if he did that, I know that I’ve done that plenty of times too. Like we’re all able to speak out of turn and make judgments before we actually know what’s true.

So being quick to listen and slow to speak is a good formula to build great relationships and to take power away from that extremely destructive kind of anger that can rise up in any of us at any time. But the Christian life is not just about how we relate to each other. It’s also about how we connect with God. And with God, yes, we have to be quick to listen, but there’s a next step with God because God is above us. His ways are higher than our ways. So what he has to say carries more weight than what people have to say to us, right?

So we have to take the step of doing something with what God has said. Otherwise, we’re like those people who look in the mirror and we walk away and we forget what we look like. You know, can you imagine walking over to a mirror and seeing food on your face, like, from breakfast, or there’s like a mocha from Starbucks that’s like all over your lip and you’re just like, “That’s really good to know,” and you walk away and you don’t wipe it off. Like, unless you’re ... listen, the only time that’s acceptable is if you’re three years of age or younger. Like, we expect kids to walk around like that, but adults? That’s ridiculous. But shouldn’t we also expect adults who claim to follow Jesus to be putting these words into practice?

We shouldn’t say, “It’s okay. Grow at your own rate. Like, it doesn’t matter. God doesn’t care that you’ve been a believer for 40 years but you’re really, you still are just like, you’re on milk. You haven’t moved on to meat.” Like, no, we need to say, “Guys, it’s time. It’s time to grow. It’s time to change.” God calls us to so much more. Some of us will say that we have faith, but there’s very little evidence of it in our lives, right? That could be a problem. Whether we know it or not, whether we like what it shows or not, what we do shows what we really believe. So your faith, even if you don’t know this, your faith looks like something. The question is, what does it look like? More importantly, who does it resemble? James calls us to more. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.” Do what it says.

The author Bob Goff says something powerful. He has a book; It’s just called Love Does. In other words, it’s not just is; it’s not just a feeling. It’s not just words. It’s not just saying, “Well, I love you. I love this. I love that. I love pizza. I love chocolate. I love hanging out with people. I love working out.” No, love does. Love is an action. Love is a sacrifice, and as your life, as you walk with Jesus longer, is it looking more like a sacrifice? Is it looking more like the love that Jesus exhibited for us by coming here and living out a perfect life and dying on the cross for our sins? Is your life looking more like him, or is it not? “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.”

Information can sit with you. You can know all the things. You can have all of the information and not be changed. You can know it all and still not get the heart of God. Applying that information is what life-transforming wisdom looks like. That’s the key difference. Are you applying it, or are you just reading it and saying, “I have all of this information?” Let’s not be people who just receive information. Let’s be people who say, “God, I’m going to start with the basics. I’m going to start with these basics, and I’m going to seek to do these things because love does, because love looks like something.” If you aren’t doing it, it doesn’t matter. And I think it’s worse than that, guys, because if you aren’t doing it and you’re gaining information, it doesn’t just stay in your head as information.

What I have seen over and over and over again is that people who don’t want to practice it, that information goes somewhere, and almost every single time when I see people that know a lot and don’t practice it, there’s a callous meanness about them. Because knowing things makes us tend to feel proud. We feel like, “Ah, I’m smarter than other people because this is what I know. No, I’m very biblically sound. I can tell you all the commandments and I can tell you all about God.” And then, actually, we’re forgetting to live like God because we’re called to be transformed. Jesus told his disciples not to be followers in name only. John 14:15–18; It says:

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you (NIV).

Whatever God calls us to, he’s going to join us in — every single time. He does not leave us alone as orphans. He doesn’t leave us to figure it out all by ourselves. He doesn’t say, “You’re going to have to lift this all by yourself.” No. He lifted it by saving us, and he lifts it today by walking with us, even after saving us. This is a God who is present. This is a God who is trustworthy.

The last verses in the passage (James 1:26–27) reiterate God’s heart for people. And to me, this is powerful — how we’re called to relate to each other and to him. And there is a special focus on the marginalized and on the oppressed. I love this. I love God’s heart. That if you feel like you’re one of those that sort of left out, like you don’t really have a place at the table, he wants you to know this: You have a place at his table. You have a place at his table. It says:

I love this. Verse 27, we’re told to look out for orphans and widows. There is something powerful about that. What he’s saying is, “These are the people who aren’t noticed as much in society. These are the people that you might not notice their gifts because you’ve been talking about your own too much. You might not notice these people that have needs, but I see their needs, and I’m calling you to be someone who goes to them because they have need.” And he loves, he loves the oppressed, and he doesn’t leave us alone. And he calls us to have his same heart that he does. What he’s saying is, he’s saying, “Listen, I get it. Human nature. It’s really tempting to look at people who seem to have all the gifts, have all the passion, have the looks, have the clothes, have all those things. But no, I want you to be someone who goes to those who don’t feel like they’ve got a place. Those who don’t have enough money, those who don’t have enough provision. I want you to show the love of God by being someone who provides for them because it’s my Spirit who has motivated you to do it.”

It’s a powerful invitation by the one who created all things. He wants us to go there. He left heaven to be with us. If you ever wonder, like, “I don’t know if I can do that. I think it’s too much.” Jesus left heaven. He left heaven. He didn’t have to do it, and he’s saying, “I just want your heart to look like mine. I just want you to love people that are left out because you were going to be left out, and I came and found you.”

This sermon series is not something that you can aspire to. So again, I want to make sure that none of you are hearing this and you’re thinking, “I’m gonna try to be better. I’m going to try to be in right relationship.” Nope, don’t do that. You can only live life on his terms. And for some of you, that feels a little bit scary because for some of you, you might be tempted, you might have some wounding that makes you think, “Yeah, but in my life, the people who are supposed to love me the most didn’t, and that makes me scared of this God who you say is all-powerful and I have to submit to him.” Let me just say this. I hear you, and I know God sees you. He’s not mad at you. He knows what you’ve been through, and he is with you, and he will walk you through it. You can be frightened, and just know this: God is not hurrying you, and he’s not pushing himself on you. He sees you and he loves you, and he wants you to know this: He will never take advantage of you. He won’t. This is what the Apostle Paul says about Jesus. Philippians 2:5–8; He says:

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

Right there. He will not take advantage of you.

7 rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death —

even death on a cross! (NIV).

Jesus — let me say this very clearly — Jesus used his power to save you. He used his power to save you. He is worthy of being trusted with your life. Jesus says to people who feel left out and alone,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30, NIV).

If today you’re hearing this and you’re realizing that God is a lot softer in a lot of ways than you thought. Maybe you’re hearing this, and you’re like, “Wow. So God isn’t looking for ways to smash me down.” Maybe you’re someone who has thought, “I would go to church but I’m afraid that if I walk in there, the roof will come down.” I can’t tell you how many people have said that exact same thing to me before, and this is what I’ve always said to people who say that: “If it didn’t come down when I was on stage, you’re safe.” Okay? Because we all have sinned. We all have fallen short of the glory of God, and God is not out to get you. He is out for you. He is out to save you. Okay? This is a good and kind Lord that we have. And if you want to turn to him, here’s how you can do it — Acts 3:19 says:

Repent, then, and turn to God,

In other words, turn away from yourself. Turn away from the ways that you thought you needed to live. Turn to God,

so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord (NIV).

We want to leave you with a few questions to consider, and we know that, in person, you probably can’t do this. So these will also be posted online on Facebook right now.

What is the resounding message that you are taking away from this passage?
The second question is also a challenge: How is your discipline of listening going? Maybe, for whatever reason, you’re having a hard time listening, and you very well could be hurting people with your words. If you know that you’ve done that, I encourage you this week to own it with that person and practice listening first.
What area of your life do you need to be more obedient to the Lord in, and how will you plan to do it?

We’re going to close with worship now.