James 2- Love Your Neighbor -v1-13- sermon notes

Back during the first century in Jewish culture traditionally Jewish Synagogues you had to buy your seat in the synagogue. So obviously the one who had more money, was going to get a better seat in the synagogue. That’s what James is talking about here in the scriptures . James is saying…

My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. (or show favoritism) That’s why here at Church, everyone sits wherever they want. This is the New Covenant in Christ, this is what the Church, the Body of Christ is about, we are all equal or one in Christ. You can sit wherever you want here free of charge.

So then James tells us a story, basically if a rich guy walks in your assembly (Church), he has nice clothes and jewelry, and you give them the best seat in the house, you are showing favoritism. While the poor person walks in and you tell them , you better go sit back there

have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? (4)

So we are making judgements based on peoples physical appearance or social status, ect. And this happens all the time in life, doesn’t it? Even in Churches, One Sunday during our worship service a woman came in here, track marks up and down her arms and legs, high as a kite, and she sat there for most of the service. And we were glad to have her here, because we want her to get saved, we want her to encounter Jesus Christ, but the reality is most Churches from my experience, would probably have thrown her out. Lets be honest, or I hear all the time people are afraid to take their kids to certain Churches because they get scolded or dirty looks, and I’m not up here trying to say we do everything perfect, but what I will say is I never want to be a stumbling block for someone to come to Christ. 

So James is trying to teach that the New Covenant in Christ is not the same as the world or even the Old Covenant. We are all One in Jesus Christ, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, we are a family of God

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

Love Your Neighbor

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; (v8)

What a concept , James quotes his brother Jesus. The royal law he calls it , Love your neighbor as yourself, this means if you want to be treated equally with respect, then treat others equally with respect. This is why Christianity is so radically different from the rest of the world. Because our identity is in Jesus Christ, therefor we are one in Christ. Think about everyone in this room, there are people of different ages and backgrounds, but we are united in Jesus Christ. 

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14

Consider Jesus story about the Good Samaritan..Luke 10

30Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among [i]thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35On the next day, [j]when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

37And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (9)

But James continues to warn here, listen if you guys keep showing favoritism , you guys keep elevating some people over another, within the Church, you guys are in sin, you guys are breaking The Law of God, because what did Paul just say “Love your neighbor is the fulfillment of The Law” 

Keep The Law

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. (10-12)

Now I know alot of us are thinking, man I judged certain people, I’m guilty of this myself, I have broken the Law of God, I’m a sinner, yeah welcome to the club. Remember a little earlier in chapter 1 James said the “Word of God was like a mirror” The Ten Commandments, the Law of God reveals to us we have all fallen short, we are all sinners, it reveals to us all we need a Savior. The Good News is God provided that Savior for us Jesus Christ

James brings up a good point here, he says you can try and keep the whole Law of God, you can try, but if you mess up in one spot, your guilty of breaking the entire law of God. This is where you need to understand , its only by the grace of God in our faith in Jesus Christ, that we are saved. You are not going to save yourself, your going to stumble and fall, put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation

Show Mercy

For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (13)

Mercy triumphs over judgement, this is actually for us to comprehend as humans. We don’t like showing mercy to people, lets be honest. But James warns there will be judgement with no mercy, for the one who shows no mercy. Consider what Jesus says about this…

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7)

Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. (Luke 6:36)

Conclusion:

  1. There is no favoritism in the Church, the Body of Christ
  2. Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
  3. We are all sinners
  4. Mercy over Judgement
  5. We Are One In Christ

For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. I Corinthians 10:17

I think this is a great text for Communion this morning, to the world we are all seperated by class and race, but in Jesus Christ we are One Body, there is no favoritism in the family of God.  Everyone is welcomes to The Lords Table, you have a seat there , that nobody can buy, but your place at The Table was bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. Through Christ you have been unified by his body and blood, Born Again in the Holy Spirit,  Amen

Zechariah 8- Zeal For Israel

Again the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervor I am zealous for her.’ “Zechariah 8:1-2

One way I think we can sum up the book of Zechariah is “God is not done with Israel yet” The prophet Zechariah is being given direct revelations from God about the physical return of Christ (Zechariah 12-14) and the restoration of Israel , which we know as the Millennial Reign of Christ (Revelation 20:2-7)

These prophetic words couldn’t come at a better time, as Israel continues to be under attack by the world, specifically Iran, and antisemitism is on the rise around the world. What does God say? “I (God) am zealous for Zion with great zeal; with great fervor I am zealous for her (Jerusalem)”

It’s very apparent God is not done with Israel (Romans 9-11) and God is very zealous for the restoration of Jerusalem which will happen with the Return of Christ

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:7

“Thus says the LORD: ‘I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain.’ (Zecharian 8:3)

God is very clear “I will return to Zion” this is the return of Jesus Christ. The Lord will physically descend from Heaven to the Mt of Olives to save and restore Israel

And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. Zechariah 14:4

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit In the streets of Jerusalem, Each one with his staff in his hand Because of great age. The streets of the city Shall be full of boys and girls Playing in its streets.’ Zechariah 8:4-5

So what will Jerusalem look like during the Millennial Reign of Christ? (Revelation 20) The prophet Zechariah is told directly by God, there will finally be true peace, because the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) Jesus Christ is reigning from Jerusalem.  Don’t be deceived by the false peace promised by the world and Satan, specifically the anti-Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

As the prophet Isaiah also foretold

6“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11:6-9

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’ Says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 8:6

“In these days” the Millennial  Reign of Christ, it will be marvelous , the Israel that everyone longed for, so No, God is not done with Israel yet, as the Apostle Paul stated 

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; Romans 11:25-26

James 1-Quick To Listen and Slow to Speak- Sermon Notes

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (19-20)

If I can provide some marriage counseling for this morning…its this verse…all the woman say Amen? Listen More and Speak Less! Right? We have 2 ears and 1 mouth…

But also, when were always talking we are never listening, right? Its important that we listen to people more than we talk. Now I know this is easier said than done, but this is godly wisdom you can apply to your lives..especially your relationships

Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.Proverbs 10:19  NLT

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1 NIV

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:6

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4:29

So as we can see in the Bible, our words are important, we need to remember to listen more and talk less….Amen?

Doer of The Word

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; -for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. (22-24)

Another challenge the Apostle James presents to us, is are we hypocritical Christians? Being Hypocritical in our daily lives, our marriages, our friendships, raising our children, our workplace…Do we do what we actually say? We talk the talk but do we walk the walk? James says Dont just heard the Word of God, actually Do The Word of God. We know alot of people who like to beat people over the heads with the Bible, but they themselves are guilty themselves…

Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth. 1 John 3:18

consider what Jesus says..

24“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Jesus says anyones who hears the Word of God and actually is a doer, actually does the will of God, is like a wise person who builds their life upon a solid foundation, obviously that foundation is Christ. So when the storms of life come in, trials and testing, you will be able to stand against these things. But the person who listens to the Word of God and doesn’t actually apply them , is a foolish person who builds their life upon sand, so when the trials and testing come, their faith totally collapses, because they are hypocrites. You have to be a doer of the word, by faith follow Jesus, not just a hearer of the word

False Religion

If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. (26)

Now James talks about false religion, many people can call themselves Christian, but does their life really reflect this? Again going back to James saying be a Doer of the Word and not just a Hearer. But also James goes back to our words, if you don’t keep control of your words, you deceive yourself and your religion is useless. This goes back to listen more and speak less, if we are hypocritical our religion is worthless….religion is only good if its truthful…..lets consider what Jesus said

But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37

Here’s another scary thought, every word that you speak, you will have to give an account for it on judgement day. By your words you will be justified and condemned, that’s not my opinion, thats the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. So this should make us a little more serious about the words we speak, right? 

James then gives us an example of what true Christianity looks like…

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (27)

Help people, right its one thing to preach to people but actually practice what you preach. And to keep yourselves from this world, right resist temptation as James taught earlier….again consider what Jesus says….

35for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ (Matthew 25:35-36)

45Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me 

This is what Jesus demonstrates what true Christianity looks like, we as the Church are the Salt of the Earth, the Light of the World, we are the hands and feet of Christ. Think about what Jesus said, for whatever you do for the least of these, the lowly of the people, you did it for Jesus, think about that. 

Conclusion:

  1. Listen more and Speak Less
  2. Be accountable for your words- they will condemn you
  3. Be a Doer of the Word Not just a listener- Don’t be a Hypocrite
  4. False Religion is useless- don’t just say you are a Christian- live for Christ
  5. Whatever you do for the least of these, you do it for Jesus

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

True religion is to be a doer of the Word and not just a Hearer, if we call ourselves Christians, we should act like Christ. Be slow to speak and quick to listen, love and forgive one another, because Christ loves us and has forgiven us, Amen!

Zechariah 7- The Scattering

Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’ Zechariah 7:8-10

As we continue through this chapter of the prophet Zechariah, this is a continuation of Gods rebuke of Israel’s false religion and worship. As in my previous article, the people were asking the prophet Zechariah , what is the bare minimum they have to do to be “OK with God” (Zechariah 7:3)

This is exposing the heart of the people, they honor God with their lips but their heart is far from him” (Isaiah 29:13) This is the false religious system being exposed by God. And its still the same today, the majority of “self-professed Christians”, rely upon a works based salvational system rather than truly loving God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5) and being saved by grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2)

God is telling the prophet Zechariah what true religion looks like , to love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39) “Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion, don’t oppress the lowly person, and don’t carry evil in your heart”! Many of these principle Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)

But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 7:11-12

Even after the Israelites came back from exile, their hearts were still hard, they still refused to listen to Gods word, The Law sent by His Spirit (The Holy Spirit) This has been the continual history of Israel, including the crucifying of our Lord, the Messiah

You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Acts 7:51

This is why we need to be Born Again in Christ (John 3:3) This is why we need to be regenerated, Born from Above, with a New Heart, a New Mind, the Spirit of God put within us! (Ezekeil 36)

Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts. “But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.” Zechariah 7:13-14

Because of Israels continual disobedience and hardness of hearts, God gave them over to their sins (Romans 1:24-28) They would not listen to God, so God stopped listening to them and once again they will be scattered

“This the land became desolate after them” The land of Israel became desolate after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD, as Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant and religious system. However Israel had become reborn in One day as prophesied in 1948 (Isaiah 66:8) Christ has pointed his attention to the Church at this present time, however as the prophet Zechariah will reveal later, Christ will come back to save Israel (Zechariah 14, Romans 11) Christ will not lose any of His Sheep (John 10) Amen!