Plant the Word.

And if you want to turn with me in your Bibles to James, chapter one, [inaudible] is over there at the welcome table with more donuts, or something amazing. There are some reading plans that walk you through the book of James. Look at him showing it off over there. Wow, so good. Not even planned, but he's ready to go. So if you want to follow along in the reading plan, you can grab one of those. We'd love for you to be reading along in James with us, as we take the next sixteen weeks or so to study it together. If you have your Bibles, we're going to start in verse 19. I'm reading out of the NIV this morning.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 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. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in this, not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 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.

James 1:19-27

Let's pray again today. Holy Spirit, we thank you so much for your presence here in this place. We thank you that during worship we can fix our eyes and our gaze on you and be reminded of your beauty and your glory. We thank you that you're speaking to us through your word today. God, I pray against any distractions, any heaviness in this room, that it would just be gone, and that we would feel light, that we would feel open, and that we would feel so loved, knowing that today you long to speak to us, to talk to us, and to draw us closer to you. Holy Spirit, would you do just that through this word? Would you speak directly, specifically, to our hearts? And would you lead us in transformation, leaving this place more in love with you, feeling your love, and looking more like you, Jesus. In your name we pray. Amen.

Being specific

This week I was on a walk with a kid who asked me a question. To be honest, I was a little distracted, so they said, what's your favorite flower, what flowers do you like? And I said, oh, I like all flowers. And they turned to me with the biggest smile and said, here you go, and handed me a fistful of dandelions. First of all, I thought, those aren't actually flowers, but I also thought, I should have been a little more specific about what I said. Maybe you've done that too, where somebody invites you over for dinner and asks what you like to eat, and you say, I'm open, I like all foods, and you sit down and think, but I hate this, I should have been more specific.

As we've been reading through the book of James, one of the things we're going to notice is that James moves quickly, and he doesn't always explain everything right away. He's vague, and then all of a sudden he gets very specific, about only a few things. He starts broad, even in the beginning, about faith, about trials, about wisdom, and then he starts to lock in as we move through the chapters, and he's going to talk about favoritism, about anger, about our speech, about our tongue, about caring for the vulnerable, the poor. He's basically saying, I'm not going to explain everything, but I am going to make sure you don't miss these few things that make a huge difference in how we live into the kingdom of heaven.

A lot of what he's doing is mirroring Jesus. We talked about this last week, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' very first words when he sat down and preached to his disciples, leaning in, and the crowds listening and watching. This is what Jesus said in Matthew: look, here it is, behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. He's telling the people, the kingdom is coming, all of this is going to happen. And in chapter five, he says:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:3-10, 12

These are the things Jesus is specifically talking about when he says the kingdom is coming, the kingdom is in your midst, and these are the people who are blessed. James is mirroring this, giving this same invitation to pay attention: we want to walk in faith, we want to live wisely, and here are some specific ways to do it. Why? Because you're specific about what matters most. In the same way, if you have an allergy and you go to a restaurant, you don't just say, can you hold this, you're specific, to make sure it's not there. What's highlighted is what matters most. James also uses this language of don't forget, don't forget. When you see those themes come up over and over in scripture, that's God saying, don't forget these things.

So thinking back to my moment with that kid, I should have been more specific, and honestly I kind of lied, because I don't really like all flowers. If I went through the list, there are some I'd say, you might qualify as a flower, but you're just ugly, that shouldn't count. What I should have said is that I love lilacs, that those are my favorite, and it's springtime, so they're blooming. They're not just my favorite flower because one day I woke up and decided that's going to be it. It's because they're my mom's favorite flower, and growing up, I heard her talk about how much she loves them, to look at them, to smell them, over and over. One of my brothers, maybe the favorite child, was born around the time lilacs were in bloom, so she'd always say, I remember when he was a baby, and tell these stories.

We moved around a lot growing up, so we never had our own lilac bush, but we were definitely the kids who, every time we were in a parking lot and saw lilacs, said, we're going to pick some for mom. Or if we were walking and saw them hanging over someone's fence, we may or may not have just borrowed a few and taken them with us. It was always part of listening to her for so long that this idea got planted in my head, that these are the best flowers, superior, and now they're my favorite. So when I moved into my home three years ago, I decided I was going to plant a lilac bush, because I didn't want to just pick one and have it for a moment, I wanted to grow them, over and over again. After years of listening, I didn't just want to look, I wanted this to be planted.

So much of what James is talking about is for us not to just listen and not just look, but to be intentional about what we're letting be planted in our lives. He's saying the word of God is going to be planted in your life, but then we need to cultivate it so it can grow. Too often we live in a vague reality, where we have big ideas, passions we want to sit around and talk about forever. We might even look at things and want to talk about how wrong they are, how bad they are, that someone should do something about it. He's saying, let's move from that into action. And in order to do that, we get specific about what we say, how we react, and what we actually do.

From thoughts to action

The first thing I want to talk about today is how we move from thoughts to actions. How do we go from not just listening, from not just being people who comment on social media, send texts like, best wishes, hope you're doing well, but actually act on it. Verse 19: my dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen. So we should listen, listening is good. Then slow to speak, slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 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.

James is starting to get specific here, about our tone, about our timing, about our anger. I want to talk for a moment about this, because the anger here isn't the same kind of righteous anger we see when Jesus is flipping tables. This is human anger. I want us to note that we don't want to dismiss it when we have these moments of anger, these strong emotions, because they're telling us something. But then we want to listen and tell them where to go. Even righteous anger is only going to get us so far unless we act on it. Anger can be a catalyst for change, for transformation, but on its own, if we don't listen, if we don't ask where it's coming from, what the root is, it's only going to get us so far. Anger is a reaction to a root. It will fade and come up again, and we get stuck in a cycle, I get so angry, then I calm down, then I get angry again, then I calm down.

What does it look like to slow down when the anger comes, to ask, is this righteous anger or human anger? And either way, to say, God, what am I supposed to do with this? If the root of this anger is a wound, bitterness, unforgiveness, Holy Spirit, help me know exactly how to deal with this. Just because Jesus doesn't mention every specific situation we walk through in scripture doesn't mean he doesn't have specific things he's asking us to do, specific ways to live. As we get ready to celebrate Pentecost in a few weeks, we have the Holy Spirit, who now serves as our helper, to be specific with us about what we need to get rid of, how we need to live, how we need to talk. So we don't really have the excuse of saying, well, the Bible didn't say anything about this. Get specific with the Holy Spirit, and let him lead you to transformation.

Our entire church is centered on practicing and creating the culture of Christ, these beliefs and practices Jesus lived out, because, as we're going to see James mirroring the Sermon on the Mount again, Matthew chapter seven says:

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Matthew 7:21-24

We need to practice these things, we need to live them out, we need to move from just hearing and listening to living it out.

The mirror that tells the truth

The next thing we see is this illustration James uses, of a mirror. He's talked about gardens too, and we were just in Isaiah, even after Easter, so much about gardens, about growth, and we still have these pictures and illustrations. He says, do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 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.

The mirror tells us more than what's wrong with us. It doesn't just reflect what's wrong, it tells us what needs to be transformed. What do we do? How do we live in a way that does more than just look into the mirror, but actually changes how we're living and what we look like? There's nothing worse than sitting down for a meal with people, then walking out to your car or stepping into the bathroom, and seeing your reflection, and thinking, nobody told me I had spinach in my teeth. Or nobody told me that, for me, long hair and salads don't mix. The amount of times I've walked out and thought, why is there lettuce in my hair and nobody told me?

When I see that reflection, what do I do? I fix what's wrong. I remove it. I hope you all do the same. You don't just look into the mirror, see something a little off, and walk away, you go, wait a second, I've got to change this, I've got to fix this. The mirror tells us the truth. It simply reflects the reality that's there. It doesn't create a new reality, it just reflects what is. So when we sit with the Holy Spirit and say, show us, reflect to us what's going on in my heart, what's the state of where I'm at, Jesus, show me through your Holy Spirit, and those things get revealed to us, we're foolish if we don't change, if we don't remove what he's telling us to remove, if we don't let what he's asking us to plant take root.

The mirror doesn't fix our reality, it simply reveals what's already there. We're the ones who get to respond and take action. James is using this illustration because he's saying, the danger of following Jesus can sometimes be this: we come to church, we hear the word preached, we maybe read our Bibles on our own, and we look, and we're hearing, listening, seeing things clearly, but we're still not letting it take root. We're not letting it transform us, and we're not leaving changed. Jesus wants us to walk in the fullness of who he created us to be, and that requires us not just to think good thoughts, but to live them, to put them into action.

Why don't we do this? Sometimes because what the mirror is revealing is something that, if we're honest, we don't really want to change, because it might cost us something, because maybe we're feeling comfortable. Can I remind us, that's the illusion. In the same way we serve a God who loves us, who's for us, who's pursuing us, we also have an enemy who's against us, who wants to tempt us into thinking that the things we're holding onto, looking to fix us, to complete us, will do that, when the reality is, for many of us, if we would just let that go, that's when we're going to start living into the reality of who we were created to be, that's when we're going to experience the life we truly long for. But the longer the enemy can keep us holding on, saying don't fix it, don't fix it, that's what's going to fix you, the longer he keeps us from who God created us to be.

Jesus shows us, in the way he walked with his disciples, that correction is a good thing. Us looking in the mirror and realizing, oh, there's spinach in my teeth, that's a good thing, because then we can take care of it, and walk away smiling again, confidently. It doesn't have to be a bad thing. I want to speak from this place: shame is of the enemy. Shame keeps us stuck, because sometimes we don't even want to go and look in the mirror, because we don't want to face what we're going to see. But correction and conviction from the Spirit of God is kind, and it leads us closer to Jesus and his love, the love we were created for. It's a good thing for us to let go and invite the Spirit to transform us.

When pride came up in his disciples, Jesus corrected them in love, because he was saying, no, this isn't going to satisfy you. He challenged religious leaders who were following the wrong ways, saying, actually, you're a little off here, let me correct you so you can get back on the path that's actually going to lead you where you want to go. When we look in the mirror and see the things that need to change, that need to be removed, it's not punishment, it's God's kindness, him saying, I know you, because I formed you in the palm of my hand, and I'm longing for you to live as my child, bearing my image.

He tells us the truth. When we sit with the Spirit, the Spirit will tell us the truth about where we're at, and that correction, even when it's something we don't want to see, isn't shameful, isn't rejection, it's an invitation to come closer to who God created us to be. This is beautiful, when we get to live into this and we're not afraid. Even as I was reading through this, I sensed the Spirit inviting us into this process: how do we not run from correction and repentance, but see it as the kindest thing God could do, because he knows us and what we need.

Hebrews 12:11 says, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but when we see correction not as punishment or rejection, but as God drawing us closer, it's going to change how we receive it. When someone points out something, when our hair's a little off, and we don't take it as, they think I look bad, but instead say, oh, they know I could be looking better right now, it changes how we receive it. What do you want to produce in your life? Hebrews says, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but later it produces a harvest of righteousness, of right living, of living the way we were meant to, in kingdom reality. What do you want produced in your life? Look at what you're planting. Look at who you're listening to. Look around at what you're letting be planted in your life.

Planting and cultivating

Finally, we see this illustration of the garden continue. Gardens need to be planted and cultivated. The invitation James gives us here is, don't just let anything be planted. Be intentional, because planting is one thing, but cultivating that soil means working to remove and weed out anything that's going to work against it. You don't grow through vague well-wishes and good intentions. I could look at the soil in my front yard and have the best thoughts about lilacs, I could close my eyes and imagine what they look like and smell like, but until I decide I'm going to plant it and let it take root, and cultivate it as it comes up bigger every year, and ask, what else am I going to let grow around this that will support it or cause it harm, nothing changes. If you know anything about gardening, some things are stronger next to each other, and other things need a little separation. There's specific intentionality around what we're allowing to be planted in our lives, and we need to pay attention, because wanting isn't enough. Our thoughts need to be turned into actions. What we want to see flourish and be produced in our lives later, we need to plant now. It's specific, it's intentional.

We're talking about following the ways of Jesus and being formed into his likeness. I want to read a few places where we see this idea of planting throughout scripture, because it's a theme that comes up again and again. In the gospel of Luke, it says the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering, produce a crop. So God is planting seeds in our lives. Even right now, as we're opening up the word of God and reading from his heart to us, seeds are being planted. Are we going to persevere? Are we going to let it be planted, going to remain, going to cultivate the soil of our hearts so it can take root? Jesus says to his disciples directly, in John 15:5, if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Part of remaining, that word meno, to remain, to dwell, to abide, is that sometimes it's a struggle to stay, to continue. It might not always be easy to let things be planted in your life and to remain, but as we do, we bear much fruit. Psalm 1 is one of my favorites, it talks about a tree planted by streams of water, going through different seasons, but in its season it yields much fruit.

We're reminded over and over that we're not just to look at Jesus and say, you're beautiful, he is, but to look at Jesus and then go and live our lives in a way that reflects that beauty. We're not to be people who just read the word and say, oh, that was awesome, we listened today. I love listening to the audio Bible on my drive to work, it's great, listen to the scriptures, but then we walk into our workplaces and live it out. We don't just listen, then we speak truth to the people around us, because when Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is here, in our midst, it means we, right here and now, can live in surrender and submission to Jesus as Lord and see the fruit of his kingdom alive. But it takes us going from not just looking, not just listening, but letting it be so deeply planted that it produces the fruit of the kingdom.

Faith that cares for the vulnerable

What's planted comes out in the way we talk. When James talks about anger, he's saying, what's planted, roots of bitterness, roots of unforgiveness? Let's check that anger, look in the mirror, and say, show me, Holy Spirit, be specific, where is this anger coming from? We don't have to be vague when we talk to God. Even if scripture doesn't specifically address our exact situation word for word, we see God addressing it through his heart, all through scripture, that he wants us looking like him. Every time we open up scripture, it's like holding up a mirror. We get to say, Holy Spirit, will you show me, will you show me through your word what I look like, will you show me anything that needs to be removed, that doesn't look like you, that doesn't represent who you created me to be? We were never meant to just look and walk away and forget, we were meant to respond.

I do want to touch on this quickly, because James is going to move on to talk more about money and caring for the poor, but he ends this section by saying, those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongue deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Again, I think it's interesting, because you think, well, what do you mean, God, what if I show up to church, read my Bible, do all these things with the best intentions? But the way we talk represents a lot. It shows where our heart is, by the way we speak about people, by the way we speak to people, whether it's with kindness or with bitterness. The tongue is important, and we're going to talk more about that in the weeks to come.

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.

James 1:27

This is the kindness of God, reminding us in the best way that we're part of something bigger than just ourselves. In the same way he's saying, care for the orphans, care for the widows, care for those who feel like they have no one, it's because that's what God did for us when he sent Jesus. He looked at us and said, you might feel like you're walking alone, like you have no family, like you've been abandoned, but I'm sending Jesus to show you what love, what acceptance, what belonging looks like. You might feel like you're always worried about tomorrow, that you don't know where provision is coming from, that you've been rejected, that you're all alone, but I'm going to send Jesus to provide your every need, to make way for you to have eternity with me through his death and resurrection, so you're never alone. You're part of a kingdom where all your needs are met.

Money was something Jesus was so specific about, over and over. That's why we as a church work so hard to ask, how are we using our money to feed those who are hungry, to give homes to those who need it, how are we using everything to live into this kingdom reality? I think it has less to do with money itself and more to do with a heart that's surrendered and submitted, saying, Jesus, we recognize this isn't our home, so we don't have to hold onto anything. We recognize we were created for more. We don't have to be prideful, unwilling to change, but we can live into that reality.

Closing invitation

Our so-what today is this: we're invited to do more than just read and listen and think about the word of God, we're invited to be transformed, and to be vessels of the transformation we've received. We can do more than look and say, that's amazing, we get to live it out. And when we do that, we experience the beauty of God in a whole new way. So now what? Respond to the word with repentance and renewed vision, to live according to the kingdom and his way.

I'm going to invite you to stand today, and the team is going to lead us. I want us to have a moment of experiencing the kindness of the Holy Spirit, through looking in the mirror. Before they start to sing, take a moment to listen, to just think, Holy Spirit, what did you speak today, through this scripture? Maybe write it down in a journal, jot it in your phone. I want this slide to stay up for a moment as the team plays, to listen, and then to look, and imagine you're holding up a mirror, and say, Holy Spirit, will you show me what I need to remove, how I need to repent, to turn from the old and move toward the new, and then let the Spirit plant the seed of the word, and say, Holy Spirit, would you renew me, would you give me a fresh vision for what it looks like to live like you? This is kindness, when we humbly come before the Lord and say, will you create in me a new heart? I'm going to invite you to take a moment to do this, and then the team's going to lead us.