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The
Miracle Mirror |
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A
Pocket Paper ______________________ Message by Robert J. Morgan, Senior Pastor The Donelson Fellowship 3210 McGavock Pike 615/871-4769 www.donelson.org In
our series of studies, 365, on daily obedience from the book of James,
we’re coming today to the end of chapter one of that book. We’ve taken our time and gone
through James 1 verse-by-verse, and it’s taken us seven weeks. Next Sunday, Lord willing, we’ll
plunge right into chapter 2. So
today let’s turn to our passage of study, James 1:22-27: Do not merely listen to the word, and so
deceive yourselves. Do what it
says. Those who listen to the
word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a
mirror and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what
they look like. But those who
look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and
continue in it—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. Let’s
State This Truth (v. 22) This is a very easy passage to expound. In verse 22, James states the
principle that he wants to emphasize:
Do not merely listen to the
Word, and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says. Now, none of us like to be deceived. Many years ago, I had a man who came
to my house one day with a pitiful story. He said that his daughter was under
the care of a particular doctor, and that she badly needed medication for a
life-threatening condition. He
had medical insurance, but he needed a little money for the co-pay. He said that the prescription was ready
to be picked up down at the drugstore on the corner, and would the church
help him in his hour of need. He
was sincere and tender and earnest and gave every indication of being in
genuine need, and I was ready to help him in any way that I could. But I wasn’t born yesterday, so
I excused myself and went inside to the phone. I called the office of the doctor he
had mentioned and told the receptionist the full story. They said they did not have such
patient. I called the pharmacy he
had mentioned, and they had no such prescription. Going back outside, I gave him this
news, and he muttered something unpleasant and stalked off down the street, I
suppose, to the next church. One
of the challenges that every church has is how do we help cases of legitimate
need without being taken in by all the scams that people are running. We don’t like to be lied to and
we don’t like to be deceived. But the worst kind of deception is self-deception, and
James is warning us—as Christians—that we can deceive ourselves
in this way: We can think that
reading our Bibles and listening to the preaching of the Word of God is
sufficient. Going to church is
sufficient. Hearing an occasional
sermon is sufficient. But the
reading and preaching and teaching of Scripture is
utterly useless unless it leads to application, and to practical obedience in
our lives. The Bible was never given as a good luck charm or just to
satisfy our intellectual curiosity about metaphysical realities. It was written to be applied. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3
that… All Scripture is
God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
training in righteousness, that God’s people
may mature and be useful in every kind of service. So that’s the principle stated: Do
not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Let’s
Illustrate This Truth (vv. 23-25) Now,
in the next three verses, James is going to illustrate this truth by giving
us an analogy: Those who listen to the word but do not do
what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror and, after
looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look
like. But those who look intently
into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue
in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will
be blessed in what they do. There was an article last fall from Reuters UK that announced a
survey conducted by a British beauty company which found that women look at
themselves in the mirror every 30 minutes during the day. They actually check their reflection
34 times a day during an average 16-hour waking day, and they reapply their
makeup 11 times. Women in Well, James is comparing the Word of God to a
mirror. It’s a miracle
mirror. It shows us a reflection,
not just of our faces, but of our souls and spirits and daily lives. When we look into its pages, we can
see ourselves, we can see our flaws, we can see our blemishes, we can see
what needs to be improved and corrected, and we can take remedial action
through faith and obedience.
Verse 25 says: But the person who looks intently into the
perfect law that gives freedom, and continues doing this, not forgetting what
he has heard but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. A lifelong pattern of looking intently into Scripture and
obeying it leads to a lifetime of blessings. So James states this principle in
verse 22, and he illustrates it using the analogy of a mirror in verses
23-25. And now he’s going
to apply it in verses 26-27, and that’s where I’d like for us to
spend the rest of our time. James
is concerned about three areas in life in which Christians are prone to
failure when it comes to the application of Scripture. He could have talked about
tithing. He could have talked
about pride. He could have talked
about church attendance. He could
have talked about marriage. But
in this passage, James is vitally concerned that Christians read, study, and
obey the Scriptures in these three areas. Let’s
Apply This Truth (vv. 26-27) If anyone considers
himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein
on his tongue, he deceives himself and his 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. There are three points of application here. The first area
is: Our Tongues. James
is keenly desirous that Christians diligently practice what the Bible says
about the tongue. He says, Those who
consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their
tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. The word James uses here is the word they used for
bridling a horse. We used to have
horses in Our society feeds on gossip. Most newspapers have gossip columns,
and we’ve gotten to the point where celebrity gossip often even
dominates the headlines of broadcast news. But it’s a sad thing when that
aspect of our culture infiltrates the church. Sometimes I fear that Christians are
among the worst people when it comes to gossiping. I think it’s because we’re
in sort of closed environment that is filled with people of various opinions
and different levels of maturity, and we deal with very heartfelt and
emotional subjects. And so if
someone hears something about someone else or if we’re discontented
about someone else, than we stand around talking and talking and
talking—often about somebody else—and we forget that the Bible
says, “In a multitude of words there lacketh
not sin” (Proverbs 10:19). There was an article the other day in the newspaper about
the impact it makes when children overhear their parents saying something
complimentary about them. For
example, a child may accidentally hear you say, “I am so proud of how
Jeremy has improved in his reading!” Or, “You should have seen how
well my son handled this or that problem.” When you child overhears it when you
say something good about him or her to another person, that it perhaps the
most powerful deposit you can make into his or her self-image. The psychologist said that’s
more powerful that actually complimenting the child directly, because when
they overhear you say something positive about them to someone else, they
know that it represents how you truly think; and a child’s self-image
is based on his perception of what his dad or mom thinks about him. Now, let’s reverse that scenario. What if it’s not a child, but
it’s another church member or a friend or a fellow Christian. And what if the things we are saying
are words of complaining or gossiping or accusing or tale-bearing? What if they are overheard? How would that make them feel? What would that do to their hearts and
spirits? I’d like to advocate the acronym THINK as a basis
for deciding what to say and when to say it. Ø T: Is it true? That is a simple question, but a vital one. Am I sure it is true? Ø H: Is it helpful? There are a lot of things that are true, but it’s not helpful to repeat them. Ø I: Is it inspiring? Will it edify others? The Bible says, “Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouth except what is good for edifying others.” Ø N: Is it necessary? Quite often our words may be interesting enough to focus attention on ourselves as we share them, and they may be plain-spoken enough for us to feel that we’re getting something off our chests, but is that conversation really necessary? Ø K: Is it kind? What is my motive behind what I am going to say? How will it make others feel? James said, Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight
rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. The second area
is: Our Benevolence. Religion that
God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in
their distress…. Christians have always been known by their deeds of
charity, kindness, compassion, and benevolence. That’s why we have the Hanna
Project, and that’s why we have members of our church in Africa right
now giving medical care to poverty-stricken populations. I continually feel that our church
needs to increasingly do more in this area, but it begins when you and I as
individuals reach out and help someone who needs it in our own daily
lives. When my father died, a man
came up to me at the funeral home and said, “You’ll never know
how many students ‘Fess helped.” My dad was called ‘Fess,’
I think, because it was short for Professor. But this man told me of a time when my
dad had taken him out of class, taken him into town, and bought shoes for
him. Up in the hills, many
families were destitute, and my father had grown up in poverty; and he
evidently helped a lot of students with shoes and clothes and food that we
never knew about. Christians have always done that. The great charities of the world have
been and are Christian based.
Some time ago, I read about a woman named Emma Whittemore. She and her husband Sidney were part
of New York’s most glittering society. One day a preacher came to New York. Emma had a friend who invited her to
go to the evangelistic campaign, and Sidney had a friend who invited him to
do the same. They both went to
the rally, but neither knew that the other was there. Both Sidney and Emma were stirred by the message and went
forward at the invitation to accept Christ as Savior, and both were
wonderfully saved. Soon afterward, Emma’s friend invited her to visit Jerry
McAuley’s Water Street Rescue Mission on the
lower end of Manhattan. . "Never can that night be erased from my
memory," Emma wrote later. "From the time we got off the car at
Roosevelt Street, each step opened up some new horror." She heard
curses, saw quarreling, fighting, police abuse, and women dragged off to the
station. Her heart went out to
the girls and women who lived on the street, and she determined to do
something about it. On October
25, 1890, Emma Whittemore opened her first Door of
Hope to house girls who had nowhere to live or to go except to the
streets. Within four years, the
Door of Hope had helped 325 girls. Eventually Door of Hope went
international. By Emma's death in 1931, there were 97 homes in seven
countries. That’s what Christians have always done, but it
begins when you and I find someone with a need and find a simple way to help
or encourage them. John Kasich is
an Ohio politician who is probably going to run for governor of the
state. He’s a Christian,
and he’s also a journalist with a weekly program on one of the cable
news channels. Some time ago,
Kasich wrote a book entitled Courage is
Contagious, and in the first chapter he wrote about two boys who had
changed his life. They were two
brothers, Eric and Bobby Krenzke, who lived with
their parents and siblings in the town of Hilliard, Ohio. Both brothers suffered from dystonia, which is a rare, genetic neurological
disorder. These brothers had a great desire to visit Washington,
D.C., and to meet the President, and visit the Capitol, the Supreme Court,
and the Hard Rock Café.
For some reason, when the Krenzkes arrived
in Washington, they had trouble arranging a tour of the Capitol Building, and
so they called their Congressman’s office. Congressman John Kasich met the family
in the House Dining Room, and at first he was a little shocked to meet the
boys. Both of them were sitting
in wheelchairs because they were too weak to walk, and both were wearing
bicycle helmets to protect them if they fell. But these two boys stuck up an amazing friendship with
the Congressman. He
couldn’t get over how sick they were, but how cheerful and thoughtful
and smart. When Kasich went home
to Ohio on weekends, he always drove over to see the boys. He’d take them to museums and shows. He’d play video games with them
and read to them. During the
week, he’d call from Washington, and the boys loved him. Bobby, with whom he was especially
close, once told his mother, “Mom, John’s just a kid in a
Congressman’s body.” Well, Bobby grew weaker and was finally placed in a
hospice. It was clear he
didn’t have long to live, and he wrote a letter to Kasich, which said,
“Dear John: this is
important. This next part is kind
of a secret. I usually talk to my
stuffed animals. If I die, mostly
I want you to say something at my funeral. I might not die at this age. I’m still myself, but I’m
weaker than myself. But if I die, you can tell everybody how nice a kid I am,
that I’m smart, and that I’m funny. I love when you come to visit me. It was fun watching the movie with
you. You look very tired. Are you taking care of yourself? I hope you are. That’s all I have to say this
time. Love, Bobby.” Shortly afterward, Bobby did die, and the Congressman did
speak at his funeral, but on the program he wasn’t listed as a
congressman or as a eulogist. The
program simply said, “John Kasich, Buddy.” John Kasich shifted his attention to Eric, and the two of
them became very close. But then
Eric, too, went into a decline; and Kasich went to see him. Eric had drawn a watercolor picture of
heaven, with stars representing his friends who were already there. And then Eric passed away, and
Congressman Kasich went to his funeral, too. Several songs were used in the
service, including “Amazing Grace,” “Love Lifted Me,”
and the Scooby Doo Theme. On the program was a reproduction of Eric’s
handwritten note. It said: “Gone to see Bobby. See you soon. Love, Eric.” John Kasich later explained why he had been so drawn to
these two boys. He said, “I
think one reason…was that I had lost my parents so suddenly. One night in August 1987 they were
leaving a restaurant…when a car driven by a drunk driver crashed into
their car. My father died
instantly and my mother died a few hours later. There was no chance to say goodbye;
these two hardworking, God-fearing, decent people who had sacrificed so much
for me were just suddenly gone. A
tragedy like that can destroy you, but it can also be an opportunity to grow. God blessed me and I grew. It caused a rebirth of my religious
faith. Their deaths made me more
sensitive to others, and made me want to help people deal with their
tragedies when I could” (John Kasich, Courage is Contagious ). I’ve
been so pleased with the way our LifeGroups do
this. We’re at the size now
in the life of our church where the staff cannot always adequately do
everything that needs to be done in the dispensing of pastoral care, and so
we’ve deputized everyone in our church—especially through our LifeGroups—so that we can care for one another in
our times of needs. The third area is: Our Purity. James
ends chapter two with this phrase: …and to keep oneself unspotted from the
world. This refers to our
character. Are you keeping
yourself from being corrupted by this world in the various areas of your life. This
is the powerful message with which James ends his first chapter. Do not merely listen to the Word of
God, but obey it! Do what it
says! The Word of God is a
Miracle Mirror that shows you what you look like in God’s sight, and if
we gaze into its pages and study it and obey it, we’ll be blessed in
whatever we do. And we’ll
especially work on three areas—our tongues, our kindness to those in
need, and our moral purity as we endeavor to keep ourselves from being
polluted by this world. And
after all, isn’t this a perfect description of our Lord
Jesus—always using words with wisdom, always caring for the poor and
sick and needy, always keeping Himself pure in a polluted world. May the Holy Spirit make us like Him! Spirit of God,
descend upon my heart, Wean it from
earth, through all its pulses move; Stoop to my
weakness, mighty as Thou art, And make me love
Thee as I ought to love. Copyright StatementWe grant permission for any edition of The Pocket Paper to be photocopied for use in a local congregation or classroom, provided no more than 1,000 copies are made, the material is distributed free, and the copies include the notice: "Copyright (year) The Donelson Fellowship."For any other use, advance permission must be obtained from The Donelson Fellowship church office.Other messages are available from our website. Just click on the Pocket Papers link on our home page for a list of available messages. |
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