What is the most adventurous place you’ve ever visited on planet earth? I don’t think I’ve ever talked about this publicly, but not too long ago, I had the chance to visit Antarctica. As you might imagine, this was an unforgettable trip. We flew into Buenos Aires, Argentina, to board our cruise. We sailed through the Drake Passage, which is some of the roughest water in the whole world. But it made the experience worth it.

I’m so glad I have these images so I can fondly remember what this was like. The only thing is - the trip never actually happened. The pictures of me in Antarctica? Not real. I’ve never been. I asked Kemi Levi, our Production Director, to create images of me in Antarctica. We now live in a world where it’s hard to know fact from fiction. AI can make it look like someone actually said a thing or did a thing. The filters people use on social media can present an image that is nowhere near reality.

And our inability to tell what’s authentic versus counterfeit has gotten so bad that some of us have decided that we just can’t trust anyone or anything. But trust is the currency of all relationships, including the one we have with God. If we aren’t careful, we’ll compartmentalize our life. We’ll assume we have a sacred life and a secular life. But God isn’t just here for church on Sundays. God wants all of life to be sacred and here’s what Jesus is after too.

More than Jesus wants to show us religion, He wants to show us reality.

This is what I want to teach on today in a message I’m calling, “Show Us Reality”. We began a series in the book of James last week called When Faith Wakes Up. For today, Jesus wants us to see reality. The reality of our position. The reality of our current wealth compared to our future wealth. The reality of how sin works and who’s responsible for our sin. And the reality of who God is and what God does.

James 1:9-18 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation – since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Prayer: God, show us reality today. Help us to believe what is real. Expose any lies that have deceived us. Help us to align to Your reality for our lives.

James speaks to the poor and the rich. He’s saying something different to each group, but he’s conveying the same thing. He’s saying if you are poor in this life, there’s a great reversal coming. You are going to be rich for all eternity. And if you are rich now, know that those riches aren’t going to last. Those riches will fade away.

James will warn the rich in a few places throughout his letter that we’re studying over these 11 weeks. He knows there’s such a strong temptation for a wealthy person to find their security in their wealth. It brings Proverbs 18:10-11 to my mind.

Proverbs 18:10-11 The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale.

We talk often about the diversity within this Epic community. This is especially true when we talk about the socioeconomic makeup of our church. We have people of extreme poverty and people of extreme wealth, with most of us being somewhere between those two extremes. If you are living in poverty, James is telling you that there are no 2nd class citizens in the kingdom of heaven. You could not have a position higher than you do – you’re a citizen of heaven.

If you are wealthy, don’t find your ultimate safety there. You’re highest status isn’t determined by what LinkedIn says or what your net worth is. If you are in Christ, you could not have a higher position than to be a child of God and a citizen of heaven. If you are rich, there are a few practices that will help you fight the natural tendencies of wealthy people. And most of us are wealthy compared to the rest of the world. Here are some practices that help your trust in God to displace your trust in wealth.

Practices that help us trust God more than our wealth:

• Gratitude displaces Entitlement

• Humility displaces Pride

• Generosity displaces Greed

The next thing from James is what we learned last week. If we hold onto our faith in the midst of trials and tests, we will receive the crown of life that Jesus has promised to those who love Him. Here’s how one commentator ties in this part about trials with our level of wealth.

It is not your material resources that take you through the testings of life; it is your spiritual resources.

James then spells out the reality of sin – how it happens and who is responsible. I don’t know about you, but whenever I do something wrong, I love having someone else to blame. I’m sure you enjoy this also. It kind of gets us off the hook for our sin. My spouse made me do it. My roommates made me act this way. My kids forced me into this. My boss is responsible for my actions. And our favorite one as church people? The devil made me do it. James would say, hold on a minute – here’s the reality:

We are responsible for our own sin.

The cycle of sin: Temptation > Dragged Away by our Own Evil Desire > Enticed. Stated another way from James: Desire > Sin > Death.

Knowing yourself, what are the places you need to avoid going physically, digitally, and mentally?

Who is helping you avoid the cycle of sin and helping you with your spiritual formation? A couple of practices I’ve put into my life recently. I see a spiritual director monthly and that’s been such a gift to my life and my faith. And I have a call with two guys every Monday at 8am. There’s a depth of friendship. We’re honest with each other. We answer these 5 questions: How is it with your soul? What are your struggles and successes? How might the Word and Spirit be speaking in your life? Do you have any sin to confess? Is there anything you desire to keep secret?

While God is NEVER the source of temptation and sin, He is ALWAYS the source of the good gifts in our lives.

God is constant in His goodness. It’s easy for us to allow our present circumstances to convince us that God is holding out of us. And it doesn’t help that Satan has been trying to get us to doubt God’s goodness ever since the garden of Eden. It’s still very much a part of his playbook. Think about it like this. If someone convinced your kids that you’re holding out on them as a mother or a father, would that shape and form their relationship with you and their expectations of you??? Exactly.

Every good gift in your life traces back to God. This is why I keep urging us towards a daily practice of gratitude. (take time to walk through my list from the last couple of weeks)

Then James reminds us that God has given us His best gift already. He chose to give us new birth. Think about this: Sin brings death, but God’s intention is to bring life. He has made us a new creation through what Jesus has done for us.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

As we noted in the introduction last week, James wrote to Jewish believers, and they would have been very familiar with this word he uses in verse 18 – firstfruits.

Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops:

Firstfruits means the first and best of the crop. We often think of this concept when it comes to what we give to God. While we think about giving our best to God, James is telling us that we are treasured among all God created. Does the idea of God treasuring you do anything for your soul?

Responses:

Gift of being made new in Jesus. While we’re responsible for our sin, Jesus takes responsibility of paying for our sins. Gratitude (God’s resume in your life)