I am having a good time this summer, can you tell? I am in that season where I have to make all of my appointments.  Here is this word we are going to use: examination, when it comes to faith. But, I was out of town and when I got home, my son said, "The cardiologist called. You are supposed to set your annual appointment." Then I am going to the dermatologist in a couple weeks for my six-month checkup. Then my doctor told me it's been two years and it's time for my full physical - so it's happening in the fall. These are really important, but it always makes me a little nervous. Does it make anyone else nervous? It is called denial. It is easy to rationalize. Everything is okay; even sometimes we can feel a little tightness in our chest and think it will go away, it's just heartburn, the peppers I ate or whatever. Even more important than physical examination, periodically getting to the truth about what is going on in your life is spiritual examination. That's about our eternity. Am I deceiving myself or am I in a right relationship with God? Is everything right between me and God? So the book of James is really about examinations. The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?"

Pray with me. "Lord, it is sometimes too easy to take for granted that everything is okay between You and me. So, Lord, open our eyes, unplug our ears, soften our hearts so that we can really see where we are right now in our journey with You. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen."

Open your Bibles to James 2. We are going to finish chapter 2 and we won't get back into James until September. Yes, you are going to hear me again. Next week, I am going to speak at the Fort McKinley campus. Jay Meyer is going to speak here. Then the next week, I come back and speak at this campus, but we are not going to be on James again until the fall. James 2:20-26, "You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credit to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend. You see that people are justified by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." You tell that your faith is complete by your actions. Abraham believed God and was considered righteous. We reduce that work to a passive, cognitive acknowledgement. Yes, I believe in God; I believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God; I believe that Jesus was crucified dead and buried and on the third day he arose from the dead. Faith is not passive acknowledgement. The Bible tells us that the demons believe all that. Did you know that every demon in hell knows who Jesus is? Believe me, that is not faith. Faith is a deliberate action. It is an active response when you hear God speak to you.

I want to ask you a question. You might believe in Jesus, you know that he was the Son of God, a great teacher, but somehow you begin to hear Jesus call your name personally. Have any of you had experiences similar to that? Mine came during one of my lowest points, when I was doing things I shouldn't have been doing. It is amazing that God's love for us is unconditional and in spite of whether or not we are running from God, God never quits running from us or believing in us. When God comes to you, how do you respond? That's what faith is all about.

We are going to do some Bible study. Since Abraham is used as the example of faith, and is what James was referring to, turn in your Bibles to Genesis 22:1. "Sometime later God tested Abraham." There is that word test again - it is coming up frequently. "He said to him, 'Abraham!' 'Here I am,' he replied." When God comes to you, how do you respond? Faith is a deliberate response to the call of God. It is not passive cognitive belief. God comes to us in many ways. Remember when Jesus came to a person, it always called for a response, "Follow me." Those disciples, even in their doubt and ignorance, decided to follow. Jesus would come to someone, like Zacchaeus, who was a sinful person, a tax collector. He was a person of small stature, so he climbed a tree to see over the crowd when Jesus was coming through his town. Jesus came under the tree, and said come down from that tree, dude. You can think you are observing God from a distance and somehow God finds you right where you are. Jesus said Zacchaeus come down, brother, for today we are going to go to your house and hang out together. The call of God, when Jesus speaks to you, demands a deliberate response. Look again at Genesis 22; God said something bizarre to Abraham, "Take your son, your only son, whom you love - Isaac - and go to the region of Mariah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you." Now, folks, I don't know what you'd do, but I would go check into the psychiatric unit. "Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey" and went. When God speaks to you, faith is a decision to take a deliberate action. When we talk about faith in Jesus Christ, or confessing Jesus, the act of faith becomes the decisive turning point in your life. The word repentance means to go totally in a brand new direction, to go in a new way. When you make a declaration of faith in Jesus, it is a life-changing, deliberate act of the will where you surrender all of yourself. Mine was back when I was around 18 years old, 1969, in North College Hill, Ohio. I wasn't even sure who Jesus was, but in that moment, I surrendered all of myself - my will, my values, my prejudice, my life choices to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

There is a lot misunderstanding about James. When we began this series months ago, do you remember I told you Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, didn't want this book in the Bible, in the New Testament. Luther felt that James was contradicting Paul where Paul said we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ and Jesus alone. James is not refuting that. As a matter of fact, James is emphasizing the other side of the same coin. James is speaking to people who are already born again. How do I know he is speaking to people who have already made the declarative, active decision to surrender their will? Look at James 1:18, God "chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." He is talking about what the Bible calls the new birth. In other words, God's creating a new community, this radical alternative community of people who will demonstrate the kingdom of God on earth. This community we are a part of and were born into, it's the new birth; we are born into this community through the word of truth. What does word of truth mean? James 1:21 says, "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." What is the word planted in you which can save you? When you, as an act of your will, give yourself to Jesus Christ, the symbol of that commitment is baptism. (By the way, if you have not been baptized or if you are in a new place in your commitment, two weeks from tomorrow we are going to have Baptism on the Lawn.) When you are baptized, you are saying, "It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me." You have heard me say, it is kind of like a 'night of the living dead' thing. I allow God to posses me and I go where Jesus is going, being who Jesus is being, doing what Jesus is doing in the world. That is what it means to be baptized.

Do I ever go through periods of doubt? Yes, I do. I just taught a seminary class and just graded my final paper on Thursday. It is a graduate level class, and I always have someone who gives all the reasons intellectually why Jesus isn't who the Bible says he is. Sometimes I get caught up, and it plays with my mind a little bit. But here is what I remember: when I was 18 years old, I gave my life to Jesus. There was a song that we sang back when I was 18 years old. It was: "I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back no turning back." I am not my own. It continues, "The world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back, no turning back." That doesn't mean that we are ignoring the world, obviously this church is deep in the world all over the place. Did you see the letter from the United States Senator this week on the back of your bulletin? The values and priorities of the world behind me, the cross before me. The cross is a place of death. It reminds me it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. "Though none go with me, still I will follow. Though none go with me, still I will follow. Though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back, no turning back."

What does James mean when he says we are born again through this word of truth or the word? This is important and if you get nothing else, this is what you need to get. He doesn't mean the Bible. When James was writing this, the people didn't even have the New Testament in the form that we have today. Peter put it this way in I Peter 1:23, "For you have been born again ... through the living and abiding word of God." You see that living and abiding? The Bible is the written word of God. The Holy Spirit, God present with us today, that is the Living Word and is in us. James is talking about being born of the Holy Spirit through faith. This is important - we are progressing through this. So many Christians are living off of Jesus' word to someone else. That means when the Bible is your primary way of knowing Jesus, the Bible is about Jesus word to the Samaritan woman, or Zacchaeus, or the feeding of the 5,000 - but if this is the only way you are hearing the word of Jesus, you are staying in elementary school. Hebrews 6 says it is time to leave the elementary teachings about such things as repentance, faith in God, resurrection from the dead and baptism - and grow on to maturity. All of these things are what we read in the primer (Bible). These are the elementary things. Can you imagine if the sum total of your reading was "See Dick run." "Look at Sally brush Puff." You've got to be pretty old to understand about Dick and Jane. How many have heard about Dick and Jane?  How many went to school on Dick and Jane? Obviously the primer is important - but can you imagine staying there. To go on in maturity is living and receiving every day the word of God and the Holy Spirit. That is the faith. The Bible is only the appetizer; it is not the main course. That's why Christianity would be so boring if all you did was read "Dick and Jane." You are going to be bored all your life.

How many of you go to the restaurant just to eat appetizers? Some of you do, I know. Last weekend we went to our daughter's home in Boston for Fourth of July and saw the Boston fireworks. They also showed them on CBS. Rascal Flats sang at the fireworks with the Boston Pops. Last Sunday was our last day there so we went to a movie in the afternoon and then to my daughter and son-in-law's church. They worship together at six o'clock on Sunday evenings so we worshiped with their Christian community. Then we went to a Mexican restaurant on the Charles River about eight o'clock. So the last time we had eaten was before noon before we went to the movies. You know how it is in the Mexican Restaurant when they bring the chips and salsa? It drives me nuts because I like the hot salsa and you are eating it for about ten minutes before they bring you water. How many of you have been there? They were kind of busy and when the waiter came back, we had wiped out those chips and asked for another basket of chips. So when the main course came, I was already full. I had this steak burrito and couldn't eat it all because I had filled up on chips. It's the same way with a lot of Christians. At Easter, how many of your kids fill up on candy and they miss the Easter feast? The Bible is important, it is the written word of God, but it is not the Living Word. What is happening in the American church is we have a Candy Land Christianity that pays homage to a benign Jesus and we are missing Jesus of the Easter feast.

I'd say most people in this room have asked Jesus Christ into their life in all sincerity and faith, but the problem is that we treat Jesus sometimes just like a kidney. We look at the Holy Spirit in our life like if you said to me, Mike, do you need another kidney? No, a long time ago when I was born, I got a kidney, I don't need another one, no thanks. I don't even think about my kidneys until you bring it up. When you think of the Holy Spirit, you shouldn't think of Jesus in you, like an organ. The Holy Spirit is more like oxygen that we continually receive to live. The Greek tense is present continuous; it is not like you do it one time. So the Holy Spirit in our lives is like oxygen whom we have to continually breathe to live.

We are examining ourselves. Don't you want to know, to test and see if Christ is really in you? Let's not get into denial. We need periodic exams. What is the evidence of Christ being in us? James is saying if Christ is in you, that it will be demonstrated through obedient action. Look again at James 2:21, "Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?" You see that his faith and his actions were working together and his faith was made complete by what he did. Your faith is real not because you believe in God, but because you do what God is calling you to do.

I used to use this story of Abraham when I was preaching little revivals all over the place. Before we had kids, I would get up and say this is what it means to put Jesus first. No one, no single person can be more important than Jesus. I would tell this story that is told in Genesis 22 of Abraham and how God said take your son Isaac up this mountain. Can you imagine taking one of your children to sacrifice and you don't tell them what you are going to do. Picture yourself doing this. You are going to say, they lived in that day when child sacrifice among the pagan gods was an acceptable practice. Not among Hebrews, they sacrificed animals. So you are going to do a sacrifice to the Lord and you are teaching your children to put God first and you are taking your child up this mountain and will become the lamb for this sacrifice. The son, Isaac, got to the top of the mountain with his dad Abraham and he said, "Well, where is the lamb?" Abraham said, "God will provide" and he laid Isaac on the altar and raised the knife. And God stopped him. That was one way that God of the Hebrews showed himself to be totally different from the pagan gods in that he did not require or mandate child sacrifice. You have to understand the culture in which God is trying to communicate. But he said to Abraham, "Now I know that you would not withhold your son, your only son from me." Faith is not believing God, it's trusting God.

I quit preaching this sermon after I had my own kids. Any mom or dad in this room knows why I quit. I just knew that I would fail God and that I would choose my children over God. Then about a year and a half ago, God spoke to me clearly and said, "I want you to take your son, your only son, to Darfur." Jonathan took photography in college and I said, "I need your talent to come back and help me raise millions of dollars." I have been to Darfur; I know about the danger of Darfur. You read about the danger every day. I knew how many people were being killed. I knew about the substandard aircraft. I knew about not getting gas to get out. You know the whole story about our airplane engine blowing up. And yet, I knew God was saying, "Mike, I want you to take your son, your only son and offer him to my purpose in the midst of danger." Now I know what that Abraham story is about. So I went to Carolyn and said, "I have heard God say this to me just as clear as anything, Now why? I remember when I went to Jonathan, and said, "Jonathan, God wants you to go to Darfur." Why? Not because I believe in God but because I trust God. Faith and works are inseparable. James isn't talking about being saved by works, he is saying if you are saved, if Jesus is in your life, then Jesus will demonstrate his works through your life. Works are the root of the fruits.

I want you to notice one more thing. In verse 23 it says about Abraham, ". . . and he was called God's friend." This is incredible. This is what I want on my tombstone. Can you believe this? God's friend. Can you think of anything better on your tombstone? Just your name and then God's friend. That God would call you that! What makes somebody a friend? Trust. Give and take. You met one of my friends here last week. I heard he said he is the only true friend I really have. Did he say that? He didn't tell you any other kind of dirty laundry stuff, did he? That's good. That's why he is a good friend. David Oshine is one of the few people I could call no matter what. That's what makes a true friend.

Let me ask you a question, are you God's friend? Isn't that a big question? Because God's friends are those people he can count on to carry out his purpose in the world. That's what it means to be the body of Christ. I want to show you a picture of one of God's friends. This little girl's name is Skye Grant. I am just amazed; these kids keep marching into my office with envelopes filled with money, averaging about $250. They keep telling their friends, "Don't bring me a present on my birthday, bring money for the children in Sudan." Why did Jesus say you must become like the little children - because he can count on them to carry out his purpose in the world.

One other thing I want to point out here, don't miss it in verse 25, Rahab was considered righteous with God. What is so amazing with Rahab is that she was an active prositute when God declared her righteous. Have you ever heard that saying the road to hell is paved with the souls of good people? There were a lot of better people of upstanding character to choose over Rahab. Why Rahab? She was available! Where were the good upstanding people? Unavailable. Rahab was willing to risk her life and well-being for the purpose of God in the world. Faith is not what you believe, it is how you trust God decisively - and do.

I want to ask you one big question right now: are you available? Are you available in your time, in your resources, in your money, in your priorities, in your thoughts, in every dimension of life for how God wants to use you? It is amazing when I look at a state senator who wrote on the back of your bulletin about being thankful for what you have done in one area. It blows me away that the Washington Post carried a big article; and the Columbus Dispatch carried a big article on what you have done. I think of the number of folk, some of my young people sitting over here, the high school kids in this church and their commitments to Jesus Christ; and I think of those of you who tirelessly mentored and taught children and teens in this church, how you have served in countless ways that will effect eternal destinies that we are not even aware of now. It will change generations because you are available to God. And thousands of years from now, if Christ chooses to tarry and not return, your name will be listed of those who have touched other people. I want you to watch this.

(video)

This week we asked Ginghamsburg to call and tell us about someone they know who puts their faith into action...

"To play your messages, press one. Recorded yesterday at 5:35 pm."

"I see Evelyn Alder living out her faith. She is in her 70s and serves at New Path Outreach even though she has a lot of junk going on in her life. Her son is critically ill; and she has already had several deaths in her family, but she just keeps plugging away and walking in faith serving at New Path. And she serves at New Path two to three days a week and is walking in faith daily just believing God. She is just awesome."

"I wanted to let you know about a couple who really showed their faith to me. Dale and Mary Alice Smith came to my aid last year after I moved into my duplex. Dale hung my curtain rods as well as installing my two window air conditioners which took many hours. Mary Alice weeded my overgrown flower beds on several occasions and she came down with poison ivy three times - yet she always came back to help! What faith in action they showed by their many hours of kindness to me."

"Rickiana is now a sixth grader and still has the desire to live out her faith and service to others. She has been on countless mission trips. Rickiana has a passion to serve God through being an honest and strong young woman. She is a great model of servant."

"I was calling in to say that I think Clark Miller has really shown me a lot of ways to grow in faith. A lot of stepping out in faith in different ways and the lessons that he taught us are going to stay in our minds. So that is how Clark Miller really showed how he stepped out in faith."

"Gary Cairns was there before and definitely during Ted's journey into Central Temporal Lobe Dementia. Every Tuesday evening, Gary would come to take Ted for a ride or a walk so that I could have a couple hours to meet with friends or do whatever I needed to do. He was never embarrassed to walk with Ted into a store to purchase something even though Ted often wanted to wander away and made only guttural noises to communicate. Gary gave Ted and me the most valuable gift of himself and his friendship, just as Christ has also done for us. I love Gary and I will surely miss him."

(end video)

We celebrated Gary's resurrection this morning. Last Sunday morning, he walked up here and heard the words "This is my body broken for you, this is my blood shed for you. Take and eat and drink." That was the first day of the week. And on the last day of this week, we celebrated his resurrection into eternity. On Gary's tombstone you could put Friend of God. I want to be a friend of God. Today the Holy Spirit, Jesus, is not someone that I just asked into my life in 1969, Jesus is the air I breathe. Will you bow your head and pray with me?

Hear the words of God "be still and know that I am God." God is always calling your name. Can you hear him call your name? You do not have to be bright or right, you need to be available. I want to pray for someone here who is not sure exactly where they are in their relationship with Jesus. You don't even fully understand who Jesus is, but you want to pray with me right now. "Lord Jesus, You are greater than I am even able to realize or describe, but in this moment whether for the first time or again, I actively give all of myself to You for You to use me in any way You see fit. Lord, I do not know how many days I have left, but each and every day allow me to live them fully for You. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen."

Stand with me and let's sing together: "I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. The cross before me, the world behind me. The cross before me, the world behind me. The cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow. Though none go with me, still I will follow. Though none go with me, still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back."

It is a good day to be alive, isn't it? And a good day to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you. Keep praying for me this summer and I'll keep praying for you. Go and serve.