Highlands Fellowship The Book of James: Trusting What You Believe Transcript
0:00 Well, I want to welcome everyone here today. If you're at one of our campuses, if you're following us online, if you're watching on TV, welcome. As we're going through the book of James, I've read through this book so many times in my life, and each time I read it I get challenged with one or two things I know I could do better on. But this summer, slowing down and covering just a few verses each week, that's been tough. It's kicked my tail a lot of weeks. And I'm like, "Hey, I could use one of those feel-good messages now." Well, today's not one of those. Today is still challenging, because James has this challenge through the whole book, and it's moved me and challenged me the whole way through.
0:59 When I was working through this message, letting my heart see where God has taken me, I had to wrestle with a question I didn't really see coming, even though I've been through James so many times. He hit me with this: Do I absolutely trust what I believe? Let me unpack that. When you read the book of James, you can see he doesn't want a Christian to just cruise along. He doesn't want us lukewarm. He pushes us all the way through the book, calling us not to live a passive lifestyle but to actually do something more with our life, to truly live our faith out every day.
2:00 I think there's a foundational scripture in this whole series. It comes over in James 2:17, and it says, "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." You need to do something with what you've got. Not mere faith, not mere belief, but trust, action in your life. If we're going to live out that authentic faith daily, it's going to require something of all of us. We're going to have to have trust, because trust is what puts actions and movement in our lives.
2:50 Let me ask you a question. Have you ever believed in something, even had faith in it, but you still didn't trust it? Yeah, those little plastic chairs for outside, I don't trust them. But more than that, think about when you marry your spouse. You have a belief in them, a faith in them, but it grows into something more, to the point that one day you truly trust them and you ask them to be your husband or your wife. It took trust to say, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I need to trust you more than just belief and faith. I've got to have complete trust in you." Because when it's broken, we all see what happens in marriages when trust is lost.
3:35 I remember when I was 17, down in Knoxville at the MEP center, getting my last physical before I shipped off to the army for basic training. I was going to have to fly from Knoxville to Fort Benning, Georgia, and I was anxious. I got to the gate, to that floor-to-ceiling window, and I saw that little turboprop plane, and I thought, "That's right, I'm flying. I'm a 17-year-old kid, and I've never flown before." I believed planes could fly. I'd seen them in the sky my whole life. I had faith planes could fly. But that day I found out it takes more than faith to move. I had to go from just believing a plane can fly to entrusting my life to it. That's the difference.
5:02 You can believe something, you can say you have faith in it, but to actually act and say, "I'm going to entrust my life to it," that's more. That's absolute trust. And that's the challenge I want to give you today. Because when I look at our lives spiritually, we say what we're going to do, we believe all these things, but when I look at our actions, we're not there. So many of us are still standing at the gate. We believe, we can see it, but have you trusted enough to have movement, to move forward with your life?
5:49 When it comes to church, we come in and sing amazing songs, we hear a message that moves us, and our heads start nodding. Ask us, "Do you believe in God?" Yes. "Do you believe he provides?" Yes. "Do you believe he's in control?" Yes. But then Monday morning comes, doesn't it? The alarm goes off, there's a stack of bills to pay, the boss is sideways, and we head home hoping our spouse is in a good mood. Then I check the mail and the doctor's report isn't the result I wanted either. All that anxiety and weight creeps in, and honestly, sometimes I struggle with the trust. We say we believe God is in control of everything, but we're still standing at the gate, because we don't fully trust him in every part of our lives.
7:28 I like the words of wisdom in Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." That's hard. So many times we lean on what we see and feel and have experienced more than we trust God. "In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your path straight." He wants us all the way in, not halfway, not only when it's easy or when things make sense. He says, "I want your heart all the time."
8:03 Today we're in James 5, the first six verses, where James gives a clear, direct warning about what happens when we live with belief but without trust. We'll walk through three ways our lives change when we move from just faith to absolute trust in God. Look at the first three verses: "Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days." Well, he isn't pulling any punches, is he? Very strong words.
9:10 When I read that, I think about the context, the wealthy people he's talking to. And when I pull back and look at our culture, the United States compared to the rest of the world, when James talks about rich people, that's us. Most of us would qualify as rich next to the people James is addressing. He gives this stern statement, but he's not trying to put the wealthy down. It's the opposite. He's trying to wake them up, to expose where we've put misplaced trust in things other than God, and to pull us back to him.
10:10 The first way our lives change with absolute trust is our mindset, from "mine" to "his." Instead of "it's all mine, I've got to protect my security and build it up," it becomes "it all belongs to God." I don't need to hoard; I need to become a steward of what he's allowed me to have. You might think you earned it. But who gave you your strength, your life, the breath in your lungs, your abilities? God did. James starts with our stuff because that's where our hearts drift. Those wealthy people believed their resources would protect them. Is it any different today? But anything outside our trust in God will fade and fail. A good number in a retirement account won't fix your health or build your relationships. God is the foundation.
12:10 Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Where's your heart? Mere faith says, "I believe God is my provider," but just in case he doesn't show up, I'll hold on to everything I can. We're guilty of it. Every time the market goes down, we check our accounts and feel the anxiety. We make fear-based decisions as if God had walked away.
13:55 You're looking at the wrong source if you think your excess is when you'll finally be generous. God says, "I am your source. You can always give, because I'll provide more. The more freely you give, the more I'll take care of you." But we think it's about us, so we close in and accumulate more to feel secure, because surely the more stuff we have, the more security we have, right? As if our stuff is our security, just in case God fails. But when we trust that it all belongs to God, that anxiety can go away. You realize God is the source and you are the steward. Your security is not in your resources; it's in your relationship with God. And when you have that, you're healthier, less stressed, and you live open-handed. It's always easier to give when you realize it isn't yours anyway. One challenge: do not treat your financial portfolio as your savior. It is not your savior.
16:26 The second way our lives change is how we treat others. We can use people and exploit them, or we can treat them with love, hope, justice, and righteousness. In James 5 he shifts from our possessions to how we treat people. Verse 4: "Look, the wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty." These wealthy people weren't just hoarding; they were taking advantage of the most vulnerable, the day laborers who needed their wages just to survive. Why take advantage of the most vulnerable? Because you believe you are the source and the provider. When you don't trust God, people become tools instead of individuals made in the image of God.
18:46 Mere faith lets us segment our lives. We say, "I love God on Sunday," but on Monday, "business is business, it's not personal." What a copout. God doesn't want that. Business is not just business on Monday. We're to treat people honestly and with integrity. When we don't, we convince ourselves we can cut corners for a dollar, be a little dishonest, gossip a little, manipulate, and take advantage of people for our own gain. That's not God. When we trust, everything is integrated. There's no separation. We're the same on Monday as on Sunday. Colossians 3:23 says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord." When you trust God, you don't have to cheat to win, step on people, or manipulate outcomes. Your security isn't dependent on your performance; it's rooted in God's provision.
20:50 James calls God the Lord Almighty here, the Lord of angel armies. That matters, because God sees our injustice. Don't think you're getting by with it. He hears the cries of the oppressed, and he will bring justice. We don't have to get vengeance; vengeance is the Lord's. So if you're being oppressed, take comfort: God will protect you. And if you're treating others that way, change, because it comes around, and he will bring justice in the end. Trusting God frees you from having to scheme and control, and it lets you live with integrity, even when it costs you.
22:15 Ask yourself: does my behavior under pressure reflect trusting God, or fear of losing? Mine's not always great. I'm not preaching at you; I'm walking through my own stuff, my own setbacks, the things I put before God that I have to wrestle with and bring back to him. This journey is my journey too. Treat others well, as individuals made in the image of God, not as a stepping stone.
22:54 The third way our lives change is that we stop living just for today, all about me and the moment, and start living for eternity. In the final verses James says, "You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter." It's a powerful image, like cattle being fattened, completely unaware. The steer in a beautiful green field thinks, "This is a good life, plenty of grass, a little shade and water, a little grain, gaining a few pounds a day." And he doesn't realize he's getting closer to the butcher every single day. We're no different when we don't see the danger in self-indulgence.
24:13 Our culture constantly tells us the goal of life is comfort, doesn't it? Every billboard, every ad, every time you open your phone: how can you get more comfort, more pleasure, more control, more stuff? But comfort, if we're not careful, numbs us. Jesus warned in Luke 12:15, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." Mere faith is fine with a comfortable life and wants God's blessing on it, but that life is so self-centered. Trust takes this temporary life into eternity. Colossians 3:2 says, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." This world is not our home; it's temporary. The pressure to keep up with the Joneses disappears when you live for God. The Joneses are broke; they just don't look like it.
26:26 First Peter says we have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. And when I look at all the stuff the world says I need, it all perishes, spoils, and fades. That's what I'd be putting my security into, things that just go away. But when you believe that, not just in your head but in your heart, you stop trying to squeeze everything out of this life and you start living for the next, and the anxiety comes down.
27:16 So back to the heart of this message: Do you trust what you believe? Having faith in God says God is real. But having trust in God says God is enough. God is enough, not this world. James 5 is a warning, but it's also an invitation. God loves us too much to let us build our lives on something fake that won't last. Money fades, comforts shift, control slips, but God remains. Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." That's what I want to build my future on.
28:14 This week, take one step from mere faith to absolute trust. It can feel overwhelming, so just take one step closer to God. A step in stewardship, giving generously out of trust rather than out of excess. A step in integrity, choosing honesty even when it costs you. A step in prayer, taking your biggest anxiety, whether finances, health, or family, to God every day. Take a step in trusting the source instead of trying to handle everything yourself, because you can't. Go to God and let him lead and guide you. James tells us over and over: trust him. Don't just say it with your mouth; believe it in your heart.
29:54 The question isn't whether a plane can fly. We all believe that. The question is whether you trust it enough to get in it. Spiritually, it's not just having belief in God, but having absolute trust in him to live our life the way we're meant to live it. If you really want authentic faith lived daily, trust him. Would you pray with me?
30:26 Heavenly Father, thank you for the book of James, and for how you've challenged and stretched us over these weeks. It's been so evident that I have a long way to go, and I'm thankful you speak into my life and challenge me to take small steps. I challenge folks to take steps with their possessions, their people, and your promises. Let us realize our possessions are yours, and let us be good stewards, generous with what we have. Let us treat people with honor, respect, and integrity, never using them. And when it comes to your promise, you gave us your Son, who died on the cross for every one of us, and if we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. Father, if someone here doesn't know you today, let them call out to you. Maybe they've been halfway in. Lord, I just tell them to get on the plane. Let them trust you with everything and say, "Father, I believe. I've made mistakes and I've sinned, and I ask forgiveness. I believe you died on the cross for me, and because of that my sin can be forgiven. I want to follow you the rest of my life." Pull them closer, teach them, and let all of us move from mere belief to absolutely trusting in you. I give it all to you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.