Go Get 'Em // James 5 // Talk is Cheap // Bianca Juarez

Welcome to Revere, go ahead and pull out your Bible, your notebooks, we're gonna go ahead and dive in. And as we wrap up this series, it is the last week of our James series. James has five chapters and we've been going through each chapter every week together as a church. Now, as we wrap this letter up, I think it's really important, different styles of writing and different techniques of communication. Now, I love Paul the Apostle, he's my Bible boyfriend, and when he writes to his friends, he always does a warm welcome and he always does a cheerful end. And he's like, oh, dear brothers and sisters of Thessalonica, to God be the glory. And then he ends with, and don't forget about so-and-so and don't forget about John and don't forget about Susan, and let me drop dime on someone who's been really mean to me. I mean, he goes from the beginning to the end, but James is not like that. James is like, we're here to handle business. In my mind, he's kind of like a Guido from Jersey, like, forget about it, this is what I gotta tell you, that's it, period, full stop, it's done, all right, goodbye. That's basically how he's gonna end the letter today. As I was thinking about this, it reminded me, I long to be like one type of person, I long to be like Paul the Apostle

and be smart and educated and calm and demure, and I'm more like Peter or more like James. In fact, I served in youth ministry for about eight years. Now, I have never worked for a church and never got a paycheck for a church, I just took serving God like it was my job. And I served in youth ministry, started in fifth and sixth grade, went up through junior high, and I wanted to stay with this group of kids because I loved them, and so I ended up following into high school ministry with them. You know what, it's so fun. There's a couple people from that youth group that I led that are now part of Revere Church, which is crazy because they're in their 30s now, and I'm like, I'm 25, how does this work out? I don't know, but they can attest to the story I'm about to tell you. You know, as a follower of Jesus and someone passionate about transformation through the reading of God's words, the indwelling of the spirit, and witnessing life transformation, I am this passionate because I've seen God do it time and time again. When I was in youth ministry, there was a young man. I saw a purpose on this young man's life. He had so much potential.

I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew that God's hand was on him. But he, like a little sheep, was prone to wander, wander and walk away. He said that he wanted to be about the things of God, but then he would make sometimes some poor decisions. Well, I led trips to mission trips around the world, I served in Wednesday night youth ministry, I started a Friday night girls' Bible study, and one night I had put together like a Friday hang, and some of the kids from the youth group told me why this one particular guy wasn't there. He's like, oh, he's going to the football game because there's a big party, he wants to go party with them. Now, as somebody who's a saved, sanctified woman of God, what did I do? I said, open up your Bibles and turn with me to John, and I'm going to pray, and we're going to fast. No, that's not what I did, that's not what I did. I didn't even open up the Bible that night, you know what I said? Get my keys, get my keys, get in the church van, we're going to go get him, okay? We found him, and I lovingly put my arm around him, I said, boy, what you doing? Get in the church van, we're going to church, okay? Let me tell you something, let me tell you something. Sometimes it works in your favor to be captain of the bossy posse,

because to this day, this man is serving in ministry, loves the Lord, has two kids, and is a pastor. You never know what's on the other side of going to get someone who's wandering from God. The title of today's message is, Go Get Him, Go Get Him. Turn with me in your Bibles to James chapter five, and as you do that, I think, whether you have been here since week one, or you're just coming today, let me do a little bit of a recap. See, James is writing to a people group that are believers. He's not writing to people who don't know Jesus, or don't follow Jesus, he's writing to me and you, who are showing up to church on Sunday, looking good, speaking Christianese, and yet there is this disunity that is happening in the church, and though this letter was written in antiquity, it could speak to us in modernity, because there is issues that James is writing about that affect us today, and so he starts in chapter one, and he comes just for the jugular. He's like, hey, buck up, buttercup. Life is tough, and so are you. I mean, he says it much better. He says, in life, there will be trials and tribulation. Get ready for it. There will be trials, that's inevitable, but don't be double-minded. Don't say that you're a Christian.

Don't say that you follow Jesus, and don't follow the path of Jesus. Don't say that you wanna love God, and you're not living according to what loving God looks like. He said, and he went as far as, you are double-minded, where you say one thing and do another. Don't talk about it, be about it, which is why we got the series title, Talk is Cheap, Actions are Expensive, so he's coming for us, and he says this in James chapter one, verse 22. I'm gonna catch you up if you haven't been here, or you're visiting, or someone invited you. James 1.22 says this. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourself. Do what it says. You can't say that you believe and act a fool. You cannot, you cannot. Then in chapter two, he talks about, he's going in more. Now he's talking about. Favoritism, he's talking about prejudice, he's talking about preferential treatment, and he's like, y'all are acting ugly. That's not how we act in the house of God. And I love it because that's not how we act here. There's no room for preferential treatment, there's no room for prejudice, there's no room for favoritism. Oh, no, no, no, no. James is like, that is not in this house.

And I'm saying the same thing. That behavior doesn't belong in this house. James says in chapter two, 2.14, what good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith, but they have no deeds? Can such faith save them? You can't just say that you're a follower and not live according to what the followers of Jesus had to do and chose to do if they claimed to love Jesus. And then he comes for us even more, because in James chapter three, he starts talking about the power of the tongue, taming the tongue, put a bit in a bridle like in a horse's mouth. You are speaking death when you are meant to speak life. James walks us through that words have the power to tear up and, reverse it, that words have the power to build up or tear down. So he comes for us. And this is what he says in James chapter three, verse nine, with our tongue, we praise the Lord, the Father. And with it, we curse human beings who have been made in the image of God's likeness. You can't do that. You can't talk about God's creation and talk about God in a way that you love him. It doesn't work like that. And this was such a problem in that church, not in our church,

because we don't talk trash about people here. No, no, not here. We're really good. That was funny, no? Okay, oh, such a nerve. Did it touch a nerve? This is what he says. It's like, stop talking trash. That's not the behavior of this house. He says this in James 4, 11, brothers and sisters of Revere, do not slander one another. Do not talk trash about one another. Don't make lies about one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or a sister or judges them, speaks against the law and judges it. In verse 12, but you, who are you to judge your neighbor? So all during chapters one, two, three, and four, and please, this is not to shame you. This is to encourage you. We put together a PDF and I encourage everyone to read through the book of James. Chapter one was for week one, chapter two was for week two. And so now I just wanna celebrate and I wanna congratulate. For those that have read James 1, 2, 3, and 4, will you do me a favor? Will you raise your hand? You should feel really proud of yourself.

I'm proud of you, Revere. Give yourself a clap. That's right, extra credit in heaven. I made that up, but that's okay. You're blessed and highly favored. So all through these chapters, James is talking about two things. This is how we live and this is how we are unified. So last week, in taking a look at unification, rather than division, we came to the table of communion. And the communion table is a picture of people coming together and remembering where God has gotten it right and we've gotten it wrong, and yet we're allowed to sit and dine with him. So together, we came together. We confessed, we apologized, and we recognized who God was in our life. And now we come to James chapter five. James chapter five, this is the last thing he writes to his friends. There's no goodbye, there's no I love you, I'll see you soon, it's this. Join me in verse 19. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring back that person, go to verse 20, remember this, whoever turns a sinner from the air of their way will save them from death and cover a multitude of sin. Okay, because this is our last week together,

I wanna dive into each of the words or the phrases in its original context to help us understand. This is his parting song swan, swan song. Did I say that right? What's a swan song? I don't know, but that's what they say here in America. This is his parting swan song. This is his words. He says this, my brothers and sisters, meaning these are believers. He's not writing to unbelievers. These are people he knows, these are people he encourages. These are people he's writing to and wanting them to thrive in Christian life. And he says this, if one of you, the you intimates that it is a believer. This is someone in their community. This has been someone like if they are participated here at Revere, this is someone in our community. If one of you should wander, what is wander? To stray or to leave, whether in slow means or in fast means. If any of you are prone to wander, bring them back. Wander from the truth. If any of you to wander from the truth, what is the truth that James is speaking about? The truth of the gospel, the word spoken by Jesus and the life that Jesus lived. If any of you are prone to wander from the truth,

now I wanna pause on this for a second. I wanna break this down to make sure we digest it and apply it. This could be wander from the truth in belief or behavior. If you're taking note, wander from the truth. If you brought your Bible, you could circle it and annotate it. Take notes of your Bible. This is in behavior or belief, you can wander. Well, what's a wander from belief? If you were to come up to me and tell me, hey B, so I recently discovered this man named Joseph Smith who found these. magic glasses in Utah. And when he put them on, he began to see the supernatural world. And he said that God told him he could marry all the women and have multiple wives. And he also wrote that black people were black because of the sin in their life. And I believe that. He wrote a book called the Book of Mormon. I will tell you that you have departed from the truth of the gospel. That's what Mormonism preaches. So you have wandered from belief. But what about wandering from the truth of behavior? Now this might step on a few toes, but the truth of the matter is, is none of us really expect to tip over really fast

or make a poor decision out of nowhere. It happens ever so subtly. It's a little bit of sin. It's a tiptoe and a wander. It starts off with flirting and then it goes to texting. And then the texting turns into a full-blown relationship that you know you should not be in, you're prone to wander. Prone to wander could be when a habit or a hobby turns into an addiction. Whether that is gaming, smoking, gambling. I mean, we are prone to wander in fast ways or in small ways. It could happen fast. It could happen quickly. It could happen short, but we are prone to wander. What if we're prone to wander in maybe less egregious ways? We're prone to make up lies about someone. We're prone to gossip about them. We're prone to talk trash about somebody. What about even less egregious ways? Like prone to wander. We've been saying this at the top of the year. Give God one year and see how your life is transformed. And you said, me, I'm gonna give God one year and here we are two months in and you're like, I missed the last couple of weeks. Maybe you're prone to wander because you said, I'm gonna read my Bible every day and you haven't read in the last month. Or I'm gonna pray every day

and you haven't really been praying. Prone to wander. James says, hey, brothers and sisters, I'm not calling you out and bringing shame. I'm calling you up because this is how we believe and behave here in this house. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus. So then let's continue on. If one of you should wander from the truth of the gospel and someone, say someone. Who is someone? Say it nice and proud and nice and loud. Who is the someone? Yeah, it's you. It's you, it's you, it's you, it's me, it's us, it's all of us, it's a Spider-Man meme. It's like all of us, okay? And someone, someone, fill in the gap, it's a person, not a pastor, not your therapist, not your small group leader, not Pastor Cesar, not Pastor Asia, no, no, no. If someone, being you, brings them back, what does back mean? Return to the community. Not just to faith, but also to the community of faith. What is at stake? What is at stake? When you not call someone out and bring shame, but say, where have you been? This is not who you are.

This might've been what you did, what you've done. It's not who you are. You're a child of God, we make mistakes, it happens, I get it, come back, come back. What's at stake if we don't say anything? I'm glad you asked, Bible scholars. James addresses this in verse 20. It says, remember this. So clearly he has said this before. This is common knowledge, because he's saying, remember this. Whoever, somebody say whoever. Who's whoever? Yes, good job. Whoever turns a sinner from the air of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. If you brought your Bible, I want you to circle whoever. Whoever, black, white, Asian, Haitian, Eurasian, Croatian, man, woman, skinny, floofy, tall, short, busted, broken, guess what? Whoever turns a sinner from the air of their ways will save them from death, from death. James is speaking about a spiritual death. And as I've been sitting on this and mulling over this, this should scare us. That if we have the answer to life and somebody is wandering and stepping in and messing with the doorframe of hell and we say nothing, that's on me, that's on you.

We get to spare them from death. And then he goes on and says it cover a multitude of sins. Whoa, timeout a second. If I stop somebody from making bad decisions and I bring them back and not call them out, but call them up. And sometimes we have to call people out, but we call them out, we call them up. We get to spare them from the throes of hell and cover a multitude of sin. This sounds wildly similar to one other person in the Bible. Jesus. Jesus spared us from death and covered a multitude of my sins and your sins. And as freely as we have been forgiven, we've got to forgive others and we got to go get them. We got to throw the church van into reverse and go to the. Football game and drag people out of that party. That's gonna send them to hell. Okay, that's the proverbial story here But you all have your go-get-em in your life. Who is the one person that you are terrified for I love you so much I love you too much to let you kiss your life to hell. I need you to come back. I'm gonna go get them I want to go get them. I want to cover them. I want to cover you. I don't want you to make mistakes I love you too much to let you be stupid Who is not in this community who they have you haven't seen in a minute who has not been here in a minute that you need To go text who in here in your life is walking to the doorframe of hell and you're letting them go softly into the night It's either we believe this stuff or we don't If we believe that hell is real if we believe that we're loved if we believe that we can genuinely be forgiven by Christ What is stopping us from stopping people from kissing away their life now, I get it. It might feel scary I'm not an evangelist. Guess what guys me neither? Okay, sharing my faith is terrifying, but you're a pastor. It's scary

It's scary it is I get it but if I get to Be a doorway for people to encounter Jesus and cover a multitude their sin and spare them from death Why aren't we doing this? Why are we driving to church alone? Why are we texting our best friends and our cousins and our brothers and our aunties and our friends? Because we love them and we're not gonna call them out. We're calling them up You have a space here doesn't matter what you've done the Lord can forgive you come back come back and I get it for the One clap. I thank you. Thank you. Yes, okay. I Get it. You're still not sold because you're like, I don't know what to do I get it many of you might have heard me share that I was a lifeguard for gosh I think like nine years so instructor and a lifeguard. I started when I was 15 and my first summer I was 16 when I was lifeguarding and When I tell you that I'm a lifeguard I always tell you one story I tell you at the one time that I saved somebody's life and I do it ever so humbly. I'm like, well I saved someone's life No big deal MVD And then I tell you that He's in a car accident because he had a heart attack and I didn't know what was going on and I pull up this Strapping like six four young guy out of a car I pulled him out with my own hands and I laid him on the floor I'm a lifeguard and he's laying down and and as the face is turning blue. I shout someone call 9-1-1. Someone shouts back Do you know what you're doing? And I'm like, I'm a lifeguard. I have not been a lifeguard in a decade at this time I'm not even certain CPR certified renewed. Nope. Nope. Nope, but I'm clearly in charge here and Rescue breathing CPR in this Crazy turn of events the guy's heart comes back and they put the EKG on him and he's fine And he's standing up and he's lucid and I went from like David Hasselhoff of Baywatch over to TD Jake's on a Tuesday on A hot text this day. I'm like boy, you were dead and now you were live You were in the grave, but the Spirit of God wants you here at church tomorrow I'm in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and I'm like, I'm preaching at this church and I want to see you on the front row You got to be there bro. There's a place for you You were dead and I still have that same fervor inside of me

But let me tell you it didn't start that way my first rescue which I have never told anyone Was with a little girl who would come to the pool almost every day for recreational swim And I would always talk to her Emma. Hold on to the wall. Emma was crazy She didn't want to listen. She wanted to do her own thing little Crazy little sheep. She just wanted to be daring and let go of the wall I'd be like Emma hold on to the wall and but would hold on to the wall and then she'd Prone to wander let go and as a lifeguard you'll be stationed every 15 minutes at different points at the pool And so I was on my rotation at this point I'm in the deep end of the pool and as a good lifeguard knows you've got to be searching every three seconds your eyes have To be in a different location in the pool to make sure no one drowns on your watch And all of a sudden above the cheers and the jeers and the kids jumping off of diving boards. I hear this And I'm looking and I have no idea where the sound is coming from and Right down in front of me is little Emma under the water with her eyes the sauce the size of saucers Her hair is coming up as she is going down and any good lifeguard knows there's protocol You blow the whistle you cause the alarm The lifeguards are ready You take your red buoy across your chest that says lifeguard like Pamela Anderson you dive into the water in a perfect dive You come up under the victim who is drowning with your arms You put them in their armpits and you roll them over so that their mouth is up in the air and they could breathe Did I do any of that with all my lifeguard training this is what I did I Squatted and pulled her up by her hair Did she live yes she did It doesn't have to look pretty you just gotta get them. They are dying going to hell go get them Do you want your loved ones to be tormented on earth and live in eternal damnation for eternity? No Let them encounter who God is go get them you want to see their lives transformed to the power of God Go get them. You want to see them forgiven and hygienized of mind and soul and body go get them But we're prone to wander And right now at this point in the message, you could be thinking. Oh, yeah, go get them my cousin. They're far from god What about us? Instead of waiting

to be called out I wonder if we can just take a look inside and say Where have I wandered? As I was praying I was like god give me eyes to see where we are in our church where we wandered I think we've wandered from believing in who god is I've wandered from believing that I am loved I've wandered from believing that god cares about me. I've wandered fill in the gap. I don't know what you're wondering Will lead you but I want you to wonder about your wonder Where have you left god? You used to steward your finances you used to tithe and you've wandered You used to pray with your spouse at night or in the morning and then and then you wandered You used to read your bible every day and then you wandered You used to not cheat on your taxes, but you've gotten away with it repeatedly And you wandered and this is a loving encouragement. The lord is convicting you specifically about that word Hey, this is his grace if you get it, right before you get caught We're prone to wander we're prone to let our Fingers tap keys and take us to urls and websites that are not for us not for our eyes Not for our hearts not for our souls and we're prone to wander We're prone to talk to people that we shouldn't be talking to we're prone to hang out in places that we shouldn't be hanging out We're prone to judge We're prone to wander Next week we're starting a new series entitled one invitation away because you don't know what could happen on the other side of your invitation So my encouragement to you is why would you want to keep god to yourself? One invitation away one invitation away. Who can you call this week? Who could you text this week? Who could you email this week? I was talking to two people last week Actually, no make that three. I was talking to three people last week and another one today who I asked them I always ask people. Hey, how'd you hear about revere? It's so random. We're in placentia high school But valencia, I don't even know what city we're with by the way, you know where we're at. Yeah, we're here at revere It's temporary it's temporary I shall not remember the address we're here in a high school. How did you how'd you hear about us?

Oh, I saw you on tiktok What? Yeah, somebody did a get ready with me and come with me to church And shared about what god's doing here at revere and I saw that and I came another person posted Uh that we were having an after sunday party like we have today with fruit cups and hangouts and and they came And social media who do you need to invite through your social media following who you need to reach out to? Who do you need to call who do you need to check in on and say I haven't seen you are you? Okay, come back. Come back. Come back. It might be messy but squat down and pull them up by their hair But get them here As this week I was uh praying and preparing I was reminded of an old hymn my mom used to sing it over us as kids There's this one line in it that just wrecked me all week prone to wander Lord, I feel it prone to leave the god I love Here's my heart Oh take and seal it seal it for thy courts above So instead of waiting to be called out or caught I wonder I wonder where we could just do a check-in really quick and say hey before I invite anyone I want to be invited to look at my own heart wherever I wandered in behavior wherever I wandered in belief I want you to stop wandering and wandering And know that you're in the arms of a father who's put you arms of a shepherd who's put you around his shoulder and brought you The one back to the 99 He loves you He wants to be in relationship with you You need to be reminded that there is nothing that you've done that could separate you from the love of god But he won't let you live in that sin. He loves you too much to let you live in that sin. So come back home Come back home Come back home

If you're here I want us to be honest about our life And the invitation is come back Maybe not to revere. Maybe you have a home church. You're watching online great come back to the arms of a father who loves you Who's reaching down and rescuing you? And so i've invited daris To to sing over us the refrain of this old hymn And give us space and place to process lord Where have I wandered and bring me back? And as freely as you have been brought back and forgiven and loved I wonder what it would feel like if we had time right now to think about who am I bringing back home? Who do you need to invite to easter? Who do you need to invite next week? Who do you need to check in on? so Lord in this moment I pray that you unbutton and then unzip and then unlock the padlock of our heart right now to receive from you. We wanna hear you, so will you speak? In this moment, Lord God, we do not rush. We stop the wandering and we look at you. We say, speak, Lord, your servant is listening. Remind us this day that you love us and who do you want us to love on your behalf this week? In Jesus' name, speak, Lord. Amen. ♪ Come, Thou God, every blessing to my heart, sing Thy praise ♪ ♪ Streams of mercy never ceasing, offer songs of loudest praise ♪

♪ Prone to wander, Lord, I fear, prone to leave, Thou God, I love ♪ ♪ Here's my heart, take and seal, seal it for Thy courts above ♪ ♪ Seal it for Thy courts above ♪ ♪ Prone to wander, Lord, I fear, prone to leave, Thou God, I love ♪ ♪ Here's my heart, take and seal, seal it for Thy courts above ♪ ♪ Here's my heart, here's my heart, here's my heart, Lord, here's my heart ♪ ♪ You can have it, every part of my world, I'm coming back to You, I'm coming back to You ♪ ♪ I'm coming back to You, I'm coming back to You, Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, I receive You, Lord, I receive Your grace, I receive Your peace, yeah ♪ ♪ I'm prone to wander, but, Lord, You see me, You know me, yeah ♪ ♪ I'm prone to wander, but, Lord, You see me, You know me, yeah ♪ ♪ Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal, seal it for Thy courts above ♪ ♪ Oh, here's my heart, take and seal, seal it for Thy courts above ♪ In this posture of bringing the one who got away from the 99, I think the perfect way to end this church service is to create space for response. If you are here today and you've never said yes to Jesus, maybe someone invited you or maybe you saw on TikTok and now that you're here, I cannot wait to extend an invitation of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Or maybe you have been a follower of Jesus, but you've walked away. Not like you said a bad word, but you know that you are straight up living in sin, and you know that you want to repent, make a U-turn and come back to God. Today is the day of salvation. In a moment, I'm going to count to three. When I count to three, you're going to shoot up your hand if you were saying, I want to follow Jesus, His life, not mine. But one, by raising your hand, you are saying, I believe that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of my life. Two, by raising your hand, you are saying that my mistakes and my failure, what the Bible refers to as sin, could be forgiven because of what Jesus did on the cross at Calvary.

And because He rose from the grave three days later, we could declare, three, that the same spirit that resurrected Jesus from the grave will live in me and we're infilled with His Holy Spirit. So if that is you, you've never said yes to Jesus, or you are coming back to the Lord, and you're repenting, and you want a relationship with the Good Shepherd, if that is you, one, two, three. Will you raise your hand nice and high so I can see you? God bless you, God bless you, God bless you. God bless you, God bless you, God bless you. Keep your hand up. Anyone at the back, bless you in the back. God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you. Yes, yes, God bless you. I love it. Online fam, online fam, put the hand in the chat box, but we're so excited that you're making this decision. To let you know that you are not alone in this decision, we're going to pray a prayer of faith with you. There's not a magical prayer, but it's a prayer to help you articulate the decision that you're making within so church Can we let our church family know that they're not alone. Will you repeat after me? Can we say Jesus? Forgive me of my sins Today I choose you as my Lord and Savior Cleanse my mind cleanse my heart cleanse my body Fill me with your spirit to do what I cannot do in Jesus name Amen, amen. Can we celebrate? Yes. I'm gonna invite you to stand to your feet Because sheep have come back and as Jesus preached the parable of the wandering sheep He told his friends and family rejoice. So I want us to fill this house with a rejoicing sound I want us to declare with shock and awe that people were on their way to destruction and depravity

But because of the good nature and the good grace of God little sheep have come back little sheep Worshiping the Lord. So if you feel comfortable, I want you to raise your hand and declare what a God he has spared me He has renewed me. He's forgiven me. He's filled me with his spirit. What a God. What a God I was messed up tore up from the floor up. I was on drugs I have been redeemed my marriage was destitute and now we've been delivered What is the testimony that you need to worship God and declare what a God church? Can you raise your voice even louder on my family in roof family? Can we declare? Can we declare Absolutely. Thank you God to you be the glory for what you're doing in this house from generation to generation in your name