Introduction

James 1:23-25 ESV  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  (24)  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  (25)  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

• When I was in Singapore there was a guest preacher from the Philippines, and his sermon always stuck with me.
  • He preached on “The basics”.
    • That‘s how he said it “The basics”.
    • And what he was talking about was something he taught his kids about their personal hygiene, “the basics”.
    • What were “the basics”, it was to brush your teeth, wash your face, and brush your hair.
      • In the morning when his kids would try to run off to school he would say “HEY! Remember the basics! Brush your teeth, wash your face, brush your hair”
      • Before church on Sundays he would tell his kids “HEY! Remember the Basics! Brush your teeth, wash your face, brush your hair.”
      • Anytime that he would see his kids disheveled and gross he would say “HEY! Remember the basics! Brush your teeth, wash your face, brush your hair.”
    • It’s the basics, we brush our teeth, wash our face, and brush our hair.
  • Now some of y’all have figured this out already, but I am not fixing to preach on your personal hygiene this morning… well not your PHYSICAL hygiene at least.
  • This morning I want to talk about spiritual hygiene… and James makes it SO PLAN!
  • He makes it so simple… he uses an example we can all understand… because he is talking about the basics!

• The Basics. Keeping up with Good Spiritual Hygiene
• This morning I simply want to talk about keeping good spiritual hygiene.
  • Sure, it’s basic… but too many Christians are walking around looking all kinds of busted and disheveled…To many Christians have forgotten “the basics”.
• Point one this morning is simple “Take a Moment to Look in The Mirror

Point One – Take a Moment To Look in The Mirror

James 1:23-24 ESV  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  (24)  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

• If you remember the sermon from last week you will know that this sermon is a natural extension of that sermon.
  • Last week we preached on James 1:22

James 1:22 ESV  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

• The sermon from last week was simply titled “Open Your Bible, Read it, And Do What it Says”.
  • And this point this morning is really similar to a point from last week, last week we talked about how you need to read or listen to your Bible, before you can be tasked with believing it and obeying it.
    • Because why would you obey something you don’t believe, and how can you believe something you have never heard or read.
  • So last week I talked about reading the Bible because we need to know what to believe and what to obey.
    • But this week, this week I want us to consider reading the Bible as a form of self-reflection. That the Bible is our mirror which shows us what is wrong with us, shows us our flaws…
• You know Pastor Matt from Faith and Victory in Auburn Washington, my pastor who lead me to Jesus, when he started Faith and Victory he was a full time salesmen for large nation wide company.
  • And he was really good at his job so he moved up and up the ranks to the point where he was managing a team of salesmen and from time to time he would have to hire new salesman for his team.
  • And he said something about those interviews… when he would interview new salesmen… he said that the interview process would start as soon as the salesmen parked his car in the parking lot.
    • Pastor Matt would be looking at the window and watching… and what he watched for was this:
    • Did the interviewee, before coming in the building, first look himself over in his car’s mirror.
      • Did he check his face, his hair, and his tie… or did he just rush in and hope for the best?
  • Because it is a sign of wisdom to know “I may not look as good as I think I look, I better check”.
  • But it is a sign of foolhardiness and pride to assume that you look great before walking in for an important meeting.
    • And because Pastor Matt wanted people who always looked good for their meetings, and people who were humble and wise enough to check first, Matt wouldn’t hire people who just rushed into the interview without first checking the mirror.

2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV  Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

• Christianity says “Examine yourself”.  The world says “You are perfect the way you are”.
  • The Bible says “Test yourself”. The world says “be yourself”.
• But the world doesn’t really mean that, do they? They just mean that spiritually, and morally… but they don’t really mean that.
  • Because if they meant that, they would never do the basics… the would never brush their teeth, or wash their face, or brush their hair.
    • Bro! Your teeth are disgusting… “Don’t judge me man… I am just being myself”
    • Yo… you have a bunch of ketchup and cheese on your face… and… is that mold?! “Hey, that’s just how my face is! I am perfect the way I am”.
    • Um, sir… I think there is a dead bird trap in that nasty mangled mess of hair on your head “THIS IS HOW MY HAIR NATURALLY IS! STOP JUDGMING ME FOR HOW GOD MADE ME!”.
  • No, most people, regardless of how they feel about “Being themselves” does the basics… and those who don’t are disgusting and probably don’t have many friends…
    • TRUTH BE TOLD WE HAVE A LOT OF DISGUISTING CHRISTIANS OUT HERE.
      • Who are either too busy, too lazy, or too pride filled to look in the mirror and make sure they don’t look nasty.
• And y’all know I ain’t talking about physical mirrors and hygiene this morning…
  • I am talking about spiritual mirrors and spiritual hygiene.
• So how do we look in the mirror, how do we examine ourselves, by what standard should we hold ourselves to, by what measure should we judge if we need to change something about ourselves?
  • IT SHOULD GO WITHOUT SAYING AT THIS POINT, BUT IT IS THE BIBLE!

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  (17)  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

• Now see if you only listen to last weeks sermon, you might wrongly assume that the only thing the Bible is good for is to tell us what to do and what not to do.
  • And it is true, the Bible does tell us what to do and what not to do.
    • But there are people, like the rich young ruler, who follow all the Bible says to do and not do… yet they still turn away from Jesus.

Mark 10:17-22 ESV  And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  (18)  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.  (19)  You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”  (20)  And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”  (21)  And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  (22)  Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

• He says to Jesus “What must I DO to inherit internal life.”
  • Jesus tells Him “Obey the commandments of God”.
  • The ruler says “I have done so since my youth”
  • Jesus says “But you still lack this one thing, sell everything you have and follow me”.
  • The ruler then leaves sad… because he had lots of possessions he did not want to get rid of.
    • See the ruler knew and obeyed the word of God… but never reflected on himself…
    • All the time he spent not lying, not stealing, not lusting, not gossiping, not murdering… all this time he spent doing that, he never spent time reflecting on himself…
      • Asking questions like “are my possessions more important than God?”
      • “Do I have too much stuff?”
      • “Is this stuff distracting me?”
    • You see the rich young ruler followed everything in Exodus, and Leviticus, and Deuteronomy…
      • Because for him it was simple: Do this, don’t do this.
    • But what happened, dear rich young ruler, when you read Ecclesiastes?
      • Ecclesiastes doesn’t have rules to follow in it, it does not have a lists of does and don’ts…
      • But what it does have is a very rich man, the richest to ever live, King Solomon…
        • And in Ecclesiastes Solomon laments that his wealth is vanity… it is worthless… meaningless…
          • He warns others that all the possessions, all the travel, all the women in the world… they are meaningless.
          • He goes on to say that the only thing that has meaning is a right relationship with God.
          • Serving Him, obeying Him, loving Him, being loved by Him.
            • Forgiveness, righteousness, holiness.
      • Ecclesiastes is not a book of does and don’ts, it’s a book of a man who spent his life chasing women, possessions, wealth, and travel… and how it was all worthless.
    • Now if the rich young ruler would have actually reflected on himself while reading through Ecclesiastes… if he would have used Ecclesiastes as a mirror for his own life… maybe he would have seen that he was making the same mistakes as Solomon… and that it was worthless… maybe he would have stopped putting his hope and trust and joy in wealth and possessions… maybe he would have recognized Jesus as savior!
• Let me show you how I do this, ok I will just show you from my life…
  • I am reading through the Bible in a year on a reading plan, and as you read through the Bible and you are in parts that seem more historical or story telling, and less instructional, your thoughts should always be “Is that me? Do I behave like that? How can I do better, be better, fix it so I don’t make the same mistakes…”
    • One such time happened to me this year while I was reading about Balaam.
    • Now when you read about Balaam, there is no does or don’ts… there is just this story about this odd prophet, who listens to God.
      • Now there is this evil kind who wants to crush Israel in battle, but he knows that God always protects Israel… and he knows that Balaam talks to God.
      • So the King sends some guys to offer Balaam some money if he will curse Israel.
        • Balaam says let me pray… then God says “No, do not curse Israel, but bless Israel”.
        • So Ballam says no, I can only bless who God says to bless and curse who God says to curse.
      • Then the wicked king sends MORE men and offers Balaam whatever he could ask for if he would just curse Israel.
        • So Balaam says “Let me pray about it”
  • Now what is there to pray about?! GOD ALREADY SAID NO! But because Balaam was in a sense arguing with God, God ends up scolding Balaam and Balaam ends up doing some very wicked things.
• Now there is no commands in this story, no list of does and don’ts… just a story… and I was reflecting on this story…
  • Why was God so mad at Balaam?! Then I realized, it was because God had already spoken, but the answer wasn’t good enough for Balaam… so Balaam asked again “ARE YOU SURE GOD?! BECAUSE THE KING SAID I COULD HAVE WHATEVER I ASK FOR AND THAT SOUNDS REALLY AWESOME! ARE YOU SURE I CAN’T GO WITH THESE MEN AND CURSE ISRAEL.
    • God is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that He should change His mind!
      • We all know that verse! Gues what?! That verse is about Balaam! Literally the context of that verse is all about Balaam!
    • And as I was reflecting on this, I realized that verse was about me too!
      • Because even though this story does not give me any command, I realize I do the same thing to God.
      • God speaks and I pray more… WHY? Did God not say, shall God not do?!
      • God speaks to me, and I don’t like his answer, or I don’t trust His answer… so I keep praying.
    • I pass a homeless man and the Lord says “Give that man some money” and I respond “Oh Lord show me what to do, if I should give this man money or not” and God has got to be in heaven like “DID I STUTTER?!”
  • Yet I have built a habit of doing this to God… of continuing to intercede after God has spoken, hoping for a different outcome…
    • And it was not through a list of Biblical commands that I realized this… it was through self reflection on the story of Balaam.
• Let the Bible be a mirror into your life…
  • Next time you read about someone doing something stupid… ask “Do I do that”
  • When the disciples argue about who is the greatest, ask “do I ever argue like that?”
  • When Peter time and time again opens his mouth to quick… ask yourself “Am I like Peter in this way?”
  • When Moses strikes the rock out of anger instead of speaking to it, instead of asking “Well isn’t that basically the same thing, is his punishment really just?” instead ask “Have I ever let my emotions get the best of me to the point that I end up putting my emotions before God’s commands?”
    • REFLECT AS YOU READ THE BIBLE.
• Because the first part of the basics is standing in front of the mirror and looking at yourself!
  • Brush your teeth, wash your face, brush your hair… I am willing to bet that the vast majority of the people in this church do all three of those things in front of a mirror!
    • Because when I am washing my face, I need to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
    • When I am combing my hair I want to make sure it looks nice…
    • And when I am brushing my teeth I want to make sure they look clean.
• Now speaking of brushing your teeth and making sure they look clean, that brings me to my final point this morning… if something is wrong, FIX IT!

Point Two – If Something Is Wrong, Fix It.

James 1:23-25 ESV  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  (24)  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  (25)  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

• I remember talking to Pastor Mike and Tina about how they meet, and in the telling of the story Pastor Tina talked about one of the worst dates she ever had…
  • She said this guy showed up to the date without brushing his teeth, and that he had huge glops of plaque and white build up on his teeth and gums… that is was disgusting to look at, and of course the guy talked with his teeth showing, and it just made her squirm in disgust.
    • Needless to say, Pastor Tina did not call that guy back…
• It makes me wonder… did the guy even look in the mirror before his date? Because if he did… WHY WOULDN’T HE HAVE BRUSHED HIS TEETH?
  • It’s the Basics y’all! Brush your teeth, wash your face, brush your hair.
• Guy’s I keep a hairbrush, deodorant, some toothpaste and a toothbrush in my office because I am terrified that I am going to the bathroom, look in the mirror, notice something is wrong… and not be able to do something about it.
  • But so many Christians are walking around with nasty teeth, mangled hair, and schmutz on their face because they either NEVER look in the mirror of the Bible, or they do but then never do anything about it!
  • I am so sick and tired of STANKY Christians! I want to be surrounded by BLESSED Christians.
• Amen?! You want to be a blessed Christian? I WANT TO BE A BLESSED CHRISTIAN! James 1:23-25 tells us how to be blessed!

James 1:23-25 ESV  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  (24)  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  (25)  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

• I want to be blessed in my doing!
  • Therefore let me reflect on the mirror of God’s Word, and when I realize something is wrong let me DO something about it!
• I want YOU to be blessed in your doing!
  • Therefore I want you to reflect on the mirror that is God’s Word, and when you realize something is wrong… please, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
    • Change!
    • Grow!
    • Repent!
    • BE MORE LIKE CHRIST.

1 John 2:6 ESV Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Philippians 3:12 ESV  Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

• You have to WALK out your faith, you have to PRESS ON to make it your own.
  • You have to fight the good fight.
  • Finish your race.
    • Christianity is about DOING.
      • When you don’t do anything when it comes to your hygiene… you become disgusting.
• One of my first jobs was at a videogame store, and I remember having to kick kids out of the store because they smelled so bad that you couldn’t breath around them…
  • So addicted to video games they never showed, they never did the basics…
• This is what happens when you don’t CHANGE.
  • You become the gross guy on the date with nasty stuff all up in your teeth.
  • You become the stinky teenager who hasn’t discovered deodorant yet.
• And the worst part is, you don’t even know it… you can’t smell yourself, unless you really try and put your nose up to your armpit.
  • You can’t see your teeth, unless you intentionally look at them in a mirror.
    • And you can’t realize the areas you change unless you intentionally look at yourself through the reflection of the Bible.
    • And when you notice something is wrong FIX IT.
• This isn’t a complicated sermon, with 18 slides expounding on the beast of Revelation… this is THE BASICS.
  • Brush your teeth, wash your face, bush your hair!
• IT’S THE BASICS
  • Open your Bible, Read it, Do what it says, and REFLECT ON YOURSELF THROUGH WHAT YOU READ!
    • It’s the Basics!

Conclusion

• Now the first step of the spiritual basics is to realize that you are a sinner in need of salvation.

Romans 3:23 ESV  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

• This is your moment to look in the mirror and realize you need Jesus!
• Gospel Call

Aaronic Blessing