Pastor Brian – Welcome, Prayer
1. Good morning, good morning, good morning. Are we on? Everybody out there, we’re on? I know Trudy’s there on the island. Good morning, Trudy. I don’t know who else is here.
2. Do you have a need in the house this morning? We often pray for healing that’s good and right. We have those from our family who desperately need a touch from the Lord. But I’m going to ask us to do something a little different today. And you can be seated for this if you want.
3. But I just I just feel in my heart an anointing for something specific. And so, I’m not going to ask you to raise your hand. But if you have an emotional, mental, psychological need this morning. Those are spiritual needs. We are one person, body, soul and spirit. Every part of us affects every other part.
4. So, I just feel like there’s a call in the house today. If you would just bow your head with me. Whatever it is that puts its finger on your spirit today. If it is anything other than the spirit of the Lord, it has no right and it has no authority in you today or tomorrow or any day to come.
5. Because you, body, soul and spirit you belong to the Lord and his spirit is in you. And so Holy Spirit of God, I ask you today, whatever else wars inside of us today. Lord, I pray that these words that we’ve been singing, will just rise up in our spirits today.
6. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. And your name stands above everything else. There are no thrones or dominions. There is no power in heaven or earth other than you. That has any rights to us today. There are no powers, there are no positions. That can stand above you. Because your name stands above them all.
7. So, Lord, we make your name great this morning. Not just in our voices on the outside, but Lord internally in the deepest part of us, Lord. We declare your dominion. Satan, you have no authority. Devils, you have no authority. Any kind of evil that would touch us has no authority. Because Holy Spirit, you are welcome here. Your name is welcome in us. It’s written on our hearts. It’s implanted in our minds.
8. So, Lord, dig out that what hinders. Just lift it out. Just remove it in Jesus’ name. And Lord, I finish with this. Let the joy of the Lord be our strength. Come on, lift your voice to him. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength. You are welcome here, Lord. And we worship you. In Jesus’ name, amen. Come on, amen. Let it be so, Lord. Amen.
9. Well, we do welcome each of you. So, let’s take a moment. You can get up out of your seat and greet somebody. Show each other a little bit of love this morning. Reach across the aisle, do something.
Pastor Brian – Offering and announcements
10. We’re going to take up our offering this morning. And as we do that, we’ll go ahead and dismiss the children. Thank you for our teachers. Come on, everybody, say thank you. Amen. And as the ushers come around for our tithes and offerings today, I do want to remind each of us, please, let’s pray. Let the Holy Spirit share with us what we should and could give. We don’t talk about it a lot, but I will tell you at the first of this month, we’re going to be two months behind in our rent again.
11. And they’re not here, and they won’t hear this. The people I’m going to mention are not here. And they won’t hear this. But I want to give thanks to the Lord for our landlords. They have been so gracious to us over the years. Not only in being patient with us, because there have been times where we have been not two months, but many months behind. Never once have they threatened us.
12. And in fact, during the season of COVID, they reduced our rent twice. And as of yet have never asked to move it back up. I don’t know that that will remain true. But I will say, thank God for those who have cared for us. It is important that we show the equal respect to them. So please pray.
13. If we moved into this building today, we would pay at least five times more than what we do. God has been good. We give Him glory first. We thank those who have been kind to us. And we thank all of you for your faithful giving. So, we will see this overcome. And God’s people can say amen to that.
14. Don’t forget Wednesday nights. We have prayer and Bible study at 7 p.m. We are here in the building together and we would really love to see you come be with us. We do want to remind you that we have a prayer team praying daily each week. We have prayer forms at the back. You can leave a request. You don’t need you don’t have to leave your name if you don’t want to. Or you can write your request to prayer@glyfadacc.org. If you can’t remember that. Just go to our website and you’ll find it there.
15. Next Sunday will be the first Sunday of October. Right. Yes. We will be having communion together. We do want to remind you that we take it together once every month at least. But if you if you feel like you would like to have communion each Sunday. You can find that at the back.
16. Saturday the 17th of October. There’s going to be a lady’s morning here at the church. So, ladies do please plan to come and bring a friend. It’s going to be a good morning. It’s a nice non-pressured way to bring friends and to be together.
17. And then men on Saturday the 24th . Actually, I’m going to have to check that. That’s not Terry Mahan. Is that the same week that Terry Mahan is here? No. Okay so Saturday the 24th. Will be men’s breakfast.
18. And then we have two notes here. I think these are left from Pastor Gale. Don’t forget Joseph’s cupboard. Bring some groceries. And don’t forget to read your Bible. And for those who might need a little assistance. Stavros posts a scripture every day on our Facebook page. In English, Greek and Farsi. So, if you need some help go to the Facebook page and read it there. And then when you do open your Bible and read it again. Amen.
19. Pastor Gale does greet you. She’s at a conference in the U.S. this morning. It’s a significantly important event so please pray for her. Exactly. Every success. And for her strength. She’s been recovering very well. But she’s still recovering. And we’re entering a very, very busy season between now and Christmas. Did I tell you it’s almost October already? The Lord is good.
20. We’re going to get ready for the Word. Billy is going to be speaking to us today. But for those that weren’t here at the beginning of the service. We’re not going to sing this but I want to read you some words of the song. That Victor let us in as we started this morning. It says I’ll praise in the valley. I’ll praise on the mountain. I’ll praise when, I’m sure. And I’ll praise when I’m doubting. I’ll praise when outnumbered. I’ll praise when surrounded. Because praise is the water that my enemies drown in.
21. I would only correct one line in that song. We are never outnumbered. It can seem that way. But who is our savior? The Lord of hosts. We are surrounded by the armies of the Lord. When you’re here. When you walk out that gate. You walk with heaven’s armies. Keep that in your spirit. The Lord God is with us. Encourage your heart. Encourage one another. And if you see that somebody’s not here today. Call them and encourage them with those words later today. Amen.

Billy – Main Message
22. So, good morning. Nice to see you. Today we have, you know, we talked about having a Biblical Worldview for almost a year. We could probably continue a few years. And we have reached in English, the letter W. Yeah, I’m sorry, this doesn’t work in Greek.
23. And I have actually, well, you could say three words, on ‘W’. And I hope I will be able to bring them together in some way. Wisdom, you see, I have a lot of wisdom. My hair is getting whiter and whiter. The other one is faith without works or with works, we’ll see.
24. If we read what Paul writes in Romans 3:28, he says that, “A person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” So, we are justified by faith without works, Paul says. And then we’ll turn to the book of James. You know, James is thought to be Jesus’ own brother. He was an elder in the church in Jerusalem. A very important person in the early church. He says like this in James 2:24, you see that, “The person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.” So, he says a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. Yes.
25. So, are they contradicting each other? You know, Paul wrote a lot of the New Testament that we have. He wrote many long letters. James didn’t write that much. Even some people throughout church history said James’ letter shouldn’t be in the Bible. And I think it’s good for us to wrestle a little bit with those seemingly contradicting statements.
26. That’s why we need wisdom. And God gives wisdom. That’s one of the things that James actually says, “If you need wisdom, ask God. He will give you generously.” And as life goes on when you become as old as I am, I don’t think there are a lot of people in this room that are older than me. You realize you need a lot of wisdom.
27. We can have a lot of knowledge. We’re talking about artificial knowledge or artificial intelligence and even super intelligence. But if you have all the knowledge in the world and you don’t have wisdom, it’s really not that useful. And one way to use wisdom is to see when you see things that seem to be saying different things.
28. And Christians have been debating how are we saved. And some say faith alone. Some say faith, but you need to work. And I think it’s really important that we understand this. Even the Old Testament patriarch, Abraham, his journey started with faith.
29. In the Old Testament, we see the people of God coming into covenant relationship with God. God made a deal with his people. And God promised to be their God. And the people were supposed to follow the laws that God gave. It was an agreement where God would be on his people’s side, and they were to follow him, follow his laws.
30. Some people say, oh, it was a very different God in the Old Testament. He was legalistic. And look at Jesus coming and just showing the love of God. It’s different. No! It’s the same God. Jesus came to reveal what God was like. And if you follow the story of the people of God, and read it maybe a little bit more carefully, not just very superficially, you see that the people of God in the Old Testament, they failed all the time. They messed things up.
31. But God was still faithful. He was still gracious. He still showed love to them. Even though the people were unfaithful, God was faithful. What about the New Testament, the New Covenant? Through Jesus Christ, God made it possible for us to have a covenant with him. He made a covenant with us. He opened it up to everyone. All nations, all languages, all peoples.
32. He promised to be our God. He invited us to be his people. But it was not based on us following religious rules. He gave us a new heart. We were born again. We changed. I hope you have experienced that. It is a new way of living. And he comes into our lives.
33. And instead of having a lot of rules that we should follow, his Spirit lives in us. His Spirit has written the law on our hearts. So, when Paul says we should have faith but we don’t need the works of the law, he is saying goodbye to a system where it was based on religious rules and regulations for us to follow. And instead, he is welcoming us into a covenant that is based on faith. It starts with faith, goes on with faith, but James said it is not faith alone.
34. What does he mean? Well, you know, I think when I was younger, I was looking for salvation. I didn’t want to be punished. I didn’t want to go to hell to be blunt. So, I wanted to be saved from that. But I didn’t really want to change. I wanted to continue to do what I wanted to do. But it would be good to have, what do you call it, fire insurance in your pocket to show when your time is up. No, I’m not going to hell. I’m going there.
35. But I do really believe that salvation is so much more than just not being punished for the wrongs we have done. Unfortunately, a lot of people stay there. And I’m not going to take away from the wonderful experience to know that your sins are forgiven. I’m not going to take away. Because it is something wonderful to be forgiven. And I hope you know you are forgiven. We are being forgiven freely.
36. But salvation entering the New Covenant is so much more. We become part of his people, his family. He works with us. He talks to us. And he cares for us. We can talk to him every day.
37. And James’ statement that they are considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. I think it comes into place when you realize that having faith is not just believing that God exists. Or intellectually believing that God has done this and this.
38. Even the demons believe that God exists. And I hope our faith is a little bit stronger than the demons. Real faith that James is talking about here. It’s something that affects how we live our lives. But it’s an important distinction here. And I want to be really, really clear, with that.
39. We cannot do anything to deserve our salvation. It’s only by God’s grace. And the way to receive it for us is to reach out to him in faith. But if we find that our lives are like I said in the beginning, I wanted it to be. I want to have this insurance paper in my pocket, but I want to continue to live the way I want.
40. That’s not the faith that James is talking about. And I don’t believe Paul was talking about that either. Real faith. It comes into our hearts. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives. It changes us. We can still not do anything to deserve his grace. But our will, will change. The way we live our lives will change. It’s a living faith. It’s not only a mental exercise. God does something real in our lives.
41. So, I think these two, they are brothers that wrote part of our Bible. I don’t believe that they are contradicting each other. They are coming from slightly different directions. And I think using wisdom as we approach these questions, God helps us to understand more fully. And we can say yes and amen to Paul that it’s only through faith that we are justified. And we can say yes and amen to James. He says that it’s not only faith. It’s also by what we do.
42. So having faith, being a Christian, being a disciple, it’s a life. Starts with faith, continues with faith, receiving God’s grace, but it does a work inside of us and it changes us. Amen. So that’s faith with or without works.
43. Many times, I’m not going to spend a lot of time on looking at wisdom, but many times, we can in a similar way hear things that seem to be contradicting. And that’s a time when we can really grow in wisdom. We can read, we can think, we can meditate on these things, chew it over and over and over again.
44. And we grow in wisdom, we grow in understanding. And I would encourage you as you approach the Bible, approach it with a humble heart, to learn, to see past the first obvious thing and things that seem to be contradicting sometimes. And you will grow. You will grow in understanding; you will grow in your spiritual life.
45. Wisdom is not just possessing a lot of knowledge. It’s much more about how we process knowledge. And you sit with love and with grace. Do you know where wisdom starts? The fear of the Lord.
46. I think what we’re going to do is read some verses from James. I don’t think I can really add very much to what James has to say. So let his words speak. Maybe we can read it a bit slowly and not just rush through it, but let these words speak to our hearts. We all need wisdom. And I really think this is a time, maybe more than ever, there is so much polarization in society.
47. But also, in our churches. Some follow Paul. Some follow James, or Apollos, or Stavros. Some follow Brian. But we all follow different people and teachings and ideas, political ideas. And we need wisdom to listen, to make good judgments, and to be able to see more than one thing.
48. So, let’s read. James 3:13-18 “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”
49. Let’s also read from James 1:5-8. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”
50. The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, and peace-loving, considerate for all, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit. Impartial, sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. That’s the type of wisdom that comes from heaven. If we walk in faith, with Jesus, this wisdom is available to us.
51. So, being a little bit all over the place with faith and works and wisdom, what kind of conclusions can we draw? You are included in the family of God through grace by faith. Not by following a certain law. But yes. It is important how we live our lives. And that our faith that we have started to walk in is shown by us being faithful to God. We start walking by faith. And God wants us to walk in faithfulness with him.
52. Faith is the foundation to be included in the people of God. And if God has entered a covenant with you, and he has, He’s never going to fail you. You are his. You are in his hands. Even if you’re in the valley, God’s arm is long enough to reach you. And we really need wisdom. You don’t need to wait until you have white hair. You can ask God. Ask him with faith, because he wants to give it generously. And it starts with the fear of God.
53. Paul wrote in another letter; he wrote about love. And then he said, “And then it remains faith, hope, and love. But the greatest is love”. (1 Corinthians 13:13) We talk a lot about faith, and faith is important. But Paul says that even if a person has enough faith to move a mountain, I don’t know if you’ve ever moved mountains, you can go out and try. There’s a lot of mountains around here, so. But even if you have enough faith to do that, you are nothing if you don’t have love. So, you can go out and try. And they go together, that’s the wonderful thing. Faith, hope, love, and wisdom. The wisdom from God is full of peace, good fruit, and full of mercy. Thank you for listening. I hope you’re a little bit wiser. Amen.

Pastor Brian – Closeout Prayer
54. I thought of things handed over to me at the end. Yes. Ask God, he will give you. Amen. It is good that we ask the Lord for wisdom. The book of Proverbs tells us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” If it’s the beginning, that means that we still have somewhere to go.
55. And the Lord gives us the opportunity to grow, not, as Billy said, not just in our knowledge, but in our use of knowledge. Wisdom is where knowledge meets action. And we need our actions, to declare the glory of the Lord.
56. Well, Lord, I do just want to pray for us this morning. Lord, we are reminded that, again, you are always with us. Because you live in us. Holy Spirit. Make us constantly more aware of your presence. So that we can learn to constantly utilize, to exercise, that which you have given to us. Thank you, Lord, that we have access to the wisdom of heaven. And a partnership with the creator God. Lord, I suspect that we could hear of many testimonies, many needs, where we need to be guided by you today. Lord, there are probably people sitting in this room this morning who are making life decisions. I pray your wisdom to guide every footstep. Lord, I believe that there are people in this room making decisions about lifestyle. How will we live? So, Lord, we turn to you. Guide us in your grace. And, Lord, I sense in my spirit that there may be some among us who are beginning to make decisions that even in ourselves we know might not be correct. I pray that you would turn us away from our own thoughts, our own wisdom. And that, Lord, as we come humbly before you, you would give us, you would put in us the desires you want us to have in our hearts. Let us align with you today, Holy Spirit. Because, Lord, as we sang earlier, you are God alone. You are not created, but you are the Creator. You are not dependent.
57. But, Lord, we very much are. And, Lord, you don’t have need of anything we can give. But we know that you desire from us. Our love, our worship, our affection. So, Lord, I just pray. Lead us into that place. Each and every one. Lord, let tomorrow be more glorious than today. And let each day take us one step further toward you. Give us rest in your hands. Give us peace by your Spirit. And give us wisdom to live. In Jesus’ name, amen.