Foolproof – A Study of James
WAITING Faith – James 5:7-20 Sunday AM
Insert: It is exciting to know that Jesus is coming back soon. We must be prepared. There’s a phrase – Practice makes perfect. We need a little Rapture practice.
Recap: For 12 weeks we’ve been studying James seeking to understand the difference b/w authentic faith and artificial faith. We’ve come to see that authentic faith is God-centric and is refined in times of testing, while artificial faith is self-centric and crumbles in times of testing. Having made his point, James concludes his faith epistle w/ one final encouragement – be all you can be until the Lord’s return by living today as if Jesus was going to return at any moment.
Trans: In finalizing his letter, James offers (5) encouragements for living in the shadow of Jesus’ return. He calls all believers to be PREPARED, PATIENT, PRECISE, PRAYERFUL, and PASSIONATE.
I Be PREPARED for the Lord’s Return v. 7
Note: Anticipation – do you remember the Heinz ketchup commercials where the kid waits for the ketchup while the song ‘Anticipation’ plays in the background. The message was simple: the best things in life are worth waiting for.
Note: James says Christ’s return is the only thing worth waiting and living for and that we must live each moment in the anticipation He might return.
Verse: 7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.
Word: coming (parousia) This is an important eschatological term that means more that just coming. It conveys the idea of God’s presence or arrival. It is a promise of Jesus’ bodily return. Jesus has promised that one day He will return for His people to redeem them and to establish His kingdom.
Note: The idea is that by living in the hope of Christ’s return, believers are to lead godly lives that will not be ashamed upon His return.
Insert: It doesn’t matter if you’re pre, post, pre-wrath, or pan-trib (it’s all going to pan out in the end). He’s coming and He’s coming soon – at any moment.
Insert: This past week there was an interesting article on the front page of the USA Today entitled, America gets an ‘F’ in religion. The article was about the religious ignorance in America today in the wake of international tension interjected w/ religious indifference. It said that 60% of Americans can’t name (5) of the 10 Commandments and that 50% of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were married. The article says that America’s woeful level of religious illiteracy damages our democracy and more.
Note: It’s true. There is more at stake than just our democracy – eternity hangs in the balance! This article is a sad statement about the condition of the souls of men in the wake of the imminent return of Christ.
Note: Which brings up important question – what preparations must be made for Christ’s return? There are TWO. Some people think the only necessary preparation is to have received Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, but that would be only partially correct. While it is the most essential issue w/ regard to eternity, God also expects His people live each day in anticipation that he might return that very day. How are you living?
Note: Let’s be honest. Most people live for the moment stashing away stuff that’ll have no place in the economy of eternity – obtaining the whole world, but forfeiting their souls. If Jesus returned this moment, would He say, “Well done!” or “How dumb!” The King is coming; he’ll either be Lord or judge?
Insert: The Parable of the Talents. Two men live each day like the Master is going to return, while one man lives each day in fear of the next.
Verse: Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few… "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ Then will I declare to them, ’I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of iniquity.’ Mt. 7:13, 21-23
II Be PATIENT with People and Circumstances v. 7-11
Verse: 7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, b/c the Lord’s coming. 9Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge standing at the door! 10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Truth: We’re not born w/ patience. If you don’t believe me, just come to my house and spend a day there w/ Camden. As sweet as he is, when he’s ready to eat or to be changed, he is quick to let you know his need, and long on reminding you until he is satisfied. Patience is cultivated.
Word: patient (makrothumeo) long fused to anger or long-tempered. The word emphasizes patience w/ people rather than w/ circumstances.
Note: We’re to be patient w/ all people, but in particular, we’re to be patient w/ those in the church who are lost and don’t know it. We’re to have patience w/ those who create conflict, who have a critical spirit, who defy God’s will, and who hoard God’s blessings and steal from His people.
Don’t mistake patience for tolerance. We’re to love the sinner, but we’re not to allow their sin to run rampant and thwart the mission of God among His people and do nothing.
A The EXAMPLES
Trans: To help us understand patience and to reinforce his commission, James gives us (3) example of patience – the farmer, the prophets, and Job.
1 The FARMER – Keep Working
Note: We learn from the farmer that patience is expectant, established, and energetic.
Note: The farmer tills, sows, toils, and harvests w/ a spirit of patient expectancy. Patience doesn’t mean to sit on your hands and do nothing; it means to be actively engaged in the process of the harvest understanding that ultimately, it is all up to the providence of God. It is living responsibly by faith.
2 The PROPHETS – Keep Sharing
Note: When you consider the task of the prophet, he was called to a lonely and difficult task. I think of Jeremiah who wept b/c no one would listen. He was a voice calling out in the wilderness. Yet he was faithful to continue sharing the message of truth, waiting patiently on the Lord to pierce the hearts of men.
3 The Man – JOB – Keep Trusting
Note: The plight of Job is a case study on patiently trusting and depending on God when things don’t make sense. Few people in history have ever been sifted as Job, and yet he was faithful to patiently wait upon the Lord.
Verse: Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Gal. 6:9
B The ENCOURAGEMENTS
Trans: Living patiently involves two qualities – living persistently and positively.
1 Be PERSISTENT by Standing Firm
Word: stand firm (sterizo) meaning to strengthen, establish, or make fast. It is a word that means to draw a line in the sand and be resolute. James encourages all believers to prop themselves up w/ the hope of Christ’s return as they face difficult people and challenges in life.
Note: The idea is that we’re not simply to say, “Let go and let God,” that would be reckless. Nor are we to swing the pendulum to the opposite extreme and become so legalistic that we’re more heavenly minded than earthly good. Rather, we’re to live as if everything depends on us, knowing all the while that it absolutely depends on God.
2 Be POSITIVE by not Grumbling
Word: grumble (stenazo) to groan, mutter, and murmur; to negatively criticize.
Insert: The classic story of murmuring goes to the Israelites when they criticized Moses and Aaron about leaving Egypt, eating manna, and drinking water from a rock. They refused to trust in the Lord, so they took it out on their leaders.
Note: I know of no quicker way to injure the family of God than by sharing a grumbling and complaining spirit. It is hard to be a church on fire when you’re always being smothered by a bunch of wet blankets.
Note: As we wait for the Lord’s return, we do so by diligently striving to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness always sharing the hope of Christ w/in us.
III Be PRECISE in Your Decisions v. 12
Verse: 12Above all, my brothers, do not swear—by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.
Note: Until the Lord returns, live w/ integrity. Lost men by nature are liars and manipulators. Believers must let their ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and their ‘no’ be “no.”
Word: swear – this isn’t a reference of crude or unwholesome language, but to making promises invoking God’s name.
Note: In the O/T., the Jews had a system of swearing oaths as a means of binding agreements. By taking an oath, a person was proclaiming on God’s name that what they said was true. Only at this time, it was being overused, misused, and abused. Believers were flippantly misusing oaths to mislead others to accomplish their will.
IV Be PRAYERFUL in All Things v. 13-18
Verse: 13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
Note: If the Christian life is about knowing God, hearing his voice, and obeying His commands, then prayer is an essential spiritual disciple that must be mastered.
Insert: Most people believe in prayer, yet few really practice prayer.
Note: Paul calls believers to pray w/out ceasing – to be in a constant state of God consciousness and communication. Here, James challenges us to be prayerful in times of affliction, times of joy, and times of sickness.
Note: Until Christ returns, there are (3) aspects of prayer to exercise.
• PETITION – Pray for yourself when in trouble
• PRAISE – Celebrate God when times are good
• PLEAD – Have others pray for you when you’re sick
Insert: There are (4) four reasons for sickness which should drive us to prayer.
• SIN – the wages of sin is death and we reap what we sow.
• God working to MATURE us. (To force us to depend on Him alone)
• God giving us a CROSS to carry for His glory
• LIVING in a sinful world
Note: Conditions: (1) You must ask for prayer
(2) You must confess your sins
(3) You must seek righteousness
V Be PASSIONATE for the Souls of Men v. 19-20
Verse: 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Note: The final command we must patiently be engaged in until the Lord’s return is rescuing people from the condemnation of their sinfulness.
Insert: James isn’t referring to a Christian who is backslidden and lost their salvation (you can’t lose what God possesses). He is referring to those unbelievers in the church who think their saved, but whose lives have wandered from the call of God in pursuit of a way that seems right to them alone.
Note: James is commissioning all of us to share w/ others the truth that they might see, believe, and receive. And as I have shared w/ you before – your job is not to try to convince, convict, cajole, or convert – it is simply to convey. We’re to gently and lovingly influence and guide people to Christ and truth. Paul tells us how to accomplish this mission.
Verse: If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. Ga. 6:1-5
Note: Thus, until Christ returns, we are to be engaged in rescuing the perishing. Who wouldn’t try to rescue someone who was injured and in need of help. All of us would. There is a fate far worse than death that people need to be rescued from – it is spiritual death and eternal damnation. We who know and possess the truth have been commissioned to go into the rubble of this world to pull people from the debris of their lives and bring them to Jesus.
Concl. That’s it. James has given us a clear picture of a foolproof faith. So let me ask. After 13 weeks of reflection, is your faith foolproof or proven fooloish.
Video: An Ordinary Day – www.sermonspice.com
