What Should I Do When..
James 5:13-20
Introduction
A man was watching the news one night when it was reported that a car was going the wrong direction on the freeway. The man knew his wife was on that freeway and became very concerned so called her on her cell phone. She answered and he said, "Dear, there’s one car going in the wrong direction on the freeway." She exclaimed, "One car! There are hundreds of them!"
I would hope that you would not ask this lady what you should do or how you should get there. I am afraid you might not arrive in one piece. In life there are all kinds of questions we ask of others and of God. Where should I go? Should I pursue this? Is he/she the right one? Am I the right one?
Life is full of choices and full of surprises. Life often gives us multiple opportunities and many doors to walk through and that’s when we seek wisdom from others and the Lord.
What should I do? It is one question we will ask all through life and it is one that scripture answers for us this morning.
What Should I Do When I’m...
Scripture gives us answers to the question "What should I do when......?"
When I’m in trouble?
When I’m happy (blessed)?
When I’m sick?
When I’ve sinned?
In Trouble - Pray - v.13
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.
Of course, when in trouble we pray. Of all the times we follow commands in scripture it is during times of trial. When life takes a bad turn, when we sin and we pay the consequences, we call out "Ohhhhh Lord, help me out of this pit", and expect Him to get us out of it.
I really believe we call on the Lord at times like this but we do it after we have tried to fix it ourselves. I am convinced at the moment we encounter trouble we are to go to the Lord in prayer. Don’t wait until you think it is too big for you to handle, pray at the on set of trouble and trust the Lord for the resolution.
Happy - Praise - v. 13
Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
When life is going good and everything seems to be going well, we forget about the Lord and His word. We ignore Him. Of all the wrongs we do against the Lord, it is this, "we take the credit for His doing". The warning is found in Deuteronomy 8:10-18, it says,
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
Unfortunately for the Israelites, they did not heed this warning and they suffered for it. Eventually, they lost the land AND their fellowship with God. Like wise, we forget too often that He provides and we ought to praise Him.
Truly, He is due praise and honor and glory daily just because He is the Lord. When life is going good start each day by saying, "Thank you Lord!" and acknowledge Him for who He is.
Sick - Elder Prayer Warriors - v. 14-15
Is 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.
I believe this scripture is often misunderstood. First let me say, the Lord heals physically whom He chooses and our activity does not obligate the Lord in any way. In other words, the Lord does as He wills and it is always for the best. Yes, I said always.
So gathering elders, anointing with oil, praying reverently and righteously does not obligate God nor does it mean the person will be healed. The Lord will do as He pleases it is not an automatic ticket to healing.
What about this verse then? First, the word sick means "to be weak" or "without strength" and it is from the word asthenai which is our word anesthetic. It could mean a physical or spiritual condition.
The "elders" are to be called or given the word and they are to pray. Who are they? it is the same word translated "bishop" in Timothy i.e. the pastor, or pastors technically. But today is would be the spiritual leaders of the church.
What do they do? Pray and anoint with oil. The correct translation is "keep on praying" and anoint with oil. A Jewish rabbi named Simeon said it was customary to deal with the spiritual condition of a person before dealing with the physical. "The wise men have said, No healing is equal to that which comes from the word of God and prayer." Spiritual healing through Christ’s sacrifice is the ultimate healing.
What about the oil? Oil was used in aiding the healing of a person, as we would use medicine today. It seems that James agrees that we ought to seek medicinal healing and miraculous healing from the Lord. Oil was a common method of healing by natural means. It is documented in scripture several times, most notably, the Good Samaritan. Oil is not a means to supernatural power nor does it have power to move the Lord to heal.
Some I have encountered will not seek medical help thinking that the Lord will heal them. It is a dangerous risk.
A construction worker on the job site fell one day. He landed on his back and hurt himself badly. He told the boss he would finish and leave to get help and come back.
Well the pain eased a bit and because the job required him to not miss work he ignored medical help and went to work the next day. Each day he would pray for strength and take massive amounts of Tylenol just to get through work.
He started to pick up a heavy load a few days after the accident when suddenly it fell out of his hands. His boss chided him and he tried again. It fell out of his hands again. He couldn’t lift anything because it simply slipped out of his grip.
His boss knew he was a hard worker and he sent him to his doctor it to see if he was taking advantage of the accident injury. Within hours he was on the operating table to repair the damage, and ultimately save his life.
He had been working with a broken back. He tried to deal with the situation without seeking medical help and it almost cost his life. When trouble or hardship comes our way we need to call upon the Lord and immediately seek medical help.
In Sin - 15-16
If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
It means that if sin is the root cause of your illness then confess your sins and be forgiven and pray again for healing. Are there sins that cause illness? Yes! Sin causes worry, sin causes bad habits to wreak havoc in our lives, sin causes mental disorders, sin is a root that leads to destruction not only spiritually but physically as well.
For the believer, sin causes a conflict in our soul. It breaks our fellowship with Almighty God. The Holy Spirit can no longer fill us because sin has taken hold. Our power and hope for living is blurred through the sinful eye. Literally, our love, hope, peace, and power are suddenly diminished because of sins consequences. Confess, agree with God, and be fully restored to the Lord.
Should we confess our sins to one another? Only those "one another’s" we can trust absolutely. "Confession is good for the soul". It is because it brings out the darkness into the light.
Assurances v. 16-18
What assurances do we have that the Lord will hear and deliver us in these circumstances? He gives us two examples of what takes place when we pray and trust him.
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
In a survey of pastors pornography has taken over as the number one sin. Why, because it can be hidden from all on the internet. The statistics are staggering. But if acknowledged then accountability can bring the sin to light to be dealt with properly.
How diminished is the power of the Lord because pastors are not fully committed to Him? What would happen in this country alone if pastors did God’s will without the effects of hidden sin in their lives? There might be a great revival if pastors, myself included, became serious about sin and its destructive hell-bound influence and called upon members to lived the called life in Christ.
The promise or observation here is that one who is right with the Lord or righteous is a prayer powerhouse or what we call a prayer warrior. Their prayers bring about the will of God in their lives and in the lives of others.
Example of a Righteous Man
Elijah 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.
We are like Elijah in the Old Testament. We are redeemed by the blood of Christ, sons and daughters of God, filled with the Spirit, and have access to God Almighty so we are like Elijah! Our prayers avail much because our Lord loves us and desires the best for us as His children.
A missionary came to church on Sunday. He was in Africa for several years. The question was asked, "What was your most harrowing time?" His answer was, "During the summer". We were all surprised. We3 thought he would say natives, wars, snakes or some other terrible thing but summer?
He explained that during the summer people take vacations and not only do they miss church but they also fail to pray for missionaries. That is their most dangerous time. Prayer avails much.
Ultimately we are to pray for one another so that we might live the life of Christ where ever we are and in what ever circumstances. Pray for one another is constant in the believers life. In the church it is one way we minister to each other and encourage one another. It is the method whereby we enter into the presence of the Lord to seek His will in our lives and in the lives of others.
These passages ultimately imply that we are to acknowledge in prayer and praise our Lord all day long. Paul even commands us to "pray without ceasing." We are to go through our day in constant conversation with the Lord. My mentor pastor years ago suggested that I put a chair in the room and acknowledge that the Lord is with me everywhere and all the time. He is even here today and He wants that relationship with you.
Invitation
