Faith in all Circumstances
James 5:13-20
A Person of Faith who is…
In Trouble should Pray (v.13a)
Happy should Praise (v. 13b)
Sick should Call (v.14-15a)
In Sin should Confess (v. 15b-18)
Faithful should Preach (v. 19-20)
Slide
We finish up our series “James – Real Faith for Real Life” today. James has been a great book and I hope that it has challenged and helped you to live out your faith in real life.
The overarching theme of James is the reality of our faith is shown in how we act. And I would say one of the sub themes of that I would say is that our faith, or lack thereof, is shown by what comes out of our mouths and off our tongues.
In every chapter of James, he writes about things that should not be coming out of the mouth of a person of faith.
In Chapter 1, James tells us that our tongue should be slow to speak (1:19)
In Chapter 2, James tells us to not be hypocritical with our tongues by speaking words of comfort without works that comfort.
In Chapter 3, James tells us that the tongue is wicked and that it is often used to curse men and that those who teach need to be very careful because they will be judged on the teaching that comes from their tongue
In chapter 4, James tells us that the quarreling that comes from our tongues, really reveals our evil desires. (4:1-2). He also tells us to not slander with our tongues (4:11) or speak presumptuously about the future like we control it (4:13-17)
James shows that a false faith or a faith that needs to grow can be checked with what comes out of our mouths. But a real faith can also be checked with what comes out of our mouth.
In this last part of Chapter 5,(James 5:13-20, turn there)
Slide
James wraps things up with 5 things that should be coming from the tongue of someone who has a real faith.
Let’s read James 5:13-20 and see what the Lord tells us through James that should be coming out of the mouth of a person of faith.
James 5:13-20
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 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. 15 And 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. 16 Therefore 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.
17 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. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (NIV)
Pray.
Ok, James talks about some different circumstances of life that each of us will face and what should be coming out of the mouth of a person of faith who finds themselves in those circumstances.
First, he tells us that
A Person of Faith who is…
In Trouble should Pray
Slide
James 5:13a - Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. (NIV)
The word that is translated as “trouble” in the NIV, could also be translated as “suffering.”
In times of trouble and suffering, James tells us that it is not complaining and whining to others, grumbling with our tongues (James told us in 5:9, “Don’t grumble against each other”) but instead, we need to be praying to the Lord with our tongues so we can be strengthened and endure.
Paul uses this same word when he tells Timothy in
2 Timothy 4:5 to “endure hardship.”
Everyone of us are going to face times of trouble, times of suffering.
James told us at the beginning of this letter to take joy in trials because they produce perseverance which God uses to mature and complete us so we don’t lack anything.
We see that most of the writers of the Bible went through extreme suffering.
Paul suffered.
He told Timothy that he was going to suffer and that he should endure.
We all will face circumstances that bring suffering into our life.
Being a Christian and following the Lord’s will does not mean that we will not suffer.
On the contrary, it for sure means we will suffer in this life.
Paul also told Timothy that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).
Slide
That is one of the reasons that the Lord has given us the ability to speak to Him, to pray. So that we will turn to Him in times of trouble and suffering and rely on Him and He is able to strengthen us to His glory and to our ultimate benefit as He matures and completes us.
God is able to give us peace in the midst of our suffering.
Philippians 4:6-7
Slide
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
A person of faith will be praying when they face trouble and suffering and when we do, God is glorified as we experience peace in the midst of it when the world would be complaining and whining.
Apply
How do you deal with trouble?
Are you responding to it in prayer with your tongue or complaining?
That is a test to show us areas we may need to grow in or maybe even, it is showing us the reality, or falseness, of our own faith.
Transition
Let’s see what else James has to say about what should be coming off our tongues.
We see also that
A Person of Faith who is…
Happy should Praise
Slide
James 5:13b - Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. (NIV)
The word translated as songs of praise is where we also get the word Psalms, which are pieces of music or sacred songs.
It is amazing to me how songs can express our emotions in ways that mere words cannot.
And for the most part, singing is joyful.
We have heard it said, “I am so happy I could sing.”
But we shouldn’t just sing. We should be singing songs of praise to Him who is the Sovereign God, the One that has poured out blessing in our life in such a way that we are blessed and recognize it.
He is the provider of every good and perfect gift.
He is the One who meets our needs when we seek his kingdom and righteousness.
He is the One who paid the price for our sins so we might experience eternal life.
He is the One who has brought circumstances into our life so we can rejoice in them.
Don’t just sing, sing praises to Him.
Chris Tomlin – “How can I Keep from Singing”
I love the Chris Tomlin song, “How can I keep from singing”
How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing
It is when we focus on His love and what He has done in providing salvation, our times of suffering can change to times of joy and happiness and it makes our hearts want to sing.
Paul and Silas in Philippian Jail
I love the story of Paul and Silas when they were in Philippi. As they were preaching the gospel, some of the people caused an uproar.
Acts 16:22-25
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
They were beaten and flogged and suffering, but they prayed and the Lord strengthened them and gave them peace and brought them to a place of joy and happiness where they were singing hymns to the Lord.
So often in our society, people are focused on what they don’t have. As Christians, we need to focus on what the Lord has given us and rejoice and sing praises to the One who has provided for us.
God can strengthen us even in the midst of trouble and suffering so that we are joyful and can sing His praises even when our circumstances, from a worldly view, should not be joyful.
Sing praise to the King. Give Him the glory for what He has done. Remember that everything we have is from Him.
Transition
Trouble and happiness are not the only circumstances we will find ourselves in.
Sometimes we are going to experience sickness.
James tells us that
A Person of Faith who is…
Sick should Call
Slide
James 5:14-15a - 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. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. (NIV)
Now in this verse here, the first word translated sick, indicates that it is a person who is very sick physically and in a very weakened condition, without any strength. It is not a person who has a cold.
Perhaps this person is so sick they can barely even concentrate in prayer themselves.
They should call for the elders of the church and the elders stand in the gap for this sick person and pray for him.
Now this is not a blanket promise of healing for anyone who calls the elders and offers up prayers in faith.
I do believe that anyone who is very sick and weakened should be calling the elders of the church to pray for them and anoint them.
But the problem with our American translations in this verse is that the second word translated as “sick” is a different word than the first word translated as “sick.”
They do both mean sick, but the first is talking more of a physical sickness and the second is talking about the weariness that may come from sickness or toil or some burden.
I believe this weariness and sickness here is due to a specific circumstance.
Yes, God can heal every sick person if it be His will, but I believe the promise here is specific for those who have been wearied and weighed down and made sick because of their sin.
Look at the last part of verse 15.
James 5:15b
If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
If a person who is sick and has been made that way due to sin in their life, if they call for the elders of the church and by the prayers of the elders and the anointing of oil, which I believe is actually used but is symbolic for the Holy Spirit, and their sin is shown to them and they confess, they will be healed.
That is the promise that I believe is made here.
It is for those who are sick due to sin, not that all the sick should not be calling for the elders and having them pray, and I believe, in the Lord’s will, that healing can come, but I think this promise is only for those who are sick because of sin and recognize their sin and confess and repent.
Transition
Then James continues more generally in this direction in verse 16 saying
James 5:16
Slide
16 Therefore 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.
That is another thing that needs to be coming off our tongues.
A Person of Faith who is…
In Sin should Confess
Now this is not just confession to the elders, but he says that we should confess to each other and pray.
We need to have a person in our lives that we can be open and honest with and accountable to.
A person we give permission to ask us hard questions.
A person that we are close enough to, to confess our sins and have them be praying for us and with us.
We are all going to face times when we sin. We need to confess not only to God, but to someone else as well so that we can have help in overcoming sin and to be praying for us.
Sin is a hindrance to our relationship with the Lord and hinders our prayers from being heard.
The Lord told Israel through Isaiah in
Isaiah 1:15
Slide
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. (from New International Version)
Why? It was because of their sin.
But John tells us in
1 John 1:9
Slide
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (from New International Version)
The Lord purifies us from unrighteousness and restores the righteousness we received by the blood of Jesus for our daily living.
Peter – feet washing
This is like when the Lord was washing the disciples feet and Peter did not want his feet washed. Jesus said that if you don’t you have no part with me. Then Peter said, then not just my feet, but my hands and head as well.
John 13:10 - Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean.
If we have trusted Christ and received Jesus as our Savior, we are clean in terms of our eternity and standing before the Lord in regards to our eternal life.
But as we go through this life, we are going to sin and we need to confess that sin, have our feet washed so to speak, so that we can continue walking in righteousness and that our prayers and our physical life are not hindered by the unrighteousness of sin.
And when we do, we are cleansed and restored and our prayer life can be powerful and effective.
Look at the example James gives in the next verses.
James 5:16b-18
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17 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. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (NIV)
When we confess our sins, he cleanses us from unrighteousness, he makes us righteous and then when we pray for one another, our prayer is powerful and effective just like Elijah’s.
Confession of sin and prayer go hand in hand.
So a person of faith needs to be confessing their sin.
Transition
Finally, James ends with one last thing that the faithful should be doing with their tongue and this I believe is our greatest privilege and responsibility.
A Person of Faith who is…
Faithful should Preach
Slide
James 5:19-20 - 19 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (NIV)
God’s desire is for everyone to know and live in the truth of His word and the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Paul tells Timothy in
1 Timothy 2:3 that “God …4wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (NIV)
And he wants you and me to share that truth with others.
Paul tells us in Romans, speaking about people who have not yet heard the gospel,
Slide
14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15)(NIV)
We need to know the truth and be able to share the truth with those who are perishing.
This is the greatest use of our tongue and a person of faith needs to be growing in faithfulness to be able to share the truths of God’s word and the gospel of Jesus Christ in loving ways.
Conclusion
To be able to do this, to be able to use our tongues as people of faith, to tell others of the truth of the gospel, is going to require that we are praying and confessing sin so we are being cleansed of unrighteousness and we can effectively be used of the Lord to share this awesome truth and have the privilege leading someone else into eternal life instead of the eternal death, the separation, that awaits all those who die without the Lord.
To be able to use our tongues as people of faith requires that we are a person of faith.
Not just of faith in general, but faith in Jesus Christ.
If you have not yet placed your faith in Jesus Christ, making a conscious decision to receive Him as your Savior, submitting yourself to Him, then you need to do that.
John 1:12 tells us that “all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”
And
Romans 10:9 tells us that “if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
If you have never made a conscious decision to receive Jesus as your Savior, if you have not confessed Him as Lord believing in His death for your sins and His resurrection from the dead, why don’t you do that today if you believe in Him and recognize your need for Him to save you from your sins and give you eternal life.
I am going to lead in a prayer. If you have never received Him then why not do that now.
And if you have recognized that you have not been using your tongue as a person of faith, then repent, and confess that this morning and be cleansed so your prayers can be powerful and effective and you can be used to save others from a multitude of sins.
God wants each one of us to be living a Real Faith for Real Life.
Let’s pray
