SLOW COMPUTERS AND WAITING
James 5:7-12
There are certain things in life I cannot live without. My computer is one of them. And of course I need to have internet access. Because what’s the first thing I do when I get up? Check my email and see if I have any messages. Especially with the time difference because a lot of them come during the night. Remember Tokyo is 15 hours ahead of Dallas. And so I can’t wait to see who emailed me during the night. And of course I need my computer with internet access during the day because there is someone I chat with in Bangkok. Bangkok is 2 hours behind Tokyo. I was sharing with some friends in an email about my summer in Korea 20 years ago. It was exactly 20 years ago and these friends were supporters. We didn’t have cellfones and internet then. There was fax. But if we really wanted to communicate it was make an overseas fone call or write a letter. I remember a missionary friend in Baltimore writing me to tell me she was praying me. It took the letter about 7 days to get from Baltimore, Maryland to Taegu, South Korea. Give me a day or 2 to answer it and it’s another 7 days to Baltimore. Give her a day or 2 or longer to answer it and it’s another 7 days to Korea. So you see how long it takes. Of course now I hardly every write letters. I just send an email and often I might here back immediately. Imagine if I was having to do that with my friend in Bangkok.
The other night I was working on my computer, and I was trying to go to another website. It was slow. It was awfully, awfully slow. I’ve said that if you’ve seen a slow computer, you haven’t seen a slow computer until you’ve seen mine. Sometimes it is just so slow. Or other times it freezes up on me. There are certain things that are trying on my patience but I don’t think there is anything as trying on my patience as a slow computer. And after several minutes I lose the battle with patience and hit my on off switch to turn my computer off without taking the time to reboot. I don’t want to wait any longer. There is no reason for it to be so slow. Only problem is I need to start it up again and I still have to wait for it to start up. Can’t win, can I?
Life is often about waiting. Take a farmer for example. He plants and waters. Does he see his crop come up right away? No, he doesn’t. Does that mean he quits? No, it doesn’t. He waters, cultivates and waits for his crop to come up. He is patient.
James is going to talk about patience today. We are going to see 2 kinds of patience; patience in circumstances and patience in suffering. Both are necessary if we want to be mature. You keep hearing that a lot, don’t you? And you wish I’d preach something else, don’t you? Gomennasai, I’m not going to do it. But remember, if you want to be mature there are no shortcuts. It takes patience. But if you want to be mature, you are at the right place.
What are we to do in circumstances where we are forced to wait? Someone said that life is not so much about reaping rewards, it’s about sowing and cultivating. Let’s look at the example of the farmer in verse 7. And notice that while James was pretty harsh in the last message, he returns to his soft way of encouraging. Instead of condemnation, we see consolation. He uses the term “brethren” again. Last time we didn’t see him use it at all.
James 5:7 ¶ Be 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.
Go back with me 2000 years. What was everyone expecting? They were expecting Jesus to return. There was that imminency, the sense of expectation that He could return at any moment. Do we still have that expectation today? We are to be patient, wait and keep on doing good. I don’t think this means we can sit back and do nothing.
Have any of you ever been on a farm before? Have you ever worked on a farm before? Maybe we should go out to Narita and visit one of the rice farmers who love Narita Airport. I’ve never planted rice before, but I have planted flowers, fruits and vegetables. And you know that I don’t see my crop 30 minutes after planting them. I helped a friend plant bulbs once, and I decided to try it in my garden. She let me borrow her tools and I bought some bulbs and planted them. You need to plant them about 12 inches deep. She told me approximately how long it would take for me to see them sprout. I planted them and every day I watered them, and looked at them closely to see if anything had sprouted up. Finally I noticed something coming out of the ground. I was excited. Same with the farmer. He has to wait.
Now in this case the autumn rains came in October and November, and the spring rains came in March and April.
The kind of patience we are to have is that of expecting and waiting. Let the farmer be a good example for us. Remember, if we wait, we will reap in due time. I heard a message on the first chapter about faith and perseverence in suffering. The pastor shared a verse which I often think about.
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
The key here is to wait and not give up. Think of all the examples in the Bible of those who did not give up. We’ll see one of them later, but for now I’m reading about Joseph in Genesis. Are you familiar with Joseph’s story? You can read about it in Genesis 37-50. Joseph was Jacob’s youngest and favored son. The other brothers were jealous of him (remember we’ve already learned about jealousy elsewhere in this book), and sold him into slavery. He was sold to the Egyptians, but because he was faithful, you will read that the Lord was with Joseph and blessed everything he did. He became a servant to Potiphar and Potiphar made him ruler over his household. Now you all know how Potiphar’s wife tried to accuse Joseph of trying to rape her, and Potiphar threw him into jail, but the Lord was still with him and blessed everything he did. The jailers saw that and put Joseph in charge of the other prisoners. When Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and chief baker were imprisoned, they had dreams and could not understand what they mentioned. Joseph interpreted their dreams and he asked the chief cupbearer to remind Phraraoh about him. He forgot, and Joseph spent 2 more years in jail? Was he discouraged? Probably. Did he feel forgotten? I’m sure he did. But God was still with him.
When Pharaoh had a strange dream, the chief cupbearer told him about Joseph’s interpreting his dream, so Pharoah sent for Joseph to interpret the dream. Joseph was made ruler of Egypt and only Pharaoh was over him.
Do you all know the rest of the story? When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream he said there will be 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine. Joseph made sure there was plenty of grain put into storage when the famine came. And through this, he was reunited with his brothers and his father Jacob. You probably all know the verse in which Joseph told his brothers all this was OK.
Genesis 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
This is what happens when we are patient. We see God’s perspective and in time, we reap the rewards of our faith and our sowing. Think of what would happen if Joseph had not been patient; patient with his brothers, patient with Potiphar, patient with the jailer and patient with Pharaoh. Like the farmer he saw his valuable crop and in this case it was the saving of many lives including Jacob’s 12 sons and their descendants. Because remember God’s promise to Abraham? He will have a son, and through his descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. Isaiah had 2 sons, Esau and Jacob and it was Jacob who had 12 sons of whom the 12 tribes of Israel are named after.
OK, what are we to do in light of the Lord’s return? James says that in verse 8.
James 5:8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.
Don’t get discouraged. Be strong, because the Lord’s return is near. And let me also tell you just because He hasn’t returned yet, doesn’t mean He won’t. Peter puts it into perspective.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
This is why He is waiting. So let’s do like James says; be patient and stand firm. Keep on doing what you know you should be doing. You will reap the rewards like the farmer does if you are patient.
I get impatient with my computer when it’s slow, but there is another kind of patience I need; it’s when waiting in line. When I go to JP Bank to get money from an ATM, there is often a line ahead of me. Usually the customers are using the ATM to pay their bills. And all I want to do is get some money. I don’t want to wait a long time while you’re paying your bills; I just want to get my money and get out of there. I often feel like saying, “hayaku, hayaku.” I don’t. But I’m often impatient when having to wait. It gets worse than “hayaku, hayaku.” Let’s look at verse 9.
James 5:9 Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
We should not complain against one another. Now I will admit. I love the way the Japanese are so polite. Because they aren’t so polite back in my country! I was talking with a friend last week who works in telephone sales for a company selling medicines. Her clients are in the US and she tells me how rude and impatient they get. I know because it describes me! When I go to the supermarket or another store, I can always count on the line I’m in will be the slowest line. And I get impatient. Often times if the cashier is having a problem with a customer ahead of me, I will often complain, and I mean I will grumble. “What’s the holdup?” I will make it very clear to those around me that I am not at all happy with this situation. It’s not as polite as “hayaku, hayaku.” Maybe I should try that when I’m in the states and see how they respond.
James is referring to complaining against one another. This is what we are to avoid. It’s easy to blame your present circumstances on someone else. I blame that slow person ahead of me. I don’t like it. I know God is in control, but this is one time I want to be in control. I don’t like the fact that I’m not in control. So I complain. Because ultimately I am complaining against God when I do this. When we complain about others we are sitting in judgment over them, and remember there is another Judge who has the right to judge and is sitting over us in judgment. As a matter of fact, He is standing at the door.
In my country if you are in a courtroom, when the judge comes into the courtroom you will know it. That’s because the bailiff calls everyone to stand and announces the judge is entering the courtroom. We know he is standing at the door.
Do you see the expectancy of Jesus return in this book? The early church was expecting it to happen any minute. This is the same kind of expectancy we are to have. The kind of patience James is calling for is that we restrain ourselves and don’t speak against one another. If you want to hear a lot of people complaining, come to my country. One thing I miss when I go back to the states is the patience of the Japanese. They are so polite. I go into the supermarket in the US and I don’t expect to hear irashaimaseh!
Let’s now look at patience in suffering. The next 2 verses tell us the kind of patience we are to have.
James 5:10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
I won’t give any specific prophet here, just go back and read any OT prophet and you will learn examples of patience in the face of suffering. Because most of the prophets preached a message of judgment and their listeners didn’t like it. Don’t believe me? Read Jeremiah for example. But the prophets continued to speak their messages. When you think of one in the OT who really suffered, who do you think of? Job, right?
James 5:11 As 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.
I don’t think I need to retell the story of Job because every one knows it. Job was a righteous man; that’s what God said about him. And he was tested like most of us probably will never be tested. I’m not saying Job was a super saint. If you read his lament, there were times he wished he had never been born. But he still held to his innocence and believed God would see him as innocent too. If you read the book of Job, you will see times when his speech bordered on blasphemy, but he never renounced God. If you read the whole book, you will see that he was blessed in the end, because God restored him with twice as much as he lost, both his family and his possessions.
Just remember this; in times of suffering God is merciful and compassionate. He is very kind and He does care. Because when you are suffering like this what do you think? God hates me. He doesn’t care. I remember when I had to quit dental school and about 3 weeks after I got dumped by my girlfriend. I told my pastor I felt like God was trying to clamp the screws down on me until I couldn’t take any more, then He was clamping them downszx even tighter on me. In other words God really wanted to make my life miserable. If you’re experiences are telling you this, go back to this verse and remember that God will deal with you in the same way He dealt with Job; He is full of mercy and compassion. This is really a time when you need to think about what His words says, and not your circumstances. In many cases it might be Satan trying to convince you this as well.
Let me give you a few references in the OT that speak of God’s mercy and compassion.
Exodus 34:6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
Here, Moses interceded for the people who committed adultery in making God in their own image in the form of a golden calf. God wanted to destroy the people but Moses prayed asking Him not to. What a wonderful example of God’s mercy and compassion especially to those who don’t deserve it.
Nehemiah 9:17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them,
Let me just say something about Nehemiah. God showed His mercy and compassion to a people who were rebelling against them. Think of how much more compassionate and merciful He is to those who love Him!
Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
This is a prayer David prayed when he needed help and deliverance from his enemies.
Psalm 102:13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion. For it is time to have mercy on her, for the appointed time has come.
This is another prayer for help. We can expect God to show compassion because that’s what His word says about Him.
Joel 2:13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
All the OT prophets spoke God’s judgment and urged the people to repent. If they do they would see His mercy and compassion.
Jonah 4:2 He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.
If you read the book of Jonah, you know that Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh first. He went to Tarshish and was swallowed by a great fish. He repented and went to Nineveh. When he preached, the Ninevites repented. And we see for the first time, why Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh in this verse; he knew God would be gracious and compassionate if they repented. See he knew all about the character of God. He just didn’t want to see the Ninevites get it.
These are just a few good examples of the God’s mercy and compassion. He showed that in sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Do I need to quote John 3:16? Can any of you quote it for me?
But this is the kind of God we have when we are suffering. So remember He is merciful and compassionate on His children. He is not out to get us. He loves us. I don’t know why we have to suffer sometimes like we do. But when we do we need to remember God’s mercy and compassion.
Let’s finish with a warning in verse 12.
James 5:12 ¶ Above all, my brothers, do not swear-- not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.
This has to do with swearing and oaths. A month ago we got a new president in my country. Barack Obama took an oath in which he swore he would “faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and that he would preserve, protect and defind the Constitution of the United States.” He took his oath with his right hand raised and his left hand on a Bible. Even thought it is not in the Constitution, he concluded his oath as every other president has, with “so help me God.”
I don’t know how you do it in Japan, but in my country, when you are called into court as a witness, you will be asked to take an oath. You will be asked to raise your right hand, and you will be asked, “Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
This verse is telling us not to swear. Is this what James is talking about?
I don’t think that we are violating this when we take an oath like I mentioned above. As someone wrote that we are fallen beings and the court in recognition of the fact that man does not always tell the truth, needs to remind each person of this. And just so you know, if you take an oath, and tell a lie while you are under oath, it is perjury.
And President Obama took an oath, and if he fails to do what he swore to do in his oath, he can be impeached by Congress and removed from office. 2 of our presidents have been impeached; most recently Bill Clinton. Can any of you tell me who the other one was? And can any of you tell me of a president who would have been impeached and removed from office if he hadn’t resigned?
What James is talking about is that we need to be careful in how we use the Lord’s name and that we need to really mean what we say. Let me give you examples of each.
I don’t know about in your country but in mine, when we hear Jesus Christ, it is not usually in worship, but in exclamation. It can also be said as “God,” “good Lord” or “Oh my God.” Don’t believe me? What was the response of many when they saw the twin towers of the World Trade Center hit by airplanes on 11 September 2001?
This is irreverance. My sister often says Jesus Christ. She is not a Christian. You know what I respond with? Praise His Name! I saw that in a movie. I have a friend who replies with “What about Him?” when she hears it.
This kind of speech demonstrates impatience when we say that.
There is another way we use this. Have you ever heard someone say, “I swear to God” to make it sound like they’re telling the truth? Another expression I remember when I was young was, “I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles.”
Friends you don’t need to take an oath to let someone tell the truth. Instead, why don’t you do like James says, let your yes be yes and your no be no? Are you a person of your word? When you tell someone you will do something can they believe you? Or are they asking, do you really mean it? I have a friend I feel like telling her, “No you won’t” when she says she will do something. Why? Because she is not a person of her word. You don’t need to go around saying oaths like I swear to God. Just let your yes be yes and your no be no. Your word should be just as trustworthy as a signed document.
Did any of you see the movie Birdman of Alcatraz? Burt Lancaster played Robert Stroud who was sentenced to prison for murder. He is a troublemaker in prison and is sentenced to Alcatraz, a maximum security prison in San Francisco Bay. It is an island and it is almost impossible to escape because you have to swim over a mile to shore and there are strong water currents.
In Alcatraz he takes a bird for a pet, and helped the bird when it got sick. He became an authority on birds. When there was a prison riot, he convinced the warden that it was OK to put their guns down. The warden asked him, “How do I know that?” Stroud’s response was, “Because I give you my word.” The warden told the guards they could put their guns away. One of the guards asked the warden, “Are you going to believe a prisoner.” The warden’s response was, “I have known Robert Stroud for 30 years. He has been a thorn in my side. But he has never lied to me.”
Are you this kind of person? Can others take you at your word?
Do you get an urgent sense that Jesus could return at any minute from reading this book, and that you need to live like He could return at any minute? Or if you’re like me, you might think, no there’s still time. I know there are still some things I would like to see happen in my life before I die or before the Lord returns.
Last week I shared with you about my seminary professor Dr Harold Hoehner who died at 74? It was unexpected. He had come home from running, collapsed in his home and he never woke up. We often don’t think about this.
I remember 30 years ago when I went to Denton Bible Church and the pastor was preaching through the book of Revelation. One of the things I still remember being taught as a young Christian is that Christ is returning and we need to live like He is returning today. Do you want to be the kind of person James is talking about? Be patient…in circumstances and with others. Don’t complain. Always mean what you say. Then however long you have to live, you are always ready for the Lord’s return. Let’s pray.
