Patience – the Why and the How
James 5
CHCC: November 28, 2010
INTRODUCTION:
When my wife heard I was preaching about patience today, she started laughing … for some reason … It made me think of an old saying: "Patience is a virtue; attain it if you can; seldom in a woman … never in a man." Patience has never been my favorite virtue. I certainly never prayed for it! Therefore, as I begin this message today I come before you as a fellow struggler. I admit I need patience, but I cannot claim to be an expert in patience. Therefore, fellow strugglers, let us take a look in James 5 to see what James wants to teach us all about patience.
Anyone who wants to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is going to need to grow in patience. James ends his book by talking about WHY we can have patience and HOW we can have patience no matter what troubles we face.
When James calls Christians to a life of patience, he doesn’t sugar-coat it and try to tell them that things weren’t really so bad. Many of the early Christians were suffering because of the greed of others. Many were slaves. Others were terribly poor because they had been forced out of their homes by persecution. Their homes and belongings had been confiscated by the Roman government and they’d been reduced to desperate circumstances.
James doesn’t pull any punches. He says, Now, listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. In verses 5 & 6 James goes on to give this stinging attack against ill-gotten gain: You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. James 5:1, 5-6
It’s hard to be patient when it seems like the bad guys are winning. It doesn’t take much looking around to notice that the richest and most powerful people are not often the kindest and wisest people. In fact, people who are ruthless, deceitful, and out-and out immoral often seem to come out on top. It was true in the first century and it’s true today. Too often it seems like bad things happen to GOOD people and good things happen to BAD people.
In the middle of a world that is often cruel and unfair, James says, Be patient, then, brothers … and stand firm! (vs. 7,8)
WHY? Because the Lord’s coming is near … the Judge is at the door. (vs. 8, 9)
1. The WHY of Patience
The Why of Patience is because we know perfect justice WILL be done one day. Jesus is coming again in power and he will put everything right. James compares it to a Farmer who can wait patiently in spite of drought and weeds because he knows that one day the Harvest will come.
It’s easy to think, yeah, that’s right! Those greedy rich people will get what they have coming on Judgment Day. But when you stop and think about it, James wrote this letter to the Church. When he said, “You rich people,” he was addressing wealthy Christians.
With the weak American economy we have right now, most people have seen their financial situation get worse rather than better. But the truth is that our standard of living is still so high that even average Americans are some of the richest people who have ever lived on the planet. If you’ve ever traveled to a third-world country, you know this is true!
So, considering that, even those of us who don’t think of ourselves as “rich” might want to take a look at some of the warnings James gave. To start with, we need to remember that putting confidence in money is a big mistake. James 5:2-3 says, Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. Your god and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.
In vs. 3 James says it’s wrong to hoard wealth. There’s nothing wrong with saving money, but there’s a difference between saving and hoarding. Savings are meant to provide for the predictable needs your family may have in the future. Hoarding means to hold tightly to money that should be used for good purpose. Hoarding is to hang on to money that you legitimately owe to someone else. Vs. 4 says, Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. It’s wrong to hoard money that belongs to someone else … whether it’s an employee or a credit company … or to the government in taxes.
And certainly, the most important debt we owe is to God. The first thing we should do with our pay check is to set aside our tithes. We can also set aside a percentage of money to help people in need. When you do this, it’s amazing how God will show you people that you can bless with your help. That’s the best guard you can put up against the temptation of hoarding your money.
We know that when the final Day of Judgment comes, everything wrong will be put right. James says, 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, because the Lord's coming is near. 9Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
I remember an Old Testament passage a lot like this one. In the King James vernacular Psalm 37 said the same thing 3 times, “Fret not thyself.” I would sometimes admonish Susan with those exact words. (It helps if you say it with a Southern accent). The passage warned against fretfulness over evil-doers, and for the same reason as the James passage I just quoted. God is witnessing what is going on and will judge the whole situation. God will straighten everything out. Be patient, It will work out for good in the end.
Then he says to look to the prophets as examples of how to have patience in suffering. And he points to the example of Job. If you remember the account of Job’s life, you know that everything went wrong …he lost his health, his children were killed, his possessions were destroyed, his friends turned on him, and even his wife eventually advised him to just give up and “curse God and die.” But in spite of every calamity known to man, Job refused to sin by turning away from God. And in the end, God restored to Job all that he had lost and then some.
If you’re going through times of trouble, James says to remember Job. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:11
12Above 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. I’m not quite sure why James inserted this statement about swearing into a section dealing with patience, except to say that it is often by our words that we reveal our impatience. Having just spoken about grumbling in verse 9, it is possible for an impatient person to resort to swearing oaths to attempt to change the situation by coercing others to do things the impatient person wants done. People swear oaths in an attempt to get others to think they are telling the truth. It’s kind of like a boy saying “cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” James admonishes us to simply be truth tellers by nature, then oaths will never be required. James here is echoing Jesus in the sermon on the mount (Matt. 5:12-17).
No matter what troubles we have in life --- even when it seems like the bad guys are winning and the good guys are losing --- we can wait with patience. You see, we know the end of the story. We know the day is coming when all evil-doers will be judged and the righteous will be richly rewarded.
That’s WHY we can have Patience. Then James goes on in his practical way to show HOW we can have patience no matter what.
2. The HOW of Patience
Vs 13 says, Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. In other words, no matter what comes our way, we should always have the same response: turn to God with our requests and our praise.
James goes on to explain that those who are sick should call for the elders to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
If someone is struggling with sin, James says to confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. Then James assures us that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. In other words, when we pray for each other, it makes a real difference!
The example James used to illustrate this was the prophet Elijah. God answered Elijah’s prayers by changing the weather patterns. We hear a lot of claims that human activity is affecting global weather lately, but this is a case I know of where one man’s decision to PRAY brought about an immediate change in the weather. Elijah prayed for drought and the rains stopped for 3 years. Then he prayed for rain and a cloud rose up on the horizon immediately, bringing the needed rain.
That kind of miracle would impress anyone. But there’s a greater kind of miracle. In verse 20, James says, remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Sending rain to end a 3 year drought is impressive, but restoring a sinner to a right relationship with God is truly miraculous. It’s what God does on the inside of us that really matters in the long run.
CONCLUSION:
Let me just sum it up for you.
Are you having troubles? Pray
Are you having good times? Sing
Are you sick? Pray
Struggling with sin? Pray
Concerned about others? Pray
In other words, here’s the HOW of patience:
* Pray
* Sing
* Pray
* Pray
* And Pray
