OPEN: What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.
So here we are, the first Sunday in a brand new year. We’ve made the transition from celebrating the joy of Christmas to facing the reality of a new year and all the uncertainties it holds for all of us.
As you think of all the potential things that might come your way in 2011, what you are most focused on? Do you face this New Year with joy and anticipation and hope, or dread and anxiety? What’s on your mind as you plunge into this year? From my experience most people will have three things that will preoccupy their thoughts today. It seems like it’s the same three things every January:
Fat, Finances and the Future.
It may not necessarily be in that order. But chances are you are worried about one or all of these this morning. Now if that’s what’s on your mind this morning, we want to let you know that we’ve got you covered on all three bases as you head into 2011.
If it’s fat that you’re worried about, we have a group that meets weekly called Divine Design. God has a Divine Design for everyone, but if your design has gone a little beyond God’s original blueprint, this group is tailor made just for you. It meets every Saturday at 10:00AM starting on the 15th Now if the issue is finances -- we’ve got a class, which meets every Sunday morning to help you understand how to get your finances back in shape. Gary R. will be leading a class on Developing a Biblical Perspective on Money downstairs at 9:00AM each Sunday. Now if it’s the uncertainty concerning future that you’re fixed upon -- well there’s a great resource that we can offer you in that area this morning. And that’s what we are going to be talking about today in the book of James -- the greatest resource that we can offer in that area is to remind you of the power and the wisdom of being a person of prayer. Martin Luther said, "As it is the business of tailors to make clothes and of cobblers to mend shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray." What is prayer all about?
Prayer Is First And Foremost An Expression Of Our Love And Trust In God
So often we can reduce prayer to a task or a duty that we perform for God. Prayer is supposed to be an expression of our love for God -- an expression our devotion for God. The most natural part of a love relationship is demonstrated by just wanting to spend time together and talk with one another. You want to talk with the one you love. Is prayer about that for you? Are you just so in love with God that you can’t help but talk to him all the time?
- When something great happens to you or something tragic happens to you during the course of your day, who do you call? You call the person you love, right? Let’s just say you were heading out to run some errands and you pull up to a stop light and when you begin to pull out, another car runs the light going in the opposite direction and rams you right in the middle of the intersection. You’re shook up but not injured. You pick up your cell phone. Now who are you going call? The person you love the most right? Whenever there is good news or bad news, the first person you want to tell is the person you are in love with. Let’s take a look at what James teaches us about prayer.
Pray For Yourself: When You Are Suffering
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. (James 5:13)
Depending on the translation you are using the word "trouble" might be translated as "suffering," it might be translated as "afflicted." (that’s how the KJV translates it) Now this is the only place in the entire N.T. where this word for "trouble" is used. Now the question that needs to be asked here is this: What kind of trouble is he talking about? The key to the interpretation of any passage is always the context. Context is the environment of thought in which a given passage is contained. Without context, there is no way to understand each other as we communicate, right? I can say, "I went over." You have no way of understanding what I am talking about. I might have gone over to the neighbor’s house, I might have gone over the hill. I might have gone over to another political party. I might have went over my allotted time to speak. The only way to understand what I mean is to have a context. Every passage of Scripture has an environment of thought in which it exists and makes sense.
Think about the context in which this passage is written: When we started this book, we learned that James is writing this letter to an assembly of Jews. James is the half-brother our Lord, and he is the pastor of a church in Jerusalem. So he’s writing to those in his flock, but he is also writing to a broader group - those who were scattered abroad. Those who have been scattered out of Palestine, out of Jerusalem by the persecutions of Acts 7 and 8, we call that the dispersion, or the diaspora. And here is a group of Jews living in an assembly, naming the name of Christ, somewhere in the Mediterranean area, we don’t know where but there would have been plenty of places they could locate in the Mediterranean region, in Asia Minor or some such place. Now what is happening to them as they attempt to live out their faith -- they are facing hostility. They are under tremendous stress. And we’ve talked about that as we’ve come towards the end of this letter. James is writing to them in the midst of the stress and hostility and persecution and temptations and trials that the world is bringing to bear on them. They are facing pressure from the outside and pressure on the inside (facing their own temptations) They are being tested in every way. James has been teaching them how to endure -- how to persevere -- how to move forward despite the stress and persecutions and the troubles they are facing. How to do without caving in to their own ideas and their plans -- how to stay the course.
Now what he is doing here is returning to that same overarching theme one more time. "Is anyone of you in trouble?" "Is anyone of you suffering?" Then pray. These verses are all about one subject, prayer. Prayer is mentioned in every single verse...from verse 13 through verse 18.
In the midst of your trouble and pressures and uncertainties, remember you have unlimited divine resource. You go to God. Pray.
You got trouble? Don’t think you have to face it on your own -- don’t respond like you have no resource or limited resource or few resources. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Rom. 8:32)
You see James wants to remind us that we don’t rely on earthly resource for the troubles we face. Don’t rely on earthly wisdom, Go to God. Don’t rely on human tradition -- Go to God. And for goodness sake, don’t rely on your own ideas -- Go to God & Pray. James’ great concern is that his people’s spiritual vision has been affected by their troubles. Instead of seeing everything that God has resourced his children with, they have begun to focus on their problems.
When you fix your focus on your problems instead of focusing on Jesus -- your vision is distorted. You don’t see life as it truly is with Christ. That out of his glorious riches we are strengthened with power this His Spirit. That Christ dwells within our hearts through faith. That we are rooted and established in His love. The Bible says we need to focus on the reality of how long and wide and high and how deep is His love and to know that this love that he has given us surpasses knowledge and is filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. That he is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us. You see what James is trying to do is get his readers to see life as it really is with Christ. If fact -- perhaps one of the great themes of the entire Bible is to get us to see what life really is - with Christ. If you don’t get this -- you’re going to live a defeated life. (And chances are, you’re going to infect the defeat you are experiencing into the lives of those within your sphere of influence.) But if you can see life as it is -- you’re going to face your troubles and trails and pressures and uncertainties with confident faith. You’re going to be infused with power and God’s wisdom and counsel - you’re going to be led into victory. and that’s what you’ll plant in the hearts of people around you. But you’ve got to pray.
Now what James is addressing are those who have become casualties of the battle -- who are suffering. The weak believers, the defeated believers, the ones who have started loosing victory in their spiritual lives, the fallen soldiers, the seriously wounded in the fray and that’s how it is out there. You’ve experienced it, haven’t you? Sometimes it’s more than you can take and the battle gets hot and heavy and your spirit is broken. And somebody has crushed you. It is a passage about healing spiritual weakness, spiritual weariness, spiritual exhaustion, spiritual depression -- and that calls for spiritual means, namely what? Prayer. The word here in the Greek means a continual pleading. When life isn’t going the way it ought to go and you’re weary with the battle and you’re weak in faith and you’ve begun to sort of get crushed under the whole thing, continually plead to God for comfort and strength. ( Ill. of balsa wood airplane. If it’s going to fly the rubber band needs rewound.)
Pray When You Experience Success
Notice he gives the same prescription when you are on the other side of the spectrum. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
Some translation use the word cheerful instead of happy. It means "anyone who is well in spirit" Anyone who has a happy, cheerful attitude. You’re on top not on the bottom. It’s a person who is in contrast to the first. On the one hand you have the suffering soul. On the other hand you have the happy soul. On the one hand you have the wounded broken spirit. On the other hand, you have the whole, rejoicing spirit. One is singing praise, the other is pleading for comfort and strength and guidance. He uses a beautiful Greek word, psalloto from which the word "psalms" comes. Literally he says, "Let him psalm." When we are in the deepest of trouble, it’s not hard to remember to turn to God, but when we are on the mountaintop, we have a tendency to forget who gave it to us. Here we are reminded not to forget! Sing songs of praise!
What he addressing in both situations is the orientation of the heart. If you’re in deep spiritual pain, and your soul is broken, pray. Keep you heart focused heavenward. If your soul is rejoicing, and your heart is filled with joy - give praise. Pray for yourself - Keep you heart focused heavenward. Suffering should drive you to prayer. Blessings should drive you praise & prayer. In either situation, God calls you to remain prayerful.
Call Leaders to Pray Over You - When You Face Sickness
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. (James 5:14)
- The issue is this -- what does James mean when he ask the question: "Is anyone of you sick?" Astheneo may refer to physical sickness, it may and it is so used in the New Testament, but all Greek dictionaries agree that its primary meaning is to be weak, to be feeble, to be impotent -- to lack strength -- it literally means weakness- throughout the New Testament -- that is the way it is used. Let me show you:
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
This is a very interesting use of this same word. Paul is talking about his persecutions, about his difficulties. And he says that he has a thorn in the flesh which he prayed that God would take away. And He never did. God said in verse 9, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. That word "weakness" is exactly the same word James uses in chapter five; "Is any of you sick?" Then in verse 10 he uses this same word again, astheneo, "That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties." In other words, this same word used here for the weaknesses that come in human flesh as a result of the difficulties of life. It is a term then that mostly in the epistles and in the book of Acts has to do with spiritual weakness. This is sickness of heart. And that fits perfectly with the context of the passage, doesn’t it?
Call For Leaders of the Church to Pray For You When You Feel Weak:
Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make them well; the Lord will raise them up.
If you’re spiritually weak, you want to go to someone who is what? Spiritually strong. So who would you go to? Verse 14, "Let him call for the elders of the church." If you’re stuck down inside a hole -- you’re going to call for help from someone who isn’t in the hole with you, right? Go to the elders of the church. Why? Because they’re the spiritual strength that you need. Go to the elders of the church, they’re the overseers - the spiritually strong. Go to the spiritually strong, those who are victorious, those who are patiently enduring. Draw on their strength. "Call"- the word call means "to come alongside of" It is to come alongside the wounded warriors, the broken soldiers, the broken hearted people who are at the bottom and they don’t even have the strength to call on God out of their own heart.
Do you see the difference between this person and the person in the first category? The person in the first category is facing trouble and pressure and uncertainty. The person in this category is beyond that -- this person is overwhelmed by the trouble and pressure or uncertainty. They are beyond being able to cry out on their own. They are experiencing more than brokenness -- they are broken. Broken-hearted. Now that sense of being overwhelmed might be caused by a physical ailment. That’s the traditional way that this verse is normally interpreted. If someone has a grave illness, you call the elders. They come anoint you with oil and pray over you with the intent purpose of calling for physical healing. And there is nothing wrong with that interpretation -- except that it’s not exclusively limited to physical healing. What I want you to understand is the real emphasis here is on a heart that is sick -- not on a physical body. James’ intended purpose is to lead his people in renewed spiritual vision and spiritual resource. God doesn’t always heal the physical body. It’s not always his plan to heal the physical. It is always his plan to heal the spiritual. That’s the context and that’s the real goal here.
What about anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord? aleipho, it means to rub or oil. The best way to translate this would be, rubbing him with oil in the name of the Lord. It doesn’t mean dotting his forehead with a little dab of oil. It means rubbing. Literally means to crush over. It’s used of an outward anointing of the body. literally the text says, "After having oiled him." It means "rubbing in" as opposed to "a little dab will do you." Interestingly, the root word means "to grease." You mean you come and see the pastor and he oils you down? Do we open up a massage parlor in the church and the elders are the ones that give the rub downs?
Now one thing that’s interesting about this word is that it is never used in a ceremonial sense. (I.E. the RCC church has a sacrament called Extreme Unction (Last Rites) where the priest comes when a person is dying he anoints a person’s head with a tiny bit of oil and prays over them dispensing sanctifying grace so that through this ceremony the person’s sins are absolved before he dies. The word is never used to refer to a special ceremonial anointing but to more everyday use. People anointed themselves after a bath. And it literally could refer to washing someone. It was used with wine, you remember in Luke 10:34, the good Samaritan put wine and oil on the man? The wine, because it fermented and had alcohol cleansed the wounds. And then the oil soothed him. Psalm 23 says "you anoint my head with oil" What’s that mean? When the shepherd brought all the sheep in to the little fold on the hillside after they had grazed all day, he put his staff down in front of the little entry and only one sheep went through at a time. And as one sheep went through, he put it down it down on the ground and examined it. He checked over the whole body. Wherever there was a wound, he poured oil and soothed it. Wherever the skin was parched, he rubbed it soft and then let the sheep go in. That’s the leader’s ministry. it’s a ministry of caring and compassion - of restoration. Oil was good for a topical or external application. Athletes were often rubbed down with oil because of the soreness of their muscles.
Listen: the oil is a reminder -- it is not magical in itself. It posses no real healing capabilities -- therefore it has to be understood to represent something else. I prefer the view that the oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who is the divine agent in healing. Throughout the Bible, oil is a symbol of the soothing, empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit. James says that it is the prayer of faith that heals, not the oil, but obviously, it is not prayer, but God, to whom we pray, who heals
This is really defining the ministry of spiritual leaders in the church -- they are to have a ministry of comfort, encouragement and restoration.
The People Call for the Leaders to Come
- When you are overburdened, overwhelmed, wounded, brokenhearted (physically & spiritually)
The Leaders Respond and Pray
- Through compassionate prayer soothing and restoring the one who is facing potential defeat.
This is really a verse that tells how the church is supposed to work. A ministry of praying over the soldiers in the Lord’s army that’s been taking the hits from the enemy. Leaders are called to come and pray for the wounded, broken, pained, weak, weary, exhausted soldiers who were out there fighting the battle. They come alongside, get on their knees and pray with the spiritual strength that they have in behalf of that dear person. And in compassion reach out to strengthen, stimulate, bind up the broken heart and even minister to the wounds. That’s the ministry of love. That’s the ministry of comfort and care and compassion. Somehow we’ve lost that. Somehow leadership in a local church means listening and responding to the complaints of the people or putting together vision statements or making decisions and attending endless meetings and working through all the power plays. That’s not the ministry of leadership described here.
And the prayer offered in faith will make them well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.(James 5:15)
What’s James saying here? the prayer offered in faith by those godly men will restore the one who is weary and has lost heart. Spiritual restoration...spiritual strength. -- the Lord will raise them up. He will restore the weary. Now when he’s talks about forgiveness here -- he’s not not talking about the elders praying for people and their sins being forgiven. There’s not consistent with what we learn in the rest of the Bible. Forgiveness doesn’t come through any man -- it comes exclusively through Jesus Christ. Look down at the next few verses of this chapter and you’ll understand what James is saying: In that environment of crying out to God and confessing your need, He’ll forgive you. You’ll experience that forgiveness. If possibly sin on his part has been the contributer to his weakness and his weariness, this act of coming to the leaders to confess that weakness, that defeat, that need for strength will cause prayers of confession to rise and the sin will be forgiven. And if there’s any sin, that’s essential to full restoration.
Pray For Each Other When Sin Infects Your Spiritual Health
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
OK, So here’s the question I have on this verse: When James says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective -- to whom is he referring? He’s referring to the person who confessing their sin, right? He says, confess your sin to one another -- and pray for each other so that you will be healed. And again, he’s not referring to physical healing -- he’s talking about spiritual healing. "Confess you sin" -- be honest about your spiritual sickness so you can be healed. Now when you do that -- you become a righteous person who can pray with power and effectiveness. This is not saying the leaders of the church are righteous, so you go to them because they have powerful and effective prayer lives -- that may be true or it may not be. Hopefully it is, but that’s not really the issue here. The real concern is that you become a righteous person (by confessing your sin) and thereby have powerful and effective prayers. God’s great concern is that you be healed of spiritual sickness.
Now James is specifically addressing the congregation here, right? And this is what he says: Don’t wait till you get to the bottom. Maintain a relationship with other believers that you’re always praying for one another. Satan wants you alone, did you know that? He wants your sin to isolate you. Every time you withdraw and isolate yourself you are playing right into his hands. You’re playing his game. In your pride you want to keep your sin a secret. Sin doesn’t want anybody who shouldn’t know to know. And as long as it’s private and secret, you can nurse it and nurture it and feed it. And God wants it open and out and exposed among people who love you. Don’t let yourself go down to the point of spiritual defeat driven by your sin because you never dealt with it and you never dealt with it because it was allowed to keep you alone. Don’t let that happen.
Let people know you’re in a battle so that you don’t become weak and defeated and weary and exhausted and wounded and victimized. Open up, share, seek forgiveness with one another. You tell someone else where your battle is and then pray for their battle, share your life so that we fight together as one body -- we storm the throne of grace as one united as one body having our hearts tied together in love for Christ. And in compassionate understanding of the weaknesses we all have in our lives we cry out to God for each other. That’s the church as it’s meant to be. That’s the heart of the church. It doesn’t exist in so many places because of judgmental attitudes and because of gossips and because of the insistence of clutching onto to a dead tradition. Church is a place where we come, dropping our egos at the door before we come in recognizing that our total compete dependence on the grace of Christ for all of us. And we fight for one another. Lifting every wounded soldier before the one place in the universe where healing and deliverance and hope and forgiveness and power can actually be infused into our lives.
Now here’s the great question of this passage:
Do you believe that your prayers are powerful?
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. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
James gives an illustration. He uses Elijah. And everybody knew about him. Elijah was a man with like passions, or with a nature like ours. In other words, he was just like we are. He was a man, anthropos, generic, he was just human. He had like passions, homoiopathes, like passions. He suffered like we suffered. You can go back and read 1 Kings 17:11 and find out he was hungry. You can read 1 Kings 19:3 and find out he was afraid. You can read 1 Kings 19:4 and you can find out he was tired from battle. He was just a man. He had strong points and weak points in his life. James says he prayed that it might not rain. And you know what? It didn’t rain for three and a half years. He was a man like we are. His prayers were so powerful it didn’t rain for three and a half years. He prayed again, the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
Here what James wants you to understand: Elijah prayed to the exact same God I pray to. He’s got nothing on me. He’s got nothing on you. The problem is really that most of us don’t buy into that. -- but that’s what the Scripture teach. It’s just a matter of what you really believe and how much you actually pray -- how often you come before the God of Elijah. Do you really believe your prayers are powerful? What’s your attitude when your storm the throne of grace?
Close: James wants his people to see how valuable prayer really is. To see clearly how indispensible it is. It’s not just a just a time to log in a few moments and move on to the next task. It’s an expression of our love and our dependence upon the God who heals us. It’s the very essence of life as a Christian.
