When I was about 12 years old I was contacted by our pastor to see if I would be interested in cleaning out the house of a woman who had passed away. I eagerly agreed, thinking that this would be an easy way to make some shekels. I wasn’t prepared for what I found. The entire house was filled with so much stuff that it was almost impossible to get the front door open. Amid stacks of newspapers there were filthy clothes and boxes of brand new items stacked almost to the ceiling. The only way to get around was to follow a narrow path on top of the newspapers that meandered to the kitchen and the bedroom.
The kitchen was jammed with dirty dishes and food. The smell was horrible. But I was motivated to do what I could to help. My memory is that we started in the living room, using shovels and pitchforks to scoop everything up and then we’d go outside and throw it all in a huge dumpster. After we had filled one dumpster and it was hauled away, we found a bunch of uncashed checks and expensive jewelry that was covered with dust. We realized too late that we had already thrown away many checks and valuables.
When I called my mom this week to make sure my memory was accurate, she told me that this woman who hoarded her possessions was extremely wealthy as she was the widow of a bank president. I’ll never forget this visual lesson about how worldly wealth can rot, get moldy and corrode…and then be thrown into a dumpster when we’re gone.
This morning we come to James 5, where we’ll hear a stinging indictment upon the rich. Pastor James has been preaching up till now but in these opening verses he assumes the role of prophet. As one commentator puts it, “James’ words are, to be blunt, blunt.”
Let’s read James 5:1-6: “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 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.”
My plan today is to spend just a few minutes on these verses and then move into verses 7-11, where we will spend the majority of our time. We’ll wrap up our “Faith That Works” series next Sunday. Two weeks from today we’ll have a Family Worship Service, where families will worship together. There will be no KidZone or Equip classes that day so children can participate in the service with their parents but we will have nursery and preschool. By the way, it would help us with space needs if some of you who normally come at 9:00 a.m. would attend at 10:45 a.m. that day if at all possible.
In the first century Middle Eastern culture, wealth was measured in three ways: grain, garments and gold. The rich had so much food that it was rotting in their bins. They had a lot of fancy clothing that was filled with holes caused by moths. And their gold and silver, the most durable forms of wealth, had lost its luster because it was hidden under piles of other stuff that they had too much of.
James tells the wealthy that they better get ready to weep and wail, not because they had money but because they hoarded it and took advantage of those who had less. Wealth is not the problem; the misuse of it is. The Greek literally reads, “Burst into weeping and howl with grief” because they were about to be thrown into the dumpster, or worse.
When we come to passages like this, it’s easy to think that they’re not applicable to most of us because we’re not rich. Actually, compared to the rest of the world, we are. In addition, James is dealing with our attitudes toward wealth, not the amount we might have. This is brought out in 1 Timothy 6:10 where we read, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…”
Taking an Inventory
After reading this passage, I wrote down three questions that I asked myself this week.
1. Am I hoarding what I think is mine or am I generous with what God has given me? When I hoard I’m keeping for myself instead of sharing with others. This has grave consequences according to verse 3: “Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.”
I love the generosity of this church. The donations of clothing and time for the Caring Closet were incredible and the outpouring of support for the Loads of Love collection for First Bible Church in Staten Island was very humbling. One PBC member came to this building on Tuesday wearing her winter coat and left it here so it could go to Staten Island. On top of all that, many of you are participating in Operation Christmas Child as you fill up boxes of items for needy children around the world. Please remember that these boxes are due back next Sunday.
I love what Randy Alcorn has said, “God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving.” God gives to us that we might give to others. Paul said it like this to a young pastor he was mentoring: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
Let’s make sure we’re investing in that that which is eternal because according to 1 Peter 1:4 we have “…an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you.”
2. Do I care about how I treat others? That’s what’s behind verse 4: “Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.”
Landowners were to pay day laborers at the end of every workday. If the worker was not paid he and his family would go hungry that night. Leviticus 19:13: “Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.”
The title “Lord Almighty” is “Kurios Sabaoth,” which means, “Lord of the Angel Armies” who acts on behalf of the oppressed. This name refers to the Almighty’s unlimited power to help the poor and deliver the disadvantaged. The idea is that God goes to war against the wealthy in order to defend the poor who are being oppressed. Luke 18:7: “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”
Since God hears the cries of the oppressed and does something about it then I must as well.
3. Am I living a selfish and self-indulgent life? Check out James 5:5: “You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.” The word “luxury” refers to leading a soft life and “self-indulgence” means to “live voluptuously.” When we live like this we’re like unsuspecting cattle getting fattened up for the Chenoa Meat Locker. The steer has no idea that the quicker he fills out, the sooner he becomes hamburger.
The key here is to live for eternity and not to be so locked to this “earth.” True wealth is made up only of things that we can carry into eternity. I will have to give account to God for what He’s placed in my hands. For further study, I recommend that you read Luke 16:19-31 where we come across two individuals who were drastically different in this life and how things were reversed in the life to come: “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores…”
Responding Rightly When Wronged
In verse 7-11, James’ sermon takes on a softer tone, as he refers to his readers as brothers three times: “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. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 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.”
The overriding focus in this chapter is on the second coming of Christ:
Verse 3 - “last days”
Verse 7 - “until the Lord’s coming”
Verse 8 - “the Lord’s coming is near”
Verse 9 - “The Judge is standing at the door!”
James doesn’t give us a chart that explains the intricate details of the return of Christ; he just states it as fact. The promise of the return of Jesus should help us to be patient when we’re going through problems because He will judge every person. Incidentally, did you know that there are over 300 references to Christ’s return in the New Testament? That’s one out of every 13 verses! Friends, we must live every day with the realization that Jesus could come back at any moment! We’re to live with an alert expectation of His any-moment return.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, can I just say that the Second Coming of Christ must become our focal point and not politics or politicians or presidents!
These believers were stressed out because…
• Rich people were oppressing them. Verse 7 says, “Be patient.”
• Unbelievers were persecuting them. Verse 8 says, “Stand firm.”
• Believers were annoying them. Verse 9 - “Don’t grumble or groan against one another.”
I see three imperatives in this passage, each one linked to an aspect of the second coming of Christ.
1. Be patient. The word “patient” is used four times (twice in verse 7, once in verse 8 and again in verse 10). The Greek word actually combines two words which mean, “long-tempered.” One commentator describes patience as self-restraint which does not hastily retaliate against a wrong.
James illustrates patience by holding up the life of a farmer. I’ve learned a lot about faith from those of you who farm. In Israel, they would plow and plant their seeds in the fall and then the early rains would come. And then they would wait patiently for more rain in the spring so they could harvest. There was nothing a farmer could do to make it rain and he looked forward with great expectation to harvest time.
Steven Cole draws out some implications related to waiting patiently.
• God’s purposes are worked out over long periods of time.
• Although we do the work, the harvest depends on God giving the needed blessing.
• The crop is worth waiting for. In verse 7 the phrase “valuable crop” means “precious produce.”
Verse 7 tells us how long to be patient: “Until the Lord’s coming.” I take great comfort from 2 Corinthians 4:17: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
2. Stand firm. Check out verse 8: “You too, be patient and stand firm…” We’re urged to stand up under our trials and we’re also called to stand firm in our faith. This has the idea of being equipped and established and literally means “to make fast or stable.” James uses the same verb found in Luke 9:51 which says that “Jesus set His face resolutely to go to Jerusalem.”
Friends, we must fortify our faith because while it’s tough now, it’s only going to get worse according to 2 Timothy 4:1-4: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
And who will stand firm when all this is happening? Beth and I often comment that it seems that a couple things are happening among Christians as we get closer to the return of Christ. Some believers are firming up their faith while a bunch of others seem like they’re caving in to our culture. This question of Jesus is troubling in Luke 18:8: “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Let me share two verses are both challenging and encouraging:
• Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
• 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
Verse 8 tells us why we can stand firm: “Because the Lord’s coming is near.” This can be translated as “right on the edge; just about to happen.” It’s the next event on God’s calendar. Romans 13:12: “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.” Those who are the most persecuted look forward to the Second Coming the most. If you don’t think much about the return of Christ it may be because you’re not really suffering for the Savior.
3. Don’t grumble or groan against each other. We see this in verse 9: “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged…Stop groaning against one another.” While “groaning” speaks of an inner complaint smothered with bitterness and resentment, “grumbling” refers to what gets expressed. The key term is repeated twice: “against one another.” Warren Wiersbe says, “If we start using the sickles on each other, we will miss the harvest!”
When things are not going well, when we’re being oppressed or persecuted or just having a stressful week, it’s easy to take it out on those closest to us. When we’re irritated we tend to attack others. I have the tendency to blame others, pointing out their deficiencies, taking notes on what someone does or doesn’t do when I’m hurting…and some of you do the same.
When we’re hurt, we often hurt others, becoming fault-finders instead of encouragers. Do you have any bitterness growing in you? Do you find yourself resenting others, even if they are not totally responsible for the pain that you’re feeling? Friends, let’s not be “grumpsters” who throw each other in dumpsters! Our internal bickering and backbiting and grumbling and groaning can knock us off mission.
Verse 9 gives us an incentive to stop grumbling and groaning: “The Judge is standing at the door!” James is referring to a judgment hall that had huge double doors that the judge would come through to hear cases. When tempted to grumble or groan against a brother or sister, don’t forget that the Jesus the Judge is about to push open the doors to begin court.
I came across this helpful quote from Wayne Dyer: “When you squeeze an orange, you’ll always get orange juice to come out. What comes out is what’s inside. The same logic applies to you: when someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, or says something unflattering or critical, and out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, tension, depression, or anxiety, that is what’s inside. If love and joy are what you want to give and receive, change your life by changing what’s inside.”
We’re faced with a dilemma in this regard because most of us are natural born grumblers and a few of us are year-round residents at “Camp Complaining.” Many of us whine more than we worship and we gripe more than we express gratitude.
Its incredible how many times God’s people grumble, murmur and complain when they are in the wilderness. It’s also astonishing how quickly their complaining starts. They have just passed through the Red Sea on dry ground and are excited to finally be free and so they express their praise in Exodus 15:1: “I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted.”
But then their praising turns into a time of protesting. In verse 22 we read that Moses led them into the “Desert of Shur.” “Shur” means a “wall.” And that’s exactly how they felt. They had run into a wall of despair instead of a window of blessing. After wandering in the wilderness for three days, and having no water to drink, the people turn on Moses at a place called Marah, which means “bitterness.” Notice that their gratitude turns to griping when the memory of God’s faithfulness is somehow forgotten and it only took them three days to land in the ditch of despair. Bitterness can blind us to the promises of God. For these complainers, whatever God did, it was never enough for them.
After receiving water, we read in Numbers 14:2 that the “whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.” We get a sense of what God thinks about grumbling in Numbers 14:27: “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.” In Numbers 17:5 God says that He will rid Himself of “this constant grumbling.”
Israel’s stumbling led to grumbling, which resulted in God’s judgment. Ultimately, all grumbling, whether directed at people or problems, is really a protest against God. In Numbers 16, Korah and his cantankerous cohorts complain about their leaders, but Moses knows that they are really going after God in verse 11: “It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?” As a result of their mumbling and grumbling, 14,700 people paid for their protest with their lives. James 5:9: “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”
Living for the Lord
1. Follow the patience of the prophets. We see this in verse 10: “Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” When we feel like giving up or giving in, let’s look at the prophets who patiently endured and yet never stopped speaking in the name of the Lord. This is not a suggestion but a command. Acts 7:52 says that all the prophets were pummeled: “Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?”
I think of Jeremiah who was called the “Weeping Prophet.” He preached faithfully for several decades only to have negative responses from the people. He was chased down, beaten, put in stocks and thrown into a cistern left to die. He spoke out against false prophets who told people what they wanted to hear, never losing sight of what God needed them to hear.
And yet he wrote these words in Jeremiah 20:9: “But if I say, ‘I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,’ then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it.”
Here’s something I’m learning. Ministry for the Lord is almost always carried out in the face of great difficulty. Let me just say that many of us have the mistaken idea that if we follow Jesus and serve Him then we won’t have any problems or deal with any difficulties. Not true. Let’s follow the patience of the prophets.
2. Forge ahead with the perseverance of Job. Check out the first part of verse 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…” To “persevere” refers to abiding under difficulties. Blessing comes to those who don’t bail.
Job 13:15: “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.”
Job 19:25: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.”
Many of us are quite concerned about what’s happening in our country. We must forge ahead with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must persevere in standing up for the biblical definition of marriage and morality. And we must speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves, especially the 53 million preborn children who have lost their lives through abortion. One way we can do that is by supporting the Caring Pregnancy Center here in Pontiac. You’ll want to reserve April 11th on your calendars as Pam Tebow, mother of NFL Quarterback Tim Tebow, and Phil Joel of the Newsboys will be speaking and singing here in Pontiac in order to partner with the CPC.
Do you remember who rebuilt after Katrina? For the most part, it was Christians partnering with churches and Para-church organizations. The same thing is happening right now on the East Coast. We’re called to reach out to our neighbors and our nation and to all nations in the name of Jesus.
Did you catch the phrase in verse 11, “what the Lord finally brought about?” God had a purpose in mind all along for Job, just as He does when you and I go through problems and persecution and stress and sickness. Let’s forge ahead with the same kind of perseverance Job had.
3. Focus on the character of God. God invites us to focus on Him when we’re prone to hoard by going within or when we want to give up or lash out. The end of verse 11 says: “…The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” Don’t you agree that these are the very character qualities of God that we begin to question when we go through difficult times?
Satan wasted no time in trying to get Adam and Eve to doubt God’s goodness toward them…and he follows the same strategy today. Whatever you’re struggling with right now remember that the Lord is full of compassion and has a massive capacity for mercy. No matter what you’re going through, say along with the psalmist in Psalm 119:68: “You are good and what you do is good.”
One pastor thinks that we fall prey to doubting God’s goodness because we think too highly of ourselves and too lowly of God. We mistakenly think that God owes us something good because we deserve it.
I like the four lessons that Chuck Swindoll draws out from this section of Scripture:
• Don’t focus on the situation, or you’ll become angry.
• Don’t focus on yourself, or you’ll be filled with self-pity.
• Don’t focus on someone to blame, or you’ll begin complaining.
• Don’t focus on the present, or you’ll miss the point of what God is wishing to achieve in your life.
Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. I want to close the sermon by leading us in prayer, using the passage we studied as our framework. The first request of persecuted Christians is always the same -- please pray for us. Let’s pray right now for believers in North Korea, China, Laos, Yemen and Iran.
Closing Song: Center
