“BRING BACK THE WANDERER” James 5:19-20
FBCF – 11/20/22
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Search & rescue – Hear of child missing. Our hearts sink. Fearful of outcome.
- Back in June in a Montana town, 3 y/o child named Ryker – missing for 2 days – Found 2 miles from his home. Had been playing w/ the family dog when he wandered off. Found in a shed at someone’s home. Had slept inside a lawnmower leaf bag for warmth. (https://abcnews.go.com/US/boy-found-montana-woods-missing-48-hours/story?id=85283048)
When someone has wandered off – child, teenage runaway, senior adult w/ Alzheimer’s – we want them to come home so badly. We know that they aren’t safe away from us. Dangerous.
Today, James concludes his letter w/ a word to us about bringing back the wanderers.
EXPLANATION – James 5:19-20
Over last several wks, we’ve talked about some very important subjects & issues that affect our lives as Christ-followers. We’ve looked at issues that affect the Church as a whole.
- How to handle tests & trials in our lives
- The need for wisdom
- The deadly progression of temptation & sin
- Be a doer of the Word…
- Is your faith alive or dead?
- The power of the tongue – don’t run your mouth
- Battling worldliness by submitting to God, resisting the devil, drawing near to God, being broken over our sin, & humbling ourselves before Him
- The power of prayer that we can ALL have
- All these sermons designed to help us draw closer to the Lord & have a “Faith that Works”
These last 2 verses of the book speak to us about bringing back those who are NOT close to the Lord b/c they have wandered away from the Lord. Understand that James is not talking about bringing lost people into a saving relationship w/ Jesus. He’s not talking about people losing their salvation b/c that simply not something that happens to a true Christ-follower. He's talking about true believers who have wandered away from an intimate relationship w/ the Lord.
- People whose love for Christ has grown cold.
- People who have fallen into sinful behaviors that have pulled them out of fellowship w/ Jesus.
- People who have become lovers of themselves & their desires rather than lovers of God
- People who no longer desire to hear the truth of God’s Word, but want to surround themselves w/ preachers & teachers who will validate their ungodly lives
- He’s talking about you & me b/c all of us are susceptible to wandering away from the truth & away from the Lord.
- Words to hymn, “Come Thou Fount”, are true: “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.”
It is so tragic when a brother or sister in Christ wanders away from the faith, away from intimate fellowship w/ Jesus, away from the fellowship of the Church. That’s why James closed his letter w/ this appeal to bring back the wanderers.
APPLICATION – Bringing back wanderers is every Christ-follower’s responsibility.
WHY DO CHRISTIANS WANDER? – Short answer: Temptation & sin. Goes back to what James said in James 1:13-15. The enticement – that bait that’s in front of us – the prospect of some enjoyment for our flesh – the thought that we deserve to have a little fun – the illusion that “this one time won’t hurt anybody.”
It's subtle – Another word for it is “backsliding.” Don’t hear that word much these days. But nobody backslides w/ a bang, w/ some outrageous, hideous scandalous sin. Starts quietly, slowly, insidiously, subtly. A small compromise here, another there – a shading of the truth here, a word of gossip there, a lustful look here, a greed-filled thought there. It’s a gradual loosening of our grip on the things that we know are good & right & true & honorable to God.
It’s like the slow drowsiness that comes over us when we’ve been driving for a long time. Eyes get heavy – head nods – car swerves onto shoulder where we hit the rumble strips or the sleeper lines that jerk us back upright – at least for a little while.
Christians who wander have gotten sleepy & drowsy in their walk w/ Jesus. Their laziness has made them vulnerable to the temptations that Satan has planned for them. And they begin to wander away from the safety of their Savior’s arms.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WHEN CHRISTIANS WANDER? – Short answer: Go after them.
If one of our childcare workers came into this service right now & announced that little 2 yr-old “Billy” has wandered away from the church this morning & they don’t know where he is, we’d shut this service down & every one of us would rush out of the building & begin searching everywhere for the child, even if we didn’t know the child personally. We would call the PD, the SO, the FD. We would search on foot, we’d get in our cars & trucks, on our 4-wheelers & side-by-sides, we’d call for a helicopter – we would use every resource available to us to find that wandering child & bring him safely home.
But, what if, right now in the middle of this sermon, I began to call out names of members of this church who have wandered away from the Lord. What would be your response to that?
- “That’s not my responsibility.”
- “You’re being judgmental.”
- “It’s their business how they live their lives.”
- “I don’t want to get mixed up in someone’s personal life.”
- “That doesn’t have anything to do w/ me, so why should I get involved?”
And yet, the clear teaching of the NT is that EVERY Christ-follower has the responsibility to go after those who have wandered away from the Lord. There’s no special group of people within the church who have this particular responsibility. The responsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of everyone who names the name of Jesus as their Savior. We’ve ALL been given the ministry of restoration! And we ALL need to take this responsibility seriously b/c the stakes are so high!
One important note: It’s true that this responsibility rests on the shoulders of every Christian. But listen to Galatians 6:1 – “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” (NLT). If you’re going to go after a wanderer - & you should! – you better make sure that you walk w/ the Lord is solid & strong, or you, too, will end up becoming a wanderer.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE BRING BACK A WANDERER? – Short answer – Good things!
The wanderer is rescued – “…will save his soul from death…” – What’s the “death” James is talking about? We know it can’t be spiritual death, meaning someone losing their salvation.
It means that bringing that wanderer back home saves them from the death of relationships w/ brothers & sisters in Christ; the death of their testimony for the Lord; the death of their opportunities to serve the Lord & be used by Him while they’re still alive; the death of their passionate worship of the living God; the death of a powerful prayer life; the death of their hunger for the Word of God; the death of their intimate fellowship w/ Jesus; the death of their responsiveness to the Spirit’s leadership in their lives.
The wanderer is restored – “…& will cover a multitude of sins.” “…bring about the forgiveness of many sins.” (NLT) The freedom & relief of knowing & experiencing the forgiveness of sins is such a blessing! God’s GRACE is truly amazing! His MERCY is astounding! After King David had wandered away from the Lord & committed adultery & murder, he cried out to the Lord – “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:12). He did not lose his salvation. But his wandering caused him to lose the JOY of his salvation. And when God restores that joy to one of his wandering children, it is a glorious moment of celebration! And the one who went after that wanderer gets to be in on that celebration!
CONCLUSION - Who do you know that's a wanderer? Are YOU a wanderer?
