December 16, 2001 James 5:7-11
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. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 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.
Dear friends in Christ, waiting for your King to come,
I used to be polite to telemarketers. But time has a way of grating on you after a while, when you have to deal with the same problem time and time again! Now when I hear from them, my jaw starts to clench and I have a very difficult time being polite. I remember one wife who was dealing with difficult problems with her husband who told me, “sorry doesn’t cut it anymore.” She grew tired of forgiving her husband for the same sins he was committing time and again. Isn’t that one of the most frustrating things in life, is dealing with a habitual offender? It’s difficult to deal with the same sins of your children every day. It’s difficult to live with the same weaknesses in your pastor or your congregation or your spouse. And the more you have to live with it, the more difficult it becomes.
In the book of James, the brother of Jesus who was the elder of the congregation at Jerusalem - wrote to the early Jewish Christians - giving them many guidelines in how to live as Jewish Christians in a Judaic world. One struggle that they seemed to be having was with finances. James told them, You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. . . . When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. . . Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. James said that some of the rich had also, lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. . . . fattened (themselves) in the day of slaughter. . . and . . . condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. As a result of these rich and habitually greedy men - possibly Jews who claimed to be Christians, it appears that many of the poorer Jewish Christians were habitually suffering because of the slander and exploitation of the rich. I don’t know how long this was going on, but at the point this letter was written, it appears that some of the Jewish Christians were growing tired of this abuse.
So James said, 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. The Jews needed to be patient, just like the farmer. You see, farmers have no choice but to be patient, because they have no control over the rain. This was a big issue while I lived in Norton. The western part of Kansas sometimes can go months without a drop of rain. And when the winter wheat is planted, it is difficult for the farmers to hold their breath and wait for some moisture to hit the ground. But they have no choice. You have to be patient as a farmer. There’s no way I could do it - put thousands of dollars in a field and hope it rains? That takes a patience that I don’t have. The nature of the business demands that you plant the seed and put the watering in God’s hands.
James encouraged his fellow Jews to be patient like the farmer. And you can see the point of comparison, can’t you? A farmer has no control over the rain. A farmer cannot make the wheat and corn grow. Only God can. And so also - the Jews could not control how they would be treated by the rich and the greedy. They couldn’t control how God would bless their efforts and their work. Only God could do something about it. So really, what choice did they have but to be patient!
If we could really grasp this concept I think we would have a lot easier time being patient. When we get angry with our spouses for not doing what we want them to - we’re trying to control the rain! When we get tired of our children not doing his or her homework, or our parents not being fair, we’re trying to control the rain. When we get angry with God for allowing something to die, we’re trying to control the rain! Whether you’re a pastor, a parent, or a child or a spouse, you need to realize what your limitations are. If you don’t realize this, you’ll end up like the Jews, whom James says were “grumbling against each other.” That word for grumbling is literally to sigh or groan because of an undesirable circumstance. Isn’t that what we do every day? Oh, it’s too hot out! My wife just won’t listen to me! My parents are too demanding! Why doesn’t God answer my prayers? Why doesn’t he fix this world? We get frustrated and sigh to each other and about each other because people and things don’t turn out like we planned. In other words, let’s put it plainly - we’re frustrated because we aren’t God. Right? The nature of the business of Christianity is clear. God is in control. You can’t control your good health. You can’t determine how much money you’ll make. So stop trying to play God and control the weather. You have to be patient!
Consider why this is so important. Do you remember some parables that Jesus used? A very well known one that deals with this is found in Matthew 18 - it reads -
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
Jesus connected impatience with a lack of forgiveness. And because the main was impatient and unforgiving with his servant, he was sent to the jailers to be tortured! And so James warns also that we need to be patient because the Judge is standing at the door! The same King who came once is coming again - and he’s right at the door - ready to come in! The last thing you want happening is for you to be living with an unforgiving and impatient attitude of unbelief when Jesus comes. For then, like the unforgiving servant, you to will be thrown into God’s eternal punishment. So do you really get what James is saying here then? Whereas it would be nice if he could be patient with the complaining and impatience of the Jews, James is ironically saying - Hurry Up and Be Patient Already, because the Lord’s coming is near!
I. The Lord’s coming is near!
But that wasn’t the only reason why he wanted them to be patient. Farmers need to be patient when it comes to waiting for rain. But once the rain comes, they also need to be patient when it comes to the harvest. When I was in Norton, it was actually rather comical for the farmers to see one infamous and impatient farmer that lived in their neighborhood. He would always be so eager to gather in the wheat - that every year he would go out and cut it while it was still a bit green. And because of his impatience, the moisture was too high and he would be penalized or have to store his grain somewhere else. But it happened every year. Because of his impatience his harvest wasn’t as good as it could have been. What does this teach us? When farming, you need to be patient also because it takes the crop time to grow!
This is the second reason why James was telling the Jews to be patient - because eventually the rain and the harvest will come - if you wait. Then James goes from a secular example to two scriptural ones. First of all he says, 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. We don’t know which prophet he is speaking of, but you could name any one of them. One of my favorite examples is Jeremiah. His call came to him when he was still quite young, during the reign of Josiah. Whereas Josiah was a great king, the kings to follow him were not. The kings after Josiah had nothing but hatred for the Word of God, and persecution for the prophets who spoke that Word. An incurable hardening of the people of Judah-Jerusalem was quickly bringing the people to their doom. And so Jeremiah patiently preached over 40 years to the Israelites, constantly with an urgent call to repentance. In the end, the people ignored His Word and ran away from the Babylonians and went down to Egypt. Jeremiah followed them down there and probably died in Egypt. Where were Jeremiah’s blessings then? In the simple fact that he died - and through faith in the coming Messiah - went to heaven. What would 40 years of difficult preaching compare to an eternity in heaven? What a blessing for Jeremiah!
The second example of patience is Job. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. Job, as you remember, had to live through the death of all of his ten children, see his cattle get stolen, his name get slandered, boils on his skin, and false accusations of friends. Yet in the end the Lord doubled his goods, and more importantly gave Job the understanding that God knows far more than we can comprehend. But what you probably don’t remember is that Job actually at one time said in Job 3, Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? He also became tired of listening to the accusations and of the suffering. He just wanted to end it all. But God wouldn’t let him die. He HAD to wait. And after he did, God BLESSED him tremendously!
What does this show us? The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. That word for compassion comes from the Greek root - splangxna - it denotes the “inward parts” of the body, and finally the “womb” or “loins”. It is used as a very forceful term to signify an expression of the total personality at the deepest level. James says that when someone is blessed from patience, it proves in the end that God is FULL of compassion. It isn’t that God just has a little bit of compassion, but He is FULL of it - from head to toe. Every action that he makes is driven by compassion. Even the punishments he sends have a compassionate and merciful purpose, to bring blessings to his people. Jesus used that term to refer to the father of the prodigal son - when he saw his son coming home he was filled with compassion!
What better example of patience and compassion can we see than by looking at the cross. For FOUR THOUSAND years God made plans for the coming of His Son. He waited til the time was right, and then Jesus burst on the scenes. In patience and mercy, Jesus preached and taught the disciples. In patience and mercy, God allowed the Jews and Romans to put Jesus to death, so that He could finally take the punishment of Christ on HIS shoulders. And now for 2,000 years Jesus has been waiting for every last child of his to come to faith. He is waiting for just the right moment to take us home to be with him.
Just look at your own life, and can’t you appreciate how patient God has been with you? I look back at my own life and am amazed. God could have very easily given up on me in my high school and even college years. My mind was on earthly things - girls, sports, and grades. But God’s mind was on me. God kept on speaking to my heart. He kept on giving me His Supper. He kept on calling. He kept on taking my sins and throwing them on Jesus. And with that patience, God put me here. Now I am enjoying more blessings than I ever thought possible. I’m getting paid to do what I love to do. I get to be a part in the growth of a congregation and in the upbringing of my family in the Christian faith. What a blessing! All because God was patient with me! How about you?
And so James basically says - since God is full of compassion and mercy, hurry up and be patient, and the blessings will come! The Holy Spirit gently pats us on the head and whispers to us, “trust me, everything will work out for good. I’m full of compassion and mercy, and I’ll make sure you’ll be blessed.” He wants us to reason, “if God could work Job’s seemingly fatal and ugly skin disease and death of his children out for good, then he certainly do the same for me.” He wants the child to reason, “I guess I can keep studying my homework, for this will somehow return to bless me.” Through your patient studying, God will then bless you with happy parents and teachers and better grades. He wants the parent to reason, “I may not like this disciplining of my children, but I’m sure God will bless it in some way.” And through your patient discipline God will bless you with obedient children. He wants the spouse to reason, “even though I may not enjoy my marriage right now, I’m sure that if I stick with it God will reward me in some way.” God will bless you with a greater dedication to the one you are committed to. He wants the Christian to reason, “I may not like being persecuted and suffering for doing the right thing, but when I’m in heaven for thousands of years, it will sure be worth it!” James means to encourage a patient attitude in us so that we can enjoy the blessings that come through patience.
II. You’ll be blessed
As I was writing this sermon, I was on a role. My fingers were rolling along at breakneck speed, and I had a great thought going. But ironically, wouldn’t you know it, right in the middle of my thought, a telemarketer called me. As a result, I lost my train of thought. At first, I wasn’t too happy with her for calling. The blood started rolling past my neck and up into my membrane as she droned on about the 30 day send back guarantee. But since I was preaching on patience, I thought, “I’ll listen to her offer”, and then politely declined. I don’t know how God blessed that patience. Maybe he didn’t want my thought to go into the sermon, I don’t know. But at least I know that God will bless my patience.
God wants you to know the same. Patience is like a long term investment - like a mutual fund. When you invest in it, it isn’t worth millions right away. You have to put a little in it at a time, and let it accumulate over the years. But the best time to start investing is now. Because TIME is what you need for it to accumulate. In the same way, James says to be patient. The time to start being patient is now because Jesus could come any day. And when Jesus finally does come, through faith in Him, we will be in heaven, reaping the rewards of eternal life. So James says, “hurry up and be patient already, it will be well worth the wait!” Amen.
