James was speaking to people in trial.
It can be difficult for us to be patient esp. when suffering.
I) AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO BE PATIENT Vss 7, 8
A) What is patience ?
"Patience is a calm endurance based on the certain knowledge that God is in control."
Vs 7,8 - Makroqumhwmakrothumeo - overhead.
Gr. word trans.- to bear long, suffer long, patiently endure
"Longsuffering is that quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not hastily retaliate; it is the opposite of anger, and is associated with mercy. It is the quality that does not surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial; it is the opposite of despondency and is associated with hope.
B) What tests your patience ? (Interaction)
Bible teachers who talk too long
1) Long lines at the grocery store.
2) Working with computers.
3) Telemarketers at 5:00 P.M.
4) Driving in Los Angeles.
5) Baileys on the way to Church.
C) What does the Bible teach about patience ?
1 Cor 13:4 (NIV) Love is patient....
Proverbs 14:29 (NIV) A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.
Ps 37:7-8 (NIV) 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-- it leads only to evil.
For years William Wilberforce pushed Britain’s Parliament to abolish slavery. Discouraged, he was about to give up. His elderly friend, John Wesley, heard of it and from his deathbed called for pen and paper.
With trembling hand, Wesley wrote: “Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you would have been worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God?
“Oh be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of his might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it.”
Wesley died six days later. But Wilberforce fought for forty-five more years and in 1833 he saw slavery abolished in Britain. Three days later he died.
What if he would have given up ?
D) An example of patience - The farmer
Some give excuses for lack of patience :
1) I am (nationality).
2) God made me this way - impatient.
James encourages us to be patient - the farmer does it all the time.
Consider the farmer :
1) He has no control over the weather.
2) He waits a long time for results.
3) He works hard while waiting.
C. H. SPURGEON, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, 1871
“Yes, the husbandman waits. He cannot push on the months; he cannot hasten the time of the harvest home; but he does not wait in silence; in sluggishness and negligence; he keeps to his work and waits too. So do you, O Christian men! wait for the coming of your Lord, but let it be with your lamps trimmed and your lights burning, as good servants attending to the duties of the house, until the master of the house returns to give you the reward. ...If I am a worker, I must look to God for the result, but then I must also use all the means. In fact, the Christian should work as if all depended upon him, and pray as if it all depended upon God.”
II) INSTRUCTIONS ON BEING PATIENT IN THE FACE OF SUFFERING Vs. 9
A) Don’t grumble
Grudge not, murmur not.
Greek - groan - a half-suppressed murmur of impatience not uttered aloud.
The opposite of patience is complaining.
What emotions do you feel when you are complaining ?
Frustration ? Discouragement ? Resentment ?
They usually result in anger.
What can I do when I am angry and want to complain ?
1) Ask - is this really worth getting angry about ?
Will it cause more problems than it solves ?
2) Control your anger - you have a choice
- You can recognize it, admit it, and express it properly.
3) Direct your anger at a thing not a person.
Don’t say “You make me angry”.
How can I be more patient ? Remember :
1) ...how patient God was and is with me.
2) ...to make allowances for each other.
(Irregular people).
3) ...patience is an act of worship.
4) ..nothing has come into my life God hasn’t allowed.
5) ...to see the eternal perspective.
6) ...don’t be discouraged, perseverance pays off.
When he was seven years old, his family was forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and he had to work to help support them.
* At age nine, his mother died.
* At 22, he lost his job as a store clerk.
He wanted to go to law school,
but his education wasn’t good enough.
* At 23, he went into debt to become a partner in a store.
* At 26, his business partner died, leaving him a huge debt
that took years to repay.
* At 28, after courting a girl for four years, he asked her to
marry him. She said no.
* At 41, his four-year-old son died.
* At 45, he ran for the Senate and lost.
* At 47, he ran for vice-president and lost.
* At 49, he ran for the Senate again, and lost.
* At 51, he was elected president of the United States.
His name was Abraham Lincoln.
Where would our country be today if he would have given up ?
Where will others be tomorrow if you give up ?
B) The Judge is at the door
“lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door“
KJV render condemned. Other versions use judged.
How can a believer be condemned since we are forgiven ?
It means that you may be found to be at fault before God.
Philips “...you may be the one at fault yourself. The judge himself is already at the door“.
James refers to Matt 7:1 “Judge not lest you be judged“.
To "grumble against one another" is virtually to judge, and so to become liable to be judged. - Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown.
III) AN EXAMPLE OF PATIENCE IN THE FACE OF SUFFERING Vss 10, 11
Suffering : Interview.
How has God used suffering in your life ?
How do you keep from getting discouraged in suffering?
Isn’t it unfair that you should suffer while others don’t ?
You told me ...“There is a blessing in suffering” and “Suffering is a blessed place“. Explain what you mean.
A) The prophet’s patience Vs 10
In contrast to the rich in 5:5 who “Lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure...”
The prophets were tortured, mocked, scourged, in chains, in prison, stoned, sawn in two, tempted, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, and put to death (Heb 11:35ff.).
What can we learn from their example ?
1) Suffering can bring a blessing.
2) God gave the most honor to those most afflicted.
3) Those who were the greatest examples of suffering were the greatest examples of patience.
James 1:3-4 (NKJ) Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
4) They did not give up in spite of suffering.
Vs. 11 (New Century Version) We say they are happy because they did not give up.
In 1955, Winston Churchill, was near the end of his life, gave the commencement address of a university in Britain. Mr. Churchill was so weak at the time that he had to be helped to the podium. Once he was at the podium, he stood with both of his hands clinging to the podium and his head down for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he lifted his head, and the voice that, years before had called Britain back from the brink of destruction spoke publicly for the last time. Though he only spoke nine words, they were possibly the most powerful words he ever spoke.
“Never give up. Never Give up. Never give up.”
B) The patience of Job Vs 11
You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.
Job’s example of patience :
1) Lost possessions.
2) Lost his children.
3) Lost his health.
4) Harassed by his wife.
5) Taunted by his friends.
Yet he never cursed God.
He questioned, struggled, wished he had died.
Job persevered, so can we.
God does great work under pressure.
The last sentence is...
“The Lord is full of compassion and mercy“.
CONC :
Are you having difficulty persevering in the face of suffering ?
Are you saying “I can’t take this any longer” ?
God is in control.
He knows your situation and has allowed it.
Worship Him in patience.
Keep your focus on the eternal.
Be encouraged - there is a reward.
