EXTREME MAKEOVER: CALLUSED KNEES
James 5:13-18
June 6, 2004
Introduction:
This morning we will be continuing and concluding our study of the book of James titled “Extreme Makeover.” In light of our cultures obsession with makeovers and the popularity of the many reality makeover programs on TV today, it has been interesting to see what kind of things Jesus would do if he were to give our lives an Extreme Makeover. So far we have learned that Jesus would give us Big Ears so we could hear his word. He would give us Dirty Hands as we live what we learn from his word. Then Jesus would give us Pierced Tongues in order to bring the power of our tongues under his control. Last week we discover that Jesus would give us Hunched Backs from bowing in submission to God.
We have learned and experienced much during the makeover, but it isn’t finished yet. There is one last thing that Jesus would do. From the fifth chapter of James we learn that Jesus would give us Callused Knees. Once again I imagine that many are ready to protest. Attractive legs are an important thing to many people both men and women. But Jesus would give us callused knees from spending so much time on our knees in prayer. James closes his book with teaching on prayer. From this passage James teaches us the ABC’s of Effective Prayer.
I hope to help you be more effective in your prayer life through this mornings teaching. Hopefully I can be more effective than another pastor I read about recently. After the preacher died and went to heaven, he noticed that a New York cabdriver had been given a higher place than he had. “I don’t understand,” he complained to St. Peter. “I devoted my entire life to my congregation.” “Our policy is to reward results,” explained St. Peter. “Now what happened , Reverend, whenever you gave a sermon?” The minister admitted that some in the congregation fell asleep. “Exactly, “ said St. Peter. “And when people rode in this man’s taxi, they not only stayed awake, they prayed.” (Ray Heit, in Reader’s Digest) I hope your prayer life will increase after this message, but for better reasons. And hopefully you won’t fall asleep - you could be costing me position in heaven!
There was once a pastor who had a little five-year-old daughter. Now the little girl notice that every time her dad stood behind the pulpit, and was getting ready to preach he would bow his head for moment before he began to preach. The little girl noticed that he did this every time.
So one day after the service the little girl went to her dad and asked him, “Why do you bow your head right before you preach your sermon?”
“Well Honey” the preacher answered, “ I asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon.”
The little girl looked up at her father and asked, “Then how come he doesn’t do it?” (Dan Cormie/Sermon Central) As you can see we pastors don’t always have it all together like we’d like to either. I have plenty of room for improvement in my personal prayer life and so I hope that you and I can grow together through this time.
The ABC’s of Effective Prayer:
The Adequacy of Effective Prayer
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
In these verses James is teaching us that prayer is adequate for all circumstances in life. There is no situation in which you will ever find yourself in which prayer will be inappropriate.
a) times of trouble
First, we learn that prayer is adequate of our times of trouble. If we find ourselves in trouble the first thing we should think of as Christians is prayer. The Greek behind “trouble” can mean suffering and is translated as such in verse 10 where is refers to the suffering of the prophets, i.e. suffering persecution. This would then seem to refer to the kind of trouble that Christians can get into for standing up for what they believe in as opposed to the kind of trouble some get into because of the wrong they have done. When I was in college I once got kicked out of a shopping mall for sharing Jesus with someone who was sitting on a bench in the hallway. The man didn’t complain at all, but a security guard overheard me as he was walking past. He told me that I couldn’t do that and that I would have to leave. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I suffered persecution, but that is along the lines of what James is talking about here. God is certainly ready to help those who have gotten in trouble for their commitment to the cause of Christ.
There are basically three kinds of trouble that people get into. What I have just mentioned is the first. The second is the kind of trouble one gets into because you have done something wrong. This would include everything from getting scolded for not keeping your room clean to being arrested for committing a crime of some sort. Unfortunately I have experienced my fair share of trouble in this area as well. I received an in-school suspension as a Junior and a five day out-of-school suspension as a Senior. My Junior year I was arrested for burglary and criminal mischief and during my Senior year I was arrested for minor in possession. I lost my Driver’s Liscense, spent a year and a half on probation, had to perform 150 hours of community service, and had to pay $650 in restitution. I continued to have drinking problems for the next few years. However, one day I came to the end of my rope. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was disgusted with my life style. I was raised in the church and so I basically knew the truth about Christ, but I never had accepted Him. One day I called out to God in prayer and asked him to forgive me of my sins. He forgave me and helped me to start a new life and called me to be a minister. So whatever kind of trouble you have gotten yourself into don’t hesitate to call on God in prayer this morning. He might not get you out of the trouble, but he will see you through it.
The third kind of trouble we get into is the kind that we have brought on ourselves. It’s the kind of trouble that just happens from time to time and we often refer to it as bad luck. This includes things like hitting a nail on the road and getting a flat tire or your computer crashing. This would include you or a loved one developing a debilitating disease or losing a job due to cut backs or business closures. These are troubles that are beyond your control - troubles that you have done nothing to deserve. If you take these matters to God, you can be sure that he can turn the negatives into positives. Paul wrote, “That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” (Rom. 8:28, Msg) Every detail of your life is important to God. Every detail includes every kind of trouble imaginable and the Bible says that God works it into something good. Now that’s the kind of God that is worth calling on in prayer. Are you in some kind of trouble this morning? Pray!
Let me tell you about a man who turned to prayer when he found himself in trouble one day. In the middle of a forest, there was a hunter who was suddenly confronted with a huge, mean bear. In all his fears, his attempt to shoot the bear was unsuccessful. He turned away and started to run as
fast as he could. Finally, he ended up at the edge of a very steep cliff. His hopes were dim. But, he got on his knees, opened his arms and said, "My God! Please give this bear some religion!"
Then, there was a lightning in the air and the bear stopped just a foot short of the hunter. The bear was puzzled and looked up in the air and said, "Thank you for the food I am about to receive. (Greg Osborne/Sermon Central)
b) periods of pleasure
Prayer is also adequate when we experience periods of pleasure. Usually we don’t forget to pray when things are going wrong. Our problems work as reminders to redirect us back to God. However, when things are going well - when life is coming up roses - when everything is smooth sailing we tend to forget about God. I mean what do we need God for if everything is going good? James reminds us that when things are good we should sing songs of praise to God. Are things going well for you today? Thank God! Do you have enough money in the back to pay your bills? Praise the Lord! Are your families needs being met? Halleluiah!
Although we have been talking about the good times this word “happy” doesn’t necessarily mean that everything in life is good. This Greek word is used only three other times in scripture and all three occur in the 27th chapter of Acts where it is rendered as “courage” or “encouraged.” The setting is this. Paul was being taken as a prisoner by ship to Rome to stand trial on trumped up charges. It doesn’t sound very good, but it gets even worse. They sailed into a nasty storm. Paul wrote: “We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.” (v. 18) “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.” (v.20) Clearly these circumstances left much to be desired. But then one night during the storm an angel appeared to Paul and assured him that everyone on board the ship would survive. The next day Paul addressed the men of the ship with these words: “I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.” (v.22) He then told them about the angels message and concluded with these words: “So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” (v.25) Paul was urging them men to keep up their courage - to keep their spirits up - to cheer up. The storm continued for two weeks and during those two weeks the men refused to eat. Finally Paul told them that they needed to eat something and so he took some bread and blessed it and began to eat. When the men saw Paul eating “They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.” (v.36) Clearly then, to be happy or cheerful doesn’t mean to have everything going your way. It is possible to experience joy in the midst of our troubles. So even if you find yourself in the midst of many troubles this morning I encourage you to look for the bright spots - look for the silver lining - and when you find it praise God for it.
James says to sing songs of praise. The Greek for songs literally means psalms. Of course the book of Psalms was the ancient hymnal of the Jewish nation. When you are looking for a way to praise God there is no better place to look than to the songs of the church. And singing really is a form of prayer it is just that the words of the prayer are sung to God, not spoken to God. Have you ever thought about it that way before? Some say that we need more prayer during the service, but we just spent the last how many minutes singing? Were you singing prayers of praise to God? If not, what were you doing? Just going through the motions? mindlessly uttering the words? Next week during the song service determine to engage your heart and mind in prayer to God through song.
c) signs of sickness
Then James shows us that prayer is adequate when we are showing signs of sickness - even when we are seriously ill. That the sick person is to call for the elders to come to him indicates that he is too sick to go to them. He is to call the elders to do two things. To pray over him and to anoint him with oil. From the way our English versions render this verse you would think that both praying and anointing would be equally important, but they are not. In the original Greek “pray” is the main verb and “anoint” is a participle which means that it is a secondary action. The real focus wasn’t the anointing with oil, but the community of prayer. The anointing oil was only symbolic of the presence of the Holy Spirit who is present whether we have the oil or not. The main thing is to be surrounded by your fellow believers as they lift you up in prayer. This kind of prayer need not be limited only to times of physical illness because the Greek word used here for “sick” can also mean weak. It is very appropriate, therefore, to ask for prayer during times of weakness mentally or emotionally, not just physically. When you are down in the dumps or wrestling with temptation it can be a tremendous source of encouragement to have other Christians surround you in prayer.
It is also possible that James is here prescribing prayer and medicine. It may be that this reference to oil is medicinal rather than sacramental. In fact, the Greek word used here for “anoint” was not the Greek word that referred to ritual anointing. Oil was one on the most common medicines in biblical times. The physician Galen described oil as “the best of all remedies for paralysis.” And the Jewish historian Josephus records that during his last illness Herod the Great was given a bath in oil as a treatment. (Fortunately we have much better medicines today. Unfortunately they also cost a lot more.) If he is using it as a medicinal term then he is teaching us that in answer to prayer God heals through medicine. Now please understand that this is a generalization. God doesn’t always heal through medicine and sometimes He heals without medicine. Remember that the “anointing” with medicine was seen to be the secondary action while prayer was primary. So James’ practical advice to those who are sick today would basically be this: Get yourself put on the prayer chain and go see your doctor. Not bad advice.
James has shown us that prayer is adequate for all the circumstance of our life. As W. Graham Scroggie once said, "Pray when you feel like it, pray when you don’t feel like it, pray until you do feel like it." (Donn Heinrich/Sermon Central) If you find yourself in trouble - pray. If you are happy - sing prayers of praise to God. If everything is going wrong - look for the silver lining and praise Him for that. If you are sick or experiencing a time of weakness - call for your fellow believers to pray over you and see your doctor.
The Benefits of Effective Prayer
I am giving verse fifteen as it is rendered in the English Standard Version because it gives the verse more literally.
15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (English Standard Version)
There are many benefits to prayer and in this verse we find three that James shares with us.
a) spiritual healing
First, James says that the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. In scripture and in experience we find that salvation and healing are often closely related. Salvation is often the gateway to physical healing. Dr. S. I. McMillen, MD says, “Physicians know that about two-thirds of our physical and emotional symptoms stem from the carnal emotions of jealousy, envy, self-centeredness, resentment, anger, and guilt.” In many cases if people would be saved they would also be healed.
Jesus himself pronounced forgiveness of sins before physically healing someone. An example of this is found in Mark 2. Jesus had returned to Capernaum and when word had spread that he was back so many crowed in to see him that there was no way for anyone else to get inside the house where he was preaching. Four men came carrying a friend of theirs who was paralyzed. When they realized that they couldn’t get to Jesus they carried their friend up on the roof, cut a hole and lowered him down with ropes. Now that’s determination. “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mk. 2:5) Only later did He say, “I tell you get up, take your mat and go home.” (Mk. 2:11) In the Christian faith the emphasis is always on salvation or spiritual healing as opposed to physical healing. Everyone needs to be saved, but not everyone needs to be healed. Everyone can be saved, but not everyone can be healed. If everyone was healed every time they were anointed and prayed for then they would never die. However, all of the people that Jesus healed died. Even the people he raised from the dead died. The most important thing is to be saved - to experience spiritual healing.
b) physical healing
Next we read that “the Lord will raise him up.” As I mentioned just a moment ago, salvation is often the gateway to physical healing. “Raise him up” refers to the sick being able to arise from their sick bed. Notice also that it is the Lord who does the raising up - the healing. It isn’t the people who pray that heal. It isn’t the anointing oil that heals. It isn’t the medicine that heals. It is the Lord who brings healing.
Some doctors are now prescribing prayer for their patients. Isn’t it ironic that the medical world sometimes seems to believe in the healing power of prayer more than the church? Of 250 family practitioners surveyed, 99 percent believed that a patient’s spiritual beliefs contribute to healing. Eleven medical schools, including Harvard and Johns Hopkins, offer courses in Prayer and Healing. (J. Douglas Duty, Jr./Sermon Central) Our modern science is finally beginning to realize the truth of the power of prayer in healing the sick.
Tony Compolo tells a story about being in a church in Oregon where he was asked to pray for a man who had cancer. Compolo prayed boldly for the man’s healing. That next week he got a telephone call from the man’s wife. She said, "You prayed for my husband. He had cancer." Compolo thought when he heard her use the past tense verb that his cancer had been eradicated! But before he could think much about it she said, "He died." Compolo felt terrible.
But she continued, "Don’t feel bad. When he came into that church that Sunday he was filled with anger. He knew he was going to be dead in a short period of time, and he hated God. He was 58 years old, and he wanted to see his children and grandchildren grow up. He was angry that this all-powerful God didn’t take away his sickness and heal him. He would lie in bed and curse God. The more his anger grew towards God, the more miserable he was to everybody around him. It was an awful thing to be in his presence.
But the lady told Compolo, “After you prayed for him, a peace had come over him and a joy had come into him. Tony, the last three days have been the best days of our lives. We’ve sung. We’ve laughed. We’ve read Scripture. We prayed. Oh, they’ve been wonderful days. And I called to thank you for laying your hands on him and praying for healing.”
And then she said something incredibly profound. She said, "He wasn’t cured, but he was healed." (Tony Campolo, "Year of Jubilee," Preaching Today Tape #212) (Tim Bond/Sermon Central)
c) emotional healing
Finally, James says, “if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” There is also a connection between our emotional well being and our physical well being. I refer you again to the words of Dr. S. I. McMillen, MD who says, “Physicians know that about two-thirds of our physical and emotional symptoms stem from the carnal emotions of jealousy, envy, self-centeredness, resentment, anger, and guilt.” One of the factors Dr. McMillen mentions as causing two-thirds of our physical problems is guilt. Guilt can literally eat you alive and cause all kinds of physical as well as emotional problems if it is not dealt with. The only way to appropriately deal with guilt is to seek forgiveness from God and from the person or persons you may have wronged and then finally to forgive yourself.
You say, “But we have already talked about salvation and spiritual healing.” Yes we have. But the truth is that there are many Christians today who are still in bondage to feelings of guilt and shame and inadequacy even though they have been saved. They have experienced spiritual healing and are on their way to heaven for sure, but they are still in some measure in emotional bondage to the past. There is an emotional healing that should take place in conjunction with our spiritual healing, but for some reason it doesn’t always seem to work that smoothly. I know that it is true in my own life that at times I experience guilt over things in the past that I know God has forgiven me for. If I am feeling guilt, there are really only a couple of possibilities. Either I am feeling guilty because I am guilty and the Holy Spirit is convicting me or else Satan is trying to make me feel guilty over something for which God has already forgiven me.
Either one of these types of guilt can eat you alive and affect you negatively in physical ways. There is something incredibly freeing about knowing for certain that you are forgiven. So when Satan tries to do this to you you need to focus on scriptures that teach the truth. One that I find helpful is 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” If you have truly repented of your sins and trusted in Christ, then you are forgiven whether you feel like it or not. Meditating on scriptures like this one can help your feelings get in line with the facts.
If you don’t have that sense of forgiveness , then your guilty feelings may eventually manifest themselves in physical disorders. Long before man figured it out Jesus understood the connection between emotional healing and physical healing. “If he has sinned,” implies a connection between the sin and the sickness. But note that “if” indicates that not all sickness is the result of sin. Paul taught this as well when he said told the Corinthians because of their sin they were getting sick. “That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” (1 Cor. 11:30) Feelings of guilt make you sick whether they are from God or from Satan. So if you are feeling overwhelmed with guilt this morning make a careful analysis of it. Why am I feeling guilty? What am I feeling guilty about? Is there unconfessed sin in my life? Or, am I feeling guilty about something I know I have already confessed to God? If that is the case then meditate on scriptures like 1 John 1:9 and let the forgiving grace of God sooth your conscience and heal you emotionally.
As we have just seen the benefits of effective prayer are pretty amazing. The healing grace of God is activated in our lives with the power to heal us spiritually, physically, and emotionally. What a great God we serve!
The Conditions for Effective Prayer
In today’s passage we find that there are two conditions for effective prayer.
a) reliance on God
In verse 15 we saw that it is “the prayer of faith” that results in healing. For prayer to be effective one has to have faith in God to whom the prayer is being offered. You must have faith that God does hear prayer and that he does have the power to answer prayer. The type of prayer that gets results is the type that is offered in reliance upon God. We must not rely on special words or formulas. We must not rely on special people such as priests or pastors. We must not rely on special places like the altar or other supposedly holy places. We must not rely on special rituals like anointing with oil. We must rely on God and God alone. To rely on anything else is to turn away from God to gimmicks.
I would like you to turn your attention once more to the passage we looked at earlier in Mark 2 where Jesus healed the paralytic. “When Jesus saw there faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son your sins are forgiven.’” (Mk. 2:5) Forgiveness and healing came when Jesus saw “their faith.” It is interesting to note that the text doesn’t say when Jesus saw his faith, but “their faith” - the faith of the paralytic and of those who brought him to Jesus. So the faith of the one calling for the elders combines with the faith of the elders to reach out to God in prayer. Relying on God is a prerequisite for effective praying. You have to believe to receive.
J. K. Johnston, in the book Why Christians Sin, told a tale about a small town that had historically been “dry,” but then a local businessman decided to build a tavern. A group of Christians from a local church were concerned and planned an all-night prayer meeting to ask God to intervene. It just so happened that shortly thereafter lightning struck the bar and it burned to the ground. The owner of the bar sued the church, claiming that the prayers of the congregation were responsible, but the church hired a lawyer to argue in court that they were not responsible. The presiding judge, after his initial review of the case, stated that “no matter how this case comes out, one thing is clear. The tavern owner believes in prayer and the Christians do not.” (Pat Cook/Sermon Central) Do you really believe in prayer?
b) repentance of sin
16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Only the righteous man is promised that his prayer will be powerful and effective. How does one get to be righteous? Are you just born that way? Do you need to go to church regularly or become a member? Do you need to give lots of money to the church or to charity? Do you need to do more good than bad and hope it balances out in your favor? No! The only way to become righteous is to repent of your sins.
The Bible says that we are all sinners. “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” (Rom. 3:23, CEV) That means that none of us started out as righteous. All of humanity is unrighteous. This means that we have a problem. If only those who are righteous can have powerful and effective prayers and if all humanity is unrighteous, what do we do? The apostle Peter was once asked a similar question and this was his response: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you , in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38) Confess your sins to God, believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for your sins and ask God to help you to turn away from your sins and life a life that is pleasing to Him. If you do this God will make you righteous just as we saw in 1 John 1:9 - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
We have to confess our sins to God in order to become righteous, but James also says that we need to confess our sins to each other. Confessing to each other is probably best understood as confessing to someone something that you have done or said against them. It shouldn’t be understood as meaning that you have to air all of your dirty laundry to every Christian you pray with. And he certainly isn’t teaching that you have to confess your sins to your pastor or priest to be forgiven. Here is a good rule of thumb to follow. Confess secret sins secretly to God. Confess private sins privately to that person. But confess public sins publicly. We need to clear the air with our fellow believers before our prayers will be effective.
Jesus taught much the same thing when he said, “If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” (Matt. 5:23-24) If there is a rift in a relationship with a fellow believer, it will hinder your prayers. This is also true of your marriage relationship. Peter said, “Husbands ... be considerate as you live with your wives ... so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” (1 Pet. 3:7). Is your prayer life powerful and effective? How are your relationships with others in the church? with your spouse? Is their a relationship that needs restoring?
Conclusion:
There we have the ABC’s of effective prayer according to James. If you get on your knees and pray like this not only will you develop callused knees, but you will discover a power and effectiveness in your prayer life that many have never thought was possible. This type of prayer is not reserved for super saints or spiritual giants. It is not intended for only pastors and evangelists and missionaries. It is intended for ordinary people like you and like me.
17Elijah 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. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
“Elijah was a man just like us.” Or as the more literal English Standard Version says, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.” Elijah was by nature no different than any of us here today. He wasn’t Superman. He didn’t have any super powers. But when he practiced the ABC’s of effective prayer he connected with an Almighty God who worked wonders. You can too.
Series Conclusion:
Big ears. Dirty hands. Pierced tongue. Hunched back. Callused knees. No wonder the Bible describes Christians as “a peculiar people.” (Titus 2:14, KJV)
Please email me if you use this sermon or a revision of it. Thank you!
steveamanda8297@hotmail.com
