Anticipation
Text: James 5:7-11
Introduction
1. Read James 5:7-11
2. Illustration: Do any of you remember the old Heinz Ketchup commercial that played the song "Anticipation?" The point of that commercial is that the best things in life are worth waiting for.
3. Well I know something that else that is more worth waiting for than ketchup. It’s that day when:
a. In the twinkling of an eye
b. That trumpet will sound
c. We will see the One riding a white horse whose name is faithful and true.
d. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords will return to take us home.
Proposition: Until that day comes, we must be patient in waiting for the Lord, because it will be worth the wait.
Transition: James tells us...
I. We Must Be Patient in Waiting For the Lord (7-8)
A. Unto the Coming of the Lord
1. In verse 7 James says "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord."
a. “Be patient” comes from a compound of “long” and “temper”. —Bible Knowledge Commentary
b. The idea is to set the timer of one’s temper for a long run.
c. Focus on the final lap in the race of life.
d. Look ahead to the Lord’s coming.
2. Even though he doesn’t specifically state it, there is another side of this that I believe James is getting at: don’t become impatient.
a. What I believe James is getting at is do not lose heart; don’t get discouraged; don’t give up.
b. 2 Tim. 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
3. The world tried to tell us that our hope is in vain. That we are waiting for something that is never going to happen.
a. But we know that when God makes a promise he keeps it.
b. We know that the return of Christ is being delayed to give more people a chance to respond to the gospel.
c. 2 Pet. 3:8-9 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
4. James tells us instead to be like the farmer who "waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."
a. The early and late rains are the rains of autumn and spring. The first germinates the seed; the second matures it. - New International Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM
b. The farmer may wonder if he is ever going to see the fruit of his labor, but he waits patiently and receives the harvest and the financial benefits that come from it.
5. Illustration: John and Charles Wesley were blessed with a patient mother. At one time her husband said, "I marvel at your patience! You have told that child the same thing twenty times!" Susanna Wesley looked fondly at the child. She said, "Had I spoken the matter only nineteen times, I should have lost all my labor."—Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
B. The Coming of the Lord is at Hand
1. James tells us that we should be like the farmer and Mrs. Wesley and "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
2. Believers are to allow the assurance of Christ’s return to help them be patient and take courage.
a. Whatever the circumstances, James encourages us to be rock solid in our faith and to have a faith-inspired joy that permeates every part of life.
b. Like the farmer, we invest a long time in our future hope.
c. Even though we face difficulties in this life we must hang on to the hope we have in Christ.
3. We are to establish our hearts.
a. To stand firm; to strengthen; to take courage; to stand firm in one’s mind,—Practical Word Studies in the New Testament
b. We must set our hearts upon the Lord’s coming, for His coming is near. The idea is that it is drawing ever so close and can happen at any moment.
c. We must focus and set our hearts upon His return—be looking for it every day just as the farmer looks for his great day of harvest.
4. We must always remember what James says that "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."
a. We must not sit and wait for Christ to return, but we should live with the realization that time is short and that we have important work to do. —Life Application Bible Notes
b. A brother named Keith Green wrote a song that says "You say that I am coming back soon, but you act like I’ll never return."
c. We must not be like the wicked servant who hid his masters talent in the ground, but until he comes we must be about the master’s business.
Transition: Jesus is coming soon, so we must be about the buisness of the kingdom: reaching lost souls.
II. We Must Be Patient With One Another (9)
A. Do Not Grumble
1. In verse 9 James says, "Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned..."
2. What does he mean not to "grudge" against each other?
a. The word translated "grudge" in the KJV means "to groan or sigh as the result of deep concern or stress" —Louw & Nida: NT Greek-English Lexicon
b. It speaks of inner distress more than open complaint.
c. What is forbidden is not the loud and bitter denunciation of others but the unexpressed feeling of bitterness or the smothered resentment that may express itself in a groan or a sigh. - Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM
3. A more common word that closer represents what James is talking about is the word grumble.
a. Refusing to grumble about each other is part of what it means to be patient (5:7).
b. Grumbling against one another indicates a careless attitude of speech.
4. Jesus tells us "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
5. Instead Jesus says "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
6. James says that if we grudge or grumble against one another we could be condemned.
a. When Jesus said we were to love one another, he didn’t call it "a new suggestion!"
b. If Jesus gives a command to love one another and we don’t what do you think He calls it? SIN!
c. Illustration: It is calculated that over one million of the children of Israel died in the wilderness by God’s judgment for their murmurings in forty years.—Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
B. The Judge Stands at the Door
1. James tells us that our major concern about this kind of behavior is "the judge standeth before the door."
2. If we believe that Jesus could come at any minute, in the twinkling of an eye, we don’t want him to find us doing what he commanded us not to do.
3. The Judge is not far away, but standing at the door.
4. James is warning believers not to be in the middle of judging, quarreling, criticizing, or gossiping when the one they should be serving returns.
5. Knowledge of Christ’s presence is not only comforting; it can also be convicting--especially when we begin behaving as if he were far away.
a. When the Lord comes let him catch doing his will.
b. When the Lord comes let him catch us obeying his word.
c. When the Lord comes let him catch us doing what is right.
Transition: The Judge is standing at the door, but when he opens the door what will he catch us doing?
III. We Must Be Patient Like the Saints of Old (10-11)
A. Take the Prophets
1. James says to "Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience."
2. Jewish Christians knew the stories of the prophets, many of whom suffered greatly or were killed for proclaiming God’s message.
3. Although James refers to "the prophets" as a group, Jeremiah certainly stands out as one who endured mistreatment with patience. - Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM
a. He was put in the stocks (Jer 20:2)
b. thrown into prison (32:2), and
c. lowered into a miry dungeon (38:6);
d. yet he persisted in his ministry without bitterness or recrimination.
4. Part of his point is that God does not preserve from suffering those he has called; rather, he preserves them in suffering.
5. They are an example to all believers because of their obedience and faithfulness despite the hardships they endured.
B. Patience of Job
1. Then James uses Job as an example.
2. Here James is leading his readers to apply the lessons from Old Testament lives. For instance, Job’s best work is as a teacher: one who has suffered and can help us cope with suffering.
3. His life is an example we need to follow.
a. Job may have complained, but he did not stop trusting or obeying God.
b. And the Lord did deliver and restore him.
4. The believers, after all the suffering they had endured thus far, were encouraged not to give up--God would deliver and reward them.
5. Notice what James says at the end of verse 11 "and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
a. The Lord’s "end" or goal, is for us to grow in faith and character through difficulties.
b. God does not enjoy watching his people suffer. He allows them to face such pain because a greater good will be produced.
c. In the meantime, James encourages his readers to trust in God, wait patiently, persevere, and remember God’s tenderness and mercy.
1. Illustration: Probably no similar undertaking ever paralleled, in patience and energy, that of the miner, W. H. Schmidt, who worked from 1906 to 1938 in digging a 2,000-foot tunnel through a granite mountain in Kern County, California. Realizing such a tunnel was the only feasible way he could transport the ore from his claim to the outside world, he was too poor to purchase modern tools or employ help. And so he did the job alone, equipped only with a small jackhammer, a lantern and a hand-pushed truck for removing the loosened rock. But he succeeded. —Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
2. The Lord must see difficult circumstances as the only way to get us where he wants us to be, and if we will be patient and trust him, we will succeed.
Conclusion
1. Until the Lord comes we must be patient:
a. In waiting for him
b. With one another
c. Like the Saints of Old
2. In what area do you need patience this morning?
3. Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
