Sermon Notes 12-8-2013

e book of James

How to live the Christian Life

Sermon 10

Be patient, the end is near!

James 5:12-20

So we start with something we all need to hear!

James 5:12 (NLT)

¹² But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.

We have been here before

Jesus is concerned with truthfulness, with integrity, with Love, if we profess to know Jesus we should be honest and trustworthy, not tricky and deceiving. We should be the example that others want to follow, not the ones folks point at and say “that’s why I don’t go to Church”!

·      How about at work and in your community?

o   Are your yes’s really yes

o   Are your no’s really no

o   Are you displaying Jesus with your:

§  Words

§  Deeds

§  Actions

§  And life style

o   Are you Jesus with skin on? Are you setting an example for the strays of the herd

·      What about at home?

o   Are your yes’s really yes

o   Are your no’s really no

o   Are you honest with your spouse

§  Are you keeping your vows

§  Are you living up to your yes’s

§  Are you saying no, even when it hurts (sometimes it's the right thing)

Men! Are you leading your home, are you setting an example are being the man, husband, and dad God called you to be.

·      What about at Church

o   Are your yes’s really yes

o   Are your no’s really no

o   Do you follow through with what you say you will do

o   I stand up here every Sunday and get resounding YES PASTOR

§  But you really mean no

§  I see it in kids Church

§  I see it in every service, the lack of help

We as Christians should be truthful, people of our word, in all our dealings. We should not have to resort to swearing on anything to convince others. Your character alone should be enough to prove your reliability. To have to resort to swearing puts you in jeopardy of judgment.

The Power of Prayer!

James is closing out his letter to his brothers and sisters who are in the faith and enduring suffering for Jesus. His letter has been full of great truths spoke in love and honesty and now he is recapping so of the main points.

James 5:13 (NIV)

¹ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

Are you having some trouble??

·      If your in trouble, if you have lost your way

·      If your are suffering for your faith or being persecuted for your beliefs

·       If your having a bad day

·      If your spouse has made you mad, your kids driving you nuts!

·      What do we do???

What do we do, we fall on our knees before a might God, and we pray!

What do we pray for??

·      Lets look in the letter and find out!

Wisdom

James 1:5 (NIV)

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

·      Wisdom to see ourselves and our role in the issue

·      Wisdom to know understand the others involved and their situation

·      Wisdom to see through Jesus’s eyes not our own

Some Guidance

James 1:21 (NIV)

²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

·      Some plain old advise

·      Some discernment when dealing with difficult people

·      Some knowledge beyond our understanding, for the Spirit to take over

How about Patience

James 5:8 (ESV)

⁸ You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

·      To listen

·      To love first

·      To forgive much

·      To wait for Gods time

You see bad things happen to good people, and some times we need to look for God in it, and allow Him to work in us, so we can get through it!!

Is life good!! Then Give God the Glory, and you enjoy it!

Ephesians 5:19–20 (NLT)

¹⁹ singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. ²⁰ And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

·      When life is good know that everything good comes from God

·      When we give Him the glory, we are being examples to the strays

·      When we give Him the glory, we are telling the world we Love God!

We have to continue to tell a lost world how great God is; we have to be the light in the dark world. We continue to allow Satan to bash God; we let Him take God out of schools, out of politics, out of the public eye. We have to SING Gods praises in the good times not just run to Him in the Bad!

James 5:14–15 (NLT)

¹⁴ Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

There is a few things going on here so let me unpack this just a bit

1.   The elders

a.    Why should the sick call for the elders, instead of others?

                                               i.     Because they represent the entire church

                                              ii.     They are known as righteous men, the kind whose prayers are powerful

b.    Who are our elders

                                               i.     The elder body (Name them)

                                              ii.     The Lay Pastors

                                             iii.     The Pastor

 Prayer is powerful and can do wondrous things for the those deep in the faith, the reason you want someone with deep faith and a mature walk is like Jesus said you can move a mountain with faith. So you when times of serious illness strike, or great trouble comes find a person of great faith to pray with you!

2.   Anointing with oil!

a.    The oil symbolizes the blessing and healing from God, this is not magical healing oil.

b.    It is given “in the name of the Lord”

c.    The healing that comes from the anointing and prayer of the elders is miraculous, from the Lord

d.    The oil does not heal; the Lord who hears prayer does. The oil is a symbol of his blessing.

However, we should not be too quick to dismiss the power of the symbolism.

·      In the Lord’s Supper, the bread and fruit of the vine are symbolic of Christ’s body and blood.

·      In baptism, burial in water is symbolic of dying and rising with Christ.

·       

Although these are symbols, they are not just symbols that can be thrown away because we don’t like them or they make us feel uncomfortable. In the same way, the practice of anointing with oil as a symbol of the power of prayer maybe should be revived in the church. Sometimes I think we are straying to far from what the first church did, it seem we have picked and choose what suits our lifestyle.

3.   We see two things in verse 15, the sick healed and sins forgiven

a.    The sick healed or made well

                                               i.     This could mean that God makes them better

                                              ii.     It could mean that God ends there suffering here on earth

Some times we try to pray for the wrong things, for the right reasons and God does something different. We pray for healing and God heals them by taking them home. Remember God knows what’s best for us, and like a good dad answers us every time a “believer” prays or is prayed for!

b.    Sins are forgiven

                                               i.     Sometimes sin makes us sick

                                              ii.     Jesus often forgave sin to heal the sick

                                             iii.     What about you

1.    Are you carrying sin that makes you sick

2.    Acid reflux (stress)

3.    Ulcers (worries)

4.    Heart attack (worries and Stress)

5.    Depression (shame, abuse, stress)

                                            iv.     This also about salvation, God is more worried about your soul than He is about your earthly body.

1.    A few more years or forever in heaven?

2.    God wants you with Him forever, not cured of something

3.    So whatever it takes, God will save your soul

I have started to make it a habit when I am visiting the hospital to ask Jesus to forgive sin, and restore relationships with Him during my visits. Our lives are like a vapor, and I want to pray you in to heaven, not pray you in to hell!

James 5:16 (ESV)

¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

I could tell you the story of Elijah, and how prayer changed his world, but the reason James told that story is because his audience could relate. So instead I ma going to tell you some stories that you cane relate to.

·      Night terrors

·      Boy in the hospital (God and I on the elevator)

·      My sister praying for me

·      Countless people telling us of God rescuing them from, money, work, marriage problems when they need it most after prayer

·      My oldest son

Prayer is so powerful when you have faith and pray for God to do His will and you pray for God to guide you through it all. Sometimes it takes years for God to answer, some times days. But we cant stop praying for the miracle, the hope, the courage, the faith, wisdom, and the lost because who knows when God will answer, but He will answer.