James 5:7-12
Notes
Transcript
ME
WE
GOD
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
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How can we be patient in the midst of suffering?
How can we be patient in the midst of suffering?
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(1) Establish Your Hearts
(1) Establish Your Hearts
You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
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How do we do this?
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
There are two things that a farmer in those days and that time did when it didn’t rain...
(1) Wait
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(2) Work
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These are the things we must do to establish our hearts in the Lord.
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(2) Do Not Grumble
(2) Do Not Grumble
Do not grumble about what?
Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
Don’t grumble against your brothers and sisters in Christ.
That’s in your face stuff.
However, this is the very thing we do when we are hurting. In the midst of our pain we lash out at others. We try to hurt so that we feel better.
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Why is this so important?
Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
God is watching. You may think that no one hears, but God does. You may think you only told on person what you thought about that person at church or the preacher. Guess what? God heard.
(3) Be An Example
(3) Be An Example
Be an example, of what?
As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
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How do we do that?
As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
James gives us two pictures of what it means to be an example of patience in the middle of suffering?
(1) The Prophets
Why the prophets?
These guys knew had to speak the truth to kings and the people of God and watch the people ignore the word of the Lord. They watched the glory of Israel be ripped from the nation. They saw a people defiant against God.
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Jeremiah is an example of a prophet that I have been reading some of his writings lately. He wrote Jeremiah and Lamentations.
[INSERT FACTS ABOUT JEREMIAH]
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(2) Job
Job was a man who loved the Lord and was faithful to God’s pruposes. The devil came into the presence of the Lord one day. God asked the devil if he had taken notice of Job and how faithful he was. The devil said that the only reason he was so faithful as because he was so blessed. The devil proposed that if God removed his blessings then Job would curse him. God allows the devil to take away those blessings.
Job lost everything. His family, fortune and health were all stripped from him. His wife even told him to curse God and die. However, Job never did. He remained faithful and God returned to him all he once had and then some.
How was he able to do this?
Check out v. 11...
Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Job hung in there and remained faithful, because he knew the purpose, compassion and mercy of the Lord.
We can be patient in suffering becuase we know that inspite of our circumstance the purpose of the Lord are always good and the He is a compassionate and merciful God.
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(4) Keep Your Word
(4) Keep Your Word
How do we do that?
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
How easy is that?
The problem is that we live in a post-Christian culture that seeks to grey the lines of truth and honesty. This happens by undermining absolute truth and values. In our society we continually shown that redefining words and lying is okay. However, as God’s people, we will not help our suffering by giving in to moral relativistic thinking.
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Why is this so important?
When we keep our word, we remind ourselves of the one who keeps his promises. We are actually mimicking God when we keep our word.
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