BOOK OF JAMES

FINAL THOUGHTS- Part 21

James 5: 10-20 “ (10) Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (11) As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (12) Above all brothers, do not swear-not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No”, no, or you will be condemned. (13) Is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. (14) Is 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. (15) And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. (16) Therefore 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. (17) Elijah 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. (18) Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (19) My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, (20) remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

INTRO: As we look together as these last passages in James, he focuses on patience once again. Remember the farmer who James indicated in our last study must wait for sunshine and rain to harvest a full crop. Examples are given with Job and his trials. It would seem from the emphasis placed on patience that God desires this virtue in the lives of his own children. One of the greatest dangers we face is rebellion against God during these trials (Heb 12:11). During trials, we must remember (I Corinthians 10:13). We must remember that even in the darkest of night the hope that it will soon be morning must never leave us( Heb 13:5).

I)         Prophets as examples of patience under trial (vs. 10) 10) Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. – The prophets were God’s spokesmen of old. When God’s children followed heathen idols, God raised up prophets to fearlessly point out their sin. However, faithfulness to God brought abuse and death to these men. These prophets came in the name of the Lord “Thus saith the Lord” with a message that people did not want to hear. It’s interesting that most of the prophets suffered at the hand of the brethren (Joseph, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of their sin against his prophets Matt 23:37. If God’s choice servants have had to suffer so much surely we should endure also.  Job an example of patience in vs. 11(11) As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.- We have heard of the patience of Job. He lost his servants, livestock, property, and finally all his children. His body was covered with boils and the only possible comfort was to sit on soft wood ashes. If that wasn’t enough, his wife taunted him and said “Curse God and die.” Then his friends came and each accused him of a secret sin, but he was innocent. Yet, Job’s faith remained strong. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust Him- Job 13:15. There were times Job was in dispare and experienced a lot of discouragement, but in the overall picture Job was victorious. Remember in time of affliction in our lives, God and Satan are near. Satan says to turn back on God and follow me I will give you all things. Christ patiently extends grace and strength necessary to endure and says no matter what happens or what you do I love you. (Phil 4:13)(II Cor 12:9). God blessed Job for his stand. “So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning-Job 42:12. All of Job’s trials were for a purpose (Rom 8:28). Remember Gal 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”.

II)       The importance of our speech (vs.12) (12) Above all brothers, do not swear-not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No”, no, or you will be condemned.  –Did you realize that profanity is on e of the various forms of an oath? Many when angry bring the name of God and the Lord Jesus into play as an oath. This is done by swearing. The speech which comes from a man’s mouth shows forth this heart. Matt 12:34-37 tells me the words I utter I will one day answer for. Mark 7:15, 20-23 shows the speech that comes from within defiles people. We believe God is against all oaths that are flippant, purposeless, and profane.

III)      James focuses back on prayer in vs. 13-16 (13) Is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. (14) Is 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. (15) And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. (16) Therefore 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.– Here James looks at the prayerful attitude of Gods people in the depths of dispare and on the mountain top of blessing. We are called to relate all our emotional experiences to God. God is just as interested in us during times of deep dispare as in time of real joy (Ps. 139:1-6). His love and faithfulness does not change with our emotional experiences (Heb 13:8). Psalms 147:5 tells us “His understanding is infinite.”. Those who are suffering hardships are exhorted to pray. (II Chron 33:11). Our relationship to God the Father is seen more clearly under stress.(II Cor. 12:7-10). God commands us to pray in deep trial (Jonah 2:2).Prayer brings the sufferer nearer to God and often is the key that brings relief and peace to the troubled heart. As we face trials in our life, let us turn to Gods word and pray (Ps 61:1-2). Don’t let your affliction throw you. Use it to be drawn closer to Christ. We are also in this vs. 13 suppose to turn to God in praise in times of joy. Many is the time we forget God and all His benefits when things are going well. The cheerful hearts are to sing praises to our God. Vs.14 looks at the prayer for the sick. The sick are to call for the elders in vs. 14. The sick are to be prayed for with oil. However, some of us have placed too much emphasis on the oil and not enough on the prayer. For vs. 15 states clearly that “the prayer offered in faith will save the man who is sick”-KJ. This does not mean that the anointing of oil is wrong if done in a scriptural manner. The real healing power is in the prayer of faith and our Lord and that must be our center of attention. Most of us today believe in devine healing but not in divine healers. Divine healers today use methods which clearly show they are not of God. Modern healers make great appeals for money while our Lord said they were to take none-Luke 10:4. Jesus said the apostles not only healed the sick, but raised men from the dead. I hear of no modern day healer doing this lately. Modern day healers and the miracles of Jesus are contrary. How? 1) Healing was instantaneous not gradual- (Mark 1:42)   2) Healing was complete not partial-( Mat 8:15) 3) Healing was permanent not temporary-(Luke 7:15). However, God still performs miracles in answer to prayer of faith. This is why we are exhorted to pray for the sick. In Vs. 15 and 16, James talks about prayer in confession and forgiveness. There is forgiveness and cleansing for sin to the believer who confesses it to Christ (I John 1:8-9) I Cor. 11:31,32 show the need of self judgment. This is also a privilege to the Child of God and reveals the mercy of God which is extended to His own. Remember it’s good to confess our failures not only to God first but with those we have wronged (Prov 28:13)

IV)    A final word- Vs. 17-20 (17) Elijah 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. (18) Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (19) My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, (20) remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.- Elijah was a righteous man. He took God at His Word. He prayed for drought because Israel was living in sin and following idols. Something drastic was needed to bring them to their senses. Elijah prayed earnestly and God sent 3 ½ yrs of drought on Canan. Elijah prayed again and God sent rain. Vs. 19, 20 are a fitting closing to this excellent espistle. Again, throughout this book James has been attempting to turn back erroring Saints to the Lord. The term “save him from death” or KJ “one convert him” means to turn back and does not deal with regeneration. Reference is made here to a sinning saint and the ministry of helping restore the fallen brother. Gal 6:1 commits this work to the spiritual saint. Restoration of a fallen brother brings blessing. To turn him back saves a soul from death. James is referring here to a physical not spiritual death. For there is a sin unto death: I John 5:16 and I Cor. 11:30. God removes some Christians sooner then he would because they persist in sin/sins of the body.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSION:  The purpose of this book is summarized by James in these last passages. That is to obey God and live a righteous, holy, obedient life pleasing to Him. I have kind of summarized this principle when we first started by saying James is a book of “A Belief That Behaves”. We want to do our best for God and live a life by His purpose, plan, and meet the potential He has for each of us. Our body belongs to God not to us. It is a temple of the Holy Spirit according to the scripture. I hope by the study of this book, God has opened your spiritual eyes through His Holy Spirit to change some aspect of your spiritual life right now to make you more like Him. If our “Believe Does Not Behave like Christ, how will others see Him in us. How will we live up to the potential He has for each of us. My prayer is that through this study God will continue to press upon our lives the necessity of right living. May we with all our hearts yield to the teaching of Scripture and the voice of the Holy Spirit. May God Bless each and every one of you.