One of the things I’ve discovered when it comes to preparing a series of sermons on a specific book of the Bible-like James for example-it is that it is often difficult to know how to divide the text. I mean, sometimes it’s hard to decide where to start and where to stop when it comes to planning which texts will be the basis of each message. I’ve learned that before I can make my preaching plan, I first have to sit down and study the entire book and then-based on my study-divide that book into “sermon-size” segments. For example, I might decide to get three sermons out of one chapter and ten out of another. Well, this kind of sermon planning is not always easy because the writers God used to put the books of the Bible together usually didn’t have sermons in mind when they did their writing. They didn’t always plan on their material being preached from pulpits like ours here at Redland.
I say all this to help you see that the text I want us to study together this morning really belongs right alongside the text we used last Sunday. The verses in James 5:1-12 are really just one long paragraph dealing with different facets of the same issue. The truth is, I COULD have preached one long sermon on this text-but due to time constraints it had to be done in two.
In any case, in order for us to understand the verses I want to look at THIS MORNING, we need to remember all that we learned about the verses we focused on LAST WEEK. So, let me give you a quick review. You should recall that in the FIRST six verses of chapter 5, James rebuked evil wealthy people who hoarded their possessions. Remember? I said they were the “bad guys” because they allowed their love of money-their passion for possessions-to lead them to commit sinful acts against the “good guys.” For example: these wealthy people ignored the needs of others around them and closed the doors of their estates and lived in the lap of luxury while their neighbors were cold and hungry. They also cheated the people who worked for them by not paying them their wages. They hired some of their neighbors to do specific jobs-like harvesting their fields or making their clothes and then when pay day came around they refused to distribute the payroll so their personal bank accounts could remain just as full. Finally, their evil was such that they condemned innocent men. These rich guys went to the local officials with trumped up charges against their poor neighbors. Then, when these neighbors were jailed or even executed for crimes they did not commit, these evil rich men seized their property and added it to their holdings, much like wicked King Ahab and his wife Jezebel who twisted justice so they could get their hands on Naboth’s vineyard.(1 Kings 21)
So, in the first six verses of this chapter, James addresses the bad guys-those people Charles Swindoll says were RICH WITHOUT but POOR WITHIN. That is to say, they had great MATERIAL wealth but little or no SPIRITUAL wealth. If they had a relationship with God, it was a poor one indeed. Well this week I want us to look at the NEXT six verses and in these words James turns to address the “good guys”-the VICTIMS of all these crimes-those people who were enduring highly UNFAIR treatment at the hands of the rich. In this text James is essentially saying, “Having addressed the rich, now I want to talk to you who have been condemned and unjustly treated.”
Okay, with all that in mind, take your Bibles and turn with me now to James 5, verses 6-12 and let’s see what James has to say.
7 – Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
8 – You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
9 – Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
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, my 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.
Now, I believe this is an important text for you and me to study because, like those victims of the rich in James’ day, you and I often have to put up with a great deal of UNFAIR treatment in life, don’t we? Sure we do. It comes with living in a fallen, unfair world. I mean, think of all the innocent people who suffered just this past year at the hands of the rich corporate executives of ENRON and WORLDCOM. Or consider the families of the astronauts who are in anguish today because of the unfairness of life-women and children who are living under the cloud of grief because their loved ones were taken from them prematurely. Think of all the victims of the sniper shootings last year-innocent people whose lives were ended prematurely and violently. I’m sure you have no trouble thinking of times when you or your own family had to endure unfair hardship whether it’s your children coming home from school in tears after being snubbed by their supposed friends or your having to work weekends due to a tyrannical supervisor or having to find money for an unexpected car repair. I mean the truth is UNFAIR trials big and small are indeed an inevitable part of life.
I remember when my son, Daniel, was a baby. We had to take him to the hospital when he was about 5 days old for some sort of routine PKU blood test that involved pricking his heel. And when the nurses jabbed his little foot with those needles he of course screamed in pain-and as I held him and tried to comfort him I said, “Son, I’m sorry but you’re going to have to get used to things like this. In fact, this is but the first of a lifetime full of unfair pain you will have to endure.” If old Job had been standing there when I said that he would have given me an “AMEN!” because Job knew first hand how many trials and tribulations can come our way in this unfair world of ours. This is what he was saying he wrote, “Man is born for trouble as sparks fly upward.” (Job 5:7) And-Jesus Himself lovingly warned us about this sad truth as well when He said, “In this world you WILL have trouble.” In fact, being a Christian can insure that we will not only have to deal with the NORMAL unfairness of life-we will also have to endure tough, UNFAIR times BECAUSE of our faith in Jesus. This is what Paul was getting at in 2 Timothy 3:12 when he said, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” It’s not fair-but it will happen, Christian!
Well, how should you and I respond to unfairness and persecution? What can we do that will help us endure these tough times? I think it is important for us to study this text from James because in his advice to those suffering Christians of his day we find the answer to these questions. You see, James says there are two parallel attitudes that we must embrace in order to endure the tough times of life.
1. The first is PATIENCE.
Now, the truth is patience is a characteristic that most of us are not very familiar with, due to the fact that these days we don’t get much personal experience when it comes to being patient. It’s not that we don’t value patience. We just don’t like to practice it. I mean, we want others to be patient with us but we don’t want to be patient with them, do we? No-we’re in too much of a hurry getting our own lengthy “to do lists” completed to be patient. Well, in light of our lack of personal experience when it comes to practicing this attitude, let’s stop and remind ourselves exactly what patience is. The Greek word for patience that James uses here is “makrothumeo” and it literally means “long spirit” or “not losing heart.” It would be better translated as “steadfastness” or “endurance” because it suggests the quality of SELF-RESTRAINT instead of some sort of patient resignation to one’s fate.
In this text it refers specifically to the need to refrain from striking back at the unfairness of life.
This is one time in which I favor the way the King James Version puts it-for it says this word should be translated as “long suffering.” And I like that because patience enables us to SUFFER unfairly a LONG TIME and not strike back. In short, it helps us to endure the unfairness of life without responding in a non-Christian manner. For example, with patience we can suffer for months or even years under the mistreatment of others without growing resentful or bitter. Okay-James says if we are to endure the unfairness of life, we must learn to apply this PATIENCE in two areas.
A. First of all he says that we must be patient when it comes to our relationship with GOD.
This principle is what he is referring to in verse 7 when he says, “Be patient then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.” You see, the Christians of James’ day believed that Jesus Christ would return again within their life time. They eagerly anticipated this wonderful day because they knew that when that day dawned on which Gabriel’s trumpet would blow, Jesus would come back to rule, and all evil would be punished once and for all. On that day the unfairness of life would cease…and these evil rich guys who were persecuting them so, would be punished for the wrongs they had committed. Well, they were right to eagerly anticipate Jesus’ second coming for it will indeed be a GLORIOUS day. It will initiate an eternity of uninterrupted fellowship with the Lord. We’ll be reunited with our loved ones who have died-not to mention biblical heroes like Moses and Paul. On that day we’ll also receive new, glorious bodies that will never tire or age. All wrongs will be righted and the perfect holy goodness of God will reign forever.
And while we’re on the subject, let me remind you-Jesus IS coming back!
The Bible has not told us WHEN but it has told us it WILL definitely happen some day. God has promised us this repeatedly! Just as the Old Testament abounds with prophecies of Jesus’ FIRST coming, so does the New Testament overflow with promises of His return. In fact, future events like Jesus’ return and the final judgement are mentioned over 300 times in the New Testament. Our text for this morning is a great example, for James says that as surely as God always faithfully sends the rains in the spring and the fall-water that farmers patiently wait for each year-God will just as surely one day send His Son back to earth.
However, we should note that Scripture teaches that Jesus’ 2nd coming will be much DIFFERENT from His first. The first time He entered our world in a stable in an obscure village with only a handful of witnesses but when He comes back people all over this globe will see it. In Matthew 24 Jesus described His return and said, “…all the nations of the earth…will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.” (Vs.30) Revelation 1:7 says, “…every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 says, For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God…” So-unlike His FIRST coming, there will be no doubt on the minds of anyone on this planet as to what has happened when the King of Kings RE-appears.
And you know, the older I get, the more I yearn for that day to dawn!
Like the Christians of James’ day, as I suffer more and more of the unfairness of life, I too grow impatient. I pray, “Come on God! What are you waiting for! Send Jesus back to get us. Zap all these bad guys who are making our world and my life miserable. Show them Who’s Boss GOD!” This reminds me of a story I read this week about the famous New England preacher of yesteryear, Philip Brooks. One day Brooks was pacing the floor like a caged lion and one of his friends asked, “What is the trouble Dr. Brooks?” Brooks replied, “The trouble is that I’m in a hurry, but God isn’t!” Have you ever felt that way? I mean have you ever wanted God to hurry up and do something in your life? Perhaps you were dealing with some sort of unfairness…and you prayed and prayed….but nothing seemed to happen. Well, the truth is, when times like this come, we need to learn to have patience and trust God’s perspective and timing. You see, unlike us, God is able to see ALL of our life-from our first breath to our last-at the same time. He knows what’s ahead. He knows our needs better than we do-and loves us more than we can possibly imagine. Well, we need to learn to TRUST His love-believing that He will not allow any unfairness to come our way-any trial or tribulation-that He does not know is not somehow for our good or for His glory. Jerry Bridges writes, “If God’s love is sufficient for my greatest need, my eternal salvation, surely it is sufficient for my lesser needs, the adversities I encounter in this life.” So, in tough times we must do as it says in Psalm 27:14: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
In Henri Nouwen’s book, Sabbatical Journeys, he writes about some friends who were trapeze artists and called themselves The Flying Roudellas. One thing they told Nouwen was that there’s a very special relationship between the flyer and the catcher on the trapeze. The flyer is the one that lets go, and the catcher is the one that catches. As you might imagine, this relationship is important-especially to the flyer. When the flyer is swinging high above the crowd on the trapeze, the moment comes when he must let go. He arcs out into the air and his job is to remain as still as possible and to wait for the strong hands of the catcher to pluck him from the air. This trapeze artist told Nouwen, “The flyer must never try to catch the catcher.” He must wait in patient, absolute trust. The catcher will catch him. But He must wait.
Well, you know, in life there will be times when we feel like we are hanging there and we wonder what is taking God so long. In times like these we’ll be tempted to take things into our own hands but we must learn like the trapeze artist to trust our “Catcher”-to say with the Psalmist, “I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hands.” (Psalm 31:14-15a) We must cling to Jesus’ promise in Luke 18:7 where He said, “God will always give what is right to His people who cry to him night and day, and He will not be slow [according to His perfect timing] to answer them.” As we eagerly wait for Jesus’ return we must remember 2 Peter 3:9 where it says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance.”
When tough, unfair times come we must have patience with God. But James says there is a second area in life where we need to practice patience…
B. We must be patient in our relationships with EACH OTHER.
In our text for this morning James infers that some of the Christians of his day were breaking under the pressure of their unfair persecution. They were grumbling and complaining and even making false promises to each other-giving their word and then not keeping it. In short, their persecution was leading them to persecute each other.
Well, you and I are like this as well aren’t we? When times are hard and we grow weary, we often lose our cool and strike out at those closest to us-fellow Christians-even family members. In our fast-paced society you and I endure a lot of mistreatment and unfortunately we often stuff our feelings about this unfair mistreatment all day long, until we get home that is, and our kids are a little too loud or our spouse spent a little too much money at the grocery store or something and when this happens we explode all over our children or spouse. We mistreat them in the same way we have been mistreated. We vent our feelings about the unfairness of our lives on them. Don’t raise your hands, but have any of you ever done that to your loved ones?
Unfortunately this is our natural sinful tendency but James is saying, “Don’t give in to it. Don’t let the pressure that is brought to bear on you from the outside cause you to be unchristian with each other. Be patient.” We must obey God’s Word in this for there is no excuse for Christians to attack each other-EVEN THOSE WHO WRONG US. I mean, no matter how bad we are treated, we have no excuse to lose our cool with others. James reminds us that sin is never justified-even those sins we commit in an effort to get back at those who have sinned against us. Two wrongs don’t make a right.
So, we must be patient with other people. And if that is ever hard for you to do, remember that God has been-and continues to be patient with you. Psalm 103:8 says, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, SLOW to anger, abounding in love.” Let that fact motivate you to obey Ephesians 4:2-3 which says, we must “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, BEARING WITH ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” In verse 7 James infers that no Christian would want Jesus to return to find us damaging our unity-mistreating other people-no matter how unfair our lives are. In short we must live holy lives-such that we are always READY for Jesus’ return.
In his book, The Road to Armageddon, Charles Swindoll shares about the days that he worked his way through college in a large machine shop. One of his co-workers was a man named “Tex.” Now-working in a plant like that meant that his time was governed by the shrill blowing of a huge whistle. It would blow to tell him when to start work…and another time to remind him when it was time for lunch and again at the end of the day to inform all employees that it was QUITTIN’ TIME. Swindoll noticed that Tex was ready to go home before anyone else. He would always have his lunch box and coat handy and was out the door at the end of the day before any one else. One day he asked him about this and Tex replied, “Sonny, let me tell you something. I STAY ready…to keep from GETTIN’ ready. I STAY ready for quittin’ time.” And, we need to live like Tex, ALWAYS ready for the time when, not a whistle but a trumpet will blow to signal that it is “quittin’ time” on earth.
So, to endure the inequities of life, we need to be patient with God and patient with each other. Then, the other attitude James says we need in tough times is…
C. …PERSEVERANCE.
In short, when unfair times come we need to hang in there and to stick to it. We must keep on keeping on! James says we must emulate the great prophets of old who persevered in speaking for God, even when that meant they had to go through times of suffering and like Job who held on-in the midst of unfairness after unfairness after unfairness…and never gave up on God saying, “Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him.” (Job 13:15) This principle is what Jesus was teaching in the Sermon on the Mount when He said, “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God.” I say this because the Greek text in Matthew’s gospel states a continual command and literally says, “Keep on continually seeking…the Kingdom of God.” Jesus is talking about determined perseverance-hanging tough at seeking to become all that God wants us to be and to do all He wants us to do-regardless of how tough it is to do so.
You know, when I think of spiritual perseverance I think of the marathon runner who keeps running…keeps striving to reach that finish line-even when he hits what they call “the wall,” that time a few miles into the race when their feet won’t stop hurting and knives of pain are stabbing through their calves and their lungs feel like they are filled with burning coals and the temptation to stop is overwhelming. At this point in the race in spite of all this pain, CHAMPION runners persevere-they keep plodding along-drawing closer to the finish line with each determined step. Well, our “finish line” as Christians-our goal-is to become more and more like Jesus. This is what we must CONTINUALLY SEEK-no matter what. This is what Paul is talking about in Philippians when he says, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.”
Well, if we are mature, we WILL take such a view of things. We will persevere in walking with and serving God, even in the midst of the unfairness of life. And our motivation to do that is our knowledge that, as I said earlier, God can and will use the inequities of life for our good-to help us mature and reach our goal. Many times our trials and tribulations make us feel like we have hit “the wall” in the “race of life.” And when that happens we must realize that those tough times can be the tool that God uses to shape and mold and make us better “runners”- more like His Son. Paul knew this and so he wrote in Romans saying, “We rejoice greatly in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope.” You see, if we believe that even in our suffering, “God is working…both to will and to do His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)…if we have faith that “In all things God is working for our good” (Romans 8:28)…if we know our suffering has a purpose, we can indeed persevere.
You know it is often hard for us to understand, but there is important growth that can only happen to us in these times when we suffer. In fact most mature Christians say that the factors that were most formative in their spiritual growth-were times of suffering and pain. A great example of this is found in the experience of the people of Israel when they were wandering in the desert for 40 years. God explained the purpose of these four decades of suffering in Deuteronomy 8:2-4 when He said,
“Remember how the Lord your God has led you in the desert for these forty years, taking away your pride and testing you, because He wanted to show what was in your heart. He took away your pride when He let you get hungry and then He fed you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had ever seen. This was to teach you that a person does not live by eating only bread, but by everything the Lord says.
During these forty years, your clothes did not wear out, and your feet did not swell. Know in your heart that the Lord your God corrects you as a parent corrects a child.”
You see, during these desert decades God helped the Hebrew people to grow up. He took away their pride and taught them to rely on Him. Did God want them to reach the Promised Land? Of course. But He was more concerned that they arrive PREPARED than that they arrive SOON. The pain of these seemingly endless years of delay would serve to teach the Israelite people vital lessons-things they would need to know in order to function as God’s chosen people.
And then a New Testament example of this principle is found in the account of the death of Lazarus. Remember, Jesus delayed in going to Lazarus’ bedside. In that time of waiting for the Miracle Worker to come, Mary and Martha watched their brother, Lazarus die. Only after he was dead and in the grave for four days did Jesus finally come….too late to do any good in the minds of Mary and Martha. When He arrived Martha said to Jesus, “Lord if You had been here my brother would not have died.” Of course, Jesus then raised Lazarus back to life-and as a result, thanks to their experience of the unfairness of life, these two ladies learned an amazing truth about Jesus. To use the paraphrase of Henry Blackaby, Jesus told them,
“If I had come when you asked Me to, I would have healed Lazarus. But you would have never known any more about Me than you already know. I made you endure these four long days of grief because I wanted you to realize that I am the Resurrection and the Life. This time of suffering was an opportunity for Me to disclose to you more of Me than you have ever known.”
That’s the way it is with trials. When we persevere-when we patiently hang on God uses those tough times to stretch us and teach us and grow us. Remember the words of the song writer Andrae Crouch? “If I’d never had a problem I’d never know that He could solve them. I’d never know what faith in God could do.” The truth is Scripture teaches over and over again that tough times are often part of God’s plan, and can actually be good for us. So, we must know that enduring through times of testing is never wasted time. Remember, when we started this sermon series months ago we learned in James’ first chapter that we experience trials so that we may become “perfect and complete” like a plant that has matured to its maximum growth and fruitfulness. That he says, is the “perfect result” of perseverance.
It all comes down to this-when it comes to the unfairness of life-those trials and tribulations we are forced to endure through no fault of our own-as Christians it comes down to a matter of trust. We have to decide-will we trust our own flawed sinful perspective or will we trust what God has said in His book? Will we persevere and put our faith in His timing-His ability to bring good from bad? Will we trust His love? Will we trust Him with our lives?