It's been announced as of March. For the month of March, class can period $250. We're doing our study in practical daily living in a non-Christian world. Study of James. We started in the study of James. We're finishing that up today and then moving on to 1 Thessalonians next week. Today's Lesson 5, The Life of a Living Faith, the text changes the entire chapter to 5, and the focus is on verses 7 through 18. The key verse being verse 20, Let him know that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. And the application for today's lesson is to acknowledge that riches can be a concern, the coming of the Lord is comfort, and the prayer of the righteous is powerful. So with that, I'm gonna go right to the, we've asked a similar question on these other books we've been studying, but in seeking the context of our study today, of our study period, what is the most important lesson you've learned from the book of James? If you had to pick one, what's the most important lesson? James covered several topics within the title, within the text. Works and faith kind of go together. I'm not saying they're works. Works and faith go together. Go together. Okay. Guard what you say. You are what you say. Guard. Guard what you say. Yes. Okay. Anyone else? There's a lot there to choose from, really. about what you consider most important. Okay. Our outline is pretty short and sweet. Be patient, verses seven and eight. Grudge not, or grumble not, verses nine through 12, and pray, verses 13 to 18. the lesson. We're going to start the lesson in verse 7, as you can see, but I just want to cover or summarize the first six verses because they relate to first words of verse seven. But if we go all the way back to chapter one, we'll find sprinkled throughout this book of James is a warning to the rich. In chapter one, James encourages the rich to think humbly and lowly and not become puffed up by the riches because riches of this world are passing away quickly. In James chapter 2, James scolds his readers for showing favoritism to the rich when it was the rich who oppressed them and blasphemed the name of Jesus Christ. In James chapter 4, James warns his readers not to make wealth or gold, but to always seek the Lord's will in their efforts to make a living. And that brings us up to James chapter 5. In the opening of James chapter 5, he cautions the rich again of making too much about their wealth, because it's all going to decay. Verses 1-3 says, Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries. that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, your garments are moth-eaten, your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you and shall eat your flesh as if it were fire. You have eaten treasure together for the last days. Then he goes on to give a stern warning about cheating and abusing workers, because God hears the workers' cries of injustice. Verse 4-6 says, Behold, the higher of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you, kept back by fraud, crieth. And the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath. You have lived in pleasure on the earth and have been wanton. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed the just, and he doth not resist you. So, Scripture says the workers' cries of injustice have come up to God, and He sees their their situation. So as we continue on in chapter 5, we will see James' final encouragements to these people and his readers on living the life of faith. So that brings us to our first point, be patient, verses 7 and 8. Verse 7, It says, Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. And we've said before, often, you see a therefore, you look and see what it's there for. And so, therefore usually means because of what I've just told you, do this. And he says, Be patient, therefore. And patience in this situation is patience with people, not patience with trials or circumstances. And James specifically, because of this first six verses, James has in mind patience with these rich people who are oppressing the believers. He says, Be patient, therefore, brethren, in the coming of the Lord. The coming is obviously the second coming of Christ. And realizing the glory that awaits them, his readers, the believers, at Christ's return, that that should motivate them to patiently endure this mistreatment that they're going through right now. There are all kinds of problems in the world because of sin. And we're not failures if we can't straighten out every one of these problems, social problems that we see around us, because the world is broken by sin. Our part is to patiently hold on until Christ comes, when he will right our wrongs. James goes on, Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it. So, James brings in the husbandman, or the farmer, as an example, as a metaphor. Well, he's using this metaphor above. James is using the farmer as an illustration. Now, I know the farmer's not in charge of the results. Just ask any of them. The farmer does the planting, but he can't control The rainfall, he can't control the sunshine. All he can do is his part, which is the planting. He has to wait on God to do the rest, to take over and to give the yield. Many things in our lives are like this. If we witness to a person, we share the gospel with them, we can't make them believe any more than a pastor preaches a sermon and he can create changes in our hearts, the listener's hearts. In each case, all that that person who's giving out the message can do is to obey God what he feels God is leading him to preach or teach or the gospel to give out to a lost friend. obey what God has told him to do, and then pray, and then wait on God, and see how God's going to move in that situation. Then the end of verse 7 says, until he received... Go back and pick up that last phrase. Behold, the husband will wait for the precious fruit of the earth and has long patience for it until he received the early and the latter rain. It's making references to the climate in Israel. The early rain in Israel falls during October and November and kind of softens the ground for the planet. The latter rain falls in March and April immediately before the spring harvest. So the farmer, the husbandman, waits patiently from the early rain to the latter rain for the crop to ripen and be ready for harvest. And so we have to wait patiently for Christ to return. And then in verse 8, reinforces this thought from verse 7. He says, "...be also patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." So he says, be patient like the farmer, which he just talked about. Establish your hearts. That's a call for them to have a commitment, a firm commitment And he's talking to those who are under persecution and he's telling them, establish your hearts or shore up your hearts with the hope of the second coming. And he's saying the second coming draws nigh. It's imminent. The fact that it's imminent we see as a theme as we read through the New Testament frequently. So he's telling them and us to be patient until the Lord comes. How do you do that? Well, there are places in Scripture that tell us to be busy. Be busy in the Lord's work, not sitting, waiting, or up on the housetop, you know, waiting for the rapture, but to be busy in the Lord's work. There's much to do as we look around us. Many, many people lost that need Christ. And then, we need to live by faith. God's promised He's coming. We can take Him in His promise. His other promises have been fulfilled, many of them. And so, we know this one will be too, but it'll be done in His timing. Only the Father knows when Christ is coming again. When He gives the Word, Christ will return. The second point in the right line is grudge not, or grumble not. So it's grudge not against another, brethren, righteous Christians, lest ye be condemned. Behold, the judge standeth before the door. So James is picturing Christ as a judge who's standing outside the door, waiting to come into his courtroom and convene his court. And James knows that persecution sometimes makes people feel overwhelmed and that can lead to grumbling. And James cautions his readers then against the sin of grumbling or complaining, lest they forfeit their full reward, as it tells us in 2 John verse 8. And that's why he's using the illustration of the judge, of Christ as the judge. Verses 10 and I'm gonna read the first phrase of verse 11 also. Take, my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. So he's saying to his readers, the prophets are an example of how we should act in this situation, how we should endure. Many of them suffered, most of them suffered. Many of them died for speaking in the name of the Lord. Then he goes on to a second example, verse 11. He says, you've heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. So he gave the Old Testament prophets as one example, now he turns to Job as another example. Job's a classic example of patience of the Lord. people who, men who patiently wait and endure suffering. And he was blessed with God because of it. James reassures his readers that God has a purpose for their suffering, just as he did for Job. And then he describes the Lord as very pitiful. Now sometimes people use the word pitiful as feeling sorry for a person, but pitiful also means full of pity, full of compassion. And we know that Christ is full of compassion. and full of mercy toward us. That's one of His character traits. And the fact that He is compassionate, He is merciful, should be an encouragement to us when we're going through suffering. The Scriptures over and over talk about Christ's compassion and His mercy. But above all things, or especially, he's saying, I want to point this out to you. As he's done repeatedly, James stresses that a person's speech tells us the most about his spiritual condition. So he says, but of all things, for especially, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by any other oath, but let your yea be yea, or your yes be yes, and your nay or no be no, lest ye fall into condemnation. So, as Jesus did before, this Jewish practice of that time of swearing false or deceptive oaths for everything other than the name of the Lord, which was the only one that was considered binding. So what these people were doing was swearing an oath to do something for these readers of James, but leaving themselves an out, like swearing under the name of heaven, it means a couple of things there. Neither by heaven, neither by earth. And then when they don't fulfill the promise, whatever it was, they say, well, I didn't swear by the name of the Lord. So they leave themselves an out to make a promise and then not keep it. Then verse 12 said, "...but let your yes be yes, and your no be no, lest you fall into condemnation." We're saying this is the same thing Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, verse 37. James called for straightforward, honest speech, plain speech, let your yes be yes, and your no be no. And he's saying to speak otherwise is to follow the condemnation or bring on God's judgment. So how can you follow the example of Job in suffering? Well, you hear often about the patience of Job. Job was patient. To be patient like Job was, you have to have a good foundation in your life. You have to have a deep, strong faith in God. And then you can be patient. I remember the story of Job. Job had all these questions. His three friends were no good. The fourth friend came in. His advice was no good. They all wanted to blame Job. And Job kept asking God, you know, posing all these questions to God, you know, why am I going through this suffering? I don't think I've done anything wrong. And God, when God finally does speak, he doesn't answer any of Job's questions. But basically, he tells him, Job is better to know God than to know answers. But Job was patient. And lastly, prayer. So be patient, grudge not, and pray. The word pray is used seven times in this final passage in James 5. It's at least once in every verse that we're going to read here. Is any among you afflicted, or is any among you suffering, letting pray? The antidote to suffering caused by evil treatment or persecution is seeking God's comfort through prayer. Is that the only time that Should we only talk to God when we have problems? Well, the second part of the verse answers that. Is any merry? You know, some of you are afflicted or suffering. Is any merry or cheerful? Let him sing songs. So, the natural response of a person that's cheerful or has a joyful heart is to sing praise to God. among you, or are weakened by their suffering, just let it call for the elders or pastors of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. So if that person is sick, persecution He's to call for the elders, plural, indicating some churches would have had more than one pastor. And then let the elders pray over him, the one who has beckoned them. in prayer. It says, the elders will pray over him and then anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Several different interpretations of this. Anointing is rubbing the oil on a person, oftentimes on their head. That could be a ceremonial anointing, Mark chapter 6 verse 13 talks about that. Or James may have had in mind medicinal treatment of believers who have been physically bruised and battered by persecution. Or, here's another take on it. Maybe it's not a literal interpretation but a metaphor of the fact that these elders come to encourage this person and comfort them and strengthen them and pray over them. Verse 15. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. So the prayer of faith is the prayer that the, on this person's behalf by the elders from the church. And it says, that shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. So to save the sick is to, we're talking about saving them from the sickness, not saving them from their sins. So deliver them from their suffering because they've been weakened by the persecution. It's not saving them from their sin, and confessed at one time or another after these elders came. It says, and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Their sins were not forgiven by the elders because we know God alone, he's the only one that can forgive sins. But what he's saying is that those who are suffering The fact that they called for the elders implies that they had a repentant heart. They were obeying God and doing what this verse says. And so, I think it's reasonable to assume that if they came with a repentant heart, then part of their time they spent with the elders would have involved confessing their sins to God. And moving on, verse 16 says, confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that ye may be healed. So God didn't design us to live the Christian life alone. We need a community of believers, which is what the local church is. And we need them in order to be able to share our struggles. You know, life doesn't always go smoothly as a Christian. We have our struggles, we have our problems, and we need someone to share those struggles with. Someone who will pray for us, someone who holds us accountable, and vice versa, we hold them accountable. One thing to remember on the elders, all the elders of the church were the ones that were called upon to pray for the sick in verse 14. This verse doesn't create a priestly function in the church where you're going to go to that person, but a responsibility to confess our sins one to another. And when a church member confesses their sins to another brother or sister in Christ, they're not asking them to forgive their sins, they're asking them to pray with them for God and help bring victory in their life over a certain sin. The last part of verse 16, you've probably heard this part of this verse. You may have had it underlying your Bible. An effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. This verse gives us two characteristics of effective prayer. First is the character of the prayer itself. It says the effective, fervent prayer. So this is not an absent-minded prayer that we, conjure up, you know, spur of the moment, but it's effectual and fervent. It's interesting, this comes from a single Greek word, energeo, I don't know if I pronounced that right, but it's the word from which we get our word energy, it sounds to us like energy. And as I said, it's a heartfelt prayer, a prayer that's poured out from the heart, and a prayer knowing that God is our only refuge. God is the only place to go when we are serious, and it's a great need, any need, really, big or small, but this is talking about praying for one another, the first part of this verse. And then it says, effectual firm of prayer. And then the second characteristic of an effective prayer It's the man or person who prays. It says he's a righteous man. His life is one of fellowship and dependence on God. And when that kind of prayer from that kind of a man is offered, this verse says, it will accomplish much. last two verses that we're gonna cover. Elias, or Elijah, was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. So this is a, This is a short summary of a longer story in 1 Kings 17 and 18, where Elijah prayed that it might not rain, and no rain fell for three and a half years, until he prayed again, and God restored the rain. Now, we need to keep in mind that Elijah was just like us as far as he had a sin nature, just like we do. But he prayed fervently, and God responded. And his prayer was a reflection of his righteous character. He didn't pray for personal gain, like Solomon. He didn't pray for riches, he prayed for wisdom. And God gave him wisdom and riches. But Elijah didn't pray for personal gain, but that God's people would turn back to him. In fact, Elijah was able to pray boldly, or so boldly, because God had promised that he would withhold the rain if the people sinned, and he'd send it again if the people repented. So Elijah just simply prayed God's Word back to him, in effect. And he trusted that God's promise, and his prayer was just for God to do what he had promised, that his desire was in line with God's desire, and that's really What praying is all about? Getting our desires in line with God's desires. So, we have this same promise. When our prayers are filled with the Word of God, when we're praying back to God what He has already said, we can have the same boldness Elijah had there. So how healthy is your paragraph? That's a self-evaluation question. Come back to that. I want to just excerpt a little bit, a little paragraph here from the study guide. We can really, you've probably already figured out that we can summarize this lesson in a few words, short and sweet. He said, be patient and pray. And the writer goes on, both of these virtues gauge our spiritual health. Our patience shows that we're heavenly minded instead of earthly minded. And we know that this world is not our home, and we look for the heavenly cities, builder and maker is God. We know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that awaits us in heaven. Romans 8, 18. And speaking of prayer life, the other part of this, be patient and pray, he gives a couple of questions that will help us gauge where our prayer life is. Question number one, he says, do we go to God first when we need help with suffering, sickness, or sin? The second question is, do we see Him, God, as our greatest help and our primary solution to our problem? In other words, do we worry first or do we pray first? The answers to these questions reveal the well-being of our relationship with God. I thought, in a short two paragraphs, he summarized the lesson quite well. And I'll leave you with this last question. What do we do? What's the practical application? What do we do with this, what we learned today? He said, be patient and pray. So how can you and I practice patience and be more persistent in prayer this week? Put a time constraint on it to think about it and answer that question. With that we'll close. Next week will be First Thessalonians and so you can be reading that first lesson. Lord, we come to you and we thank you for this lesson and thank you for your Word. Thank you for the practical book of James. We learn that faith without works is dead. We need faith to be saved, but if we are saved, we'll show forth through our works. We thank you for this lesson on patience. We thank you for Job and what we learned from that book. And help us, Lord, to be patient, patient with other people, patient in suffering, patient as we wait for the Lord to return. And help us to be busy while we're here and while we're waiting. Help us to look around us and be aware of those who have needs, especially the need to be saved, help us to willingly and to with joy share the gospel. Bless our aftershaves, bless the message, bless our pastor, and lead him in the words to say that would get across the message laid on us, for realist our sins, our money, and Jesus.