WEBVTT 00:00:00.920 --> 00:00:03.399 If you're visiting today or passing through, my name's Corey. 00:00:03.500 --> 00:00:04.520 I'm one of the ministers here. 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:07.719 And if you'd like to connect with us at all at the end of the service, 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:09.000 I'll be down at the Connect desk. 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:09.800 Would love to meet you. 00:00:10.060 --> 00:00:11.740 Would love to talk to you about getting connected here. 00:00:12.019 --> 00:00:14.419 If you have a question, want to pray, anything like that, 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:15.599 please do come and see me. 00:00:15.820 --> 00:00:17.820 We've got tea and coffee at the end of the service as well. 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:19.160 So stick around for that. 00:00:19.240 --> 00:00:20.000 Hang out with one another. 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:22.320 We are finishing the book of James today. 00:00:22.900 --> 00:00:24.260 So we're in the very last look at it. 00:00:24.260 --> 00:00:27.240 And we end on a controversial passage. 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:29.940 Controversial simply by way of interpretation. 00:00:30.899 --> 00:00:34.640 So there's lots of different ways to read the passage that David read for us. 00:00:35.020 --> 00:00:39.280 But at the same time, it is pretty clear about what it's about in general. 00:00:39.659 --> 00:00:46.719 So the text we read 13 to 20 and 13, we read, if you're suffering, pray. 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:50.760 And if you're cheerful, let that person sing praise. 00:00:51.299 --> 00:00:53.600 And sung praise is just prayer, sung. 00:00:54.019 --> 00:00:57.820 And then if you're sick, call the elders and have them come and pray for you. 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:00.219 And then verse 15, the prayer of faith. 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:01.380 And verse 16, pray for one another. 00:01:01.480 --> 00:01:03.920 And verse 16b, the prayer of the righteous person. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:05.319 And verse 17, Elijah prayed. 00:01:05.379 --> 00:01:06.579 And verse 18, Elijah prayed. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:09.439 So James wants you to pray. 00:01:10.180 --> 00:01:11.239 That's what the passage is about. 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:12.040 It's pretty clear. 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:16.200 He's calling us to pray at the end of this epistle. 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:20.500 And at the same time, the passage is pretty specific as well. 00:01:20.659 --> 00:01:26.180 So in the short time that I've had in ministry, nine years, I think now I've been ordained. 00:01:26.180 --> 00:01:34.380 And I've gotten the opportunity in nine years to sit at people's deathbeds and to go visit the sick when they're very sick and pray with them. 00:01:34.620 --> 00:01:35.900 So this is normal ministry. 00:01:37.100 --> 00:01:43.560 I know that David's, David Court's done that a lot more than me because he's a lot older than me. 00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:48.120 So he's done a lot of deathbed visits and prayers for the sick. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:54.219 But my guess is probably every person in this room, if you're a believer and you've been in a church for any time, you've done the same thing. 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:57.140 You've gone and visited somebody probably at some point who was sick. 00:01:57.200 --> 00:01:57.960 You prayed for them. 00:01:58.379 --> 00:01:59.480 That's normal ministry. 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:02.520 So in general, this is talking about pretty normal ministry. 00:02:02.840 --> 00:02:05.859 At the same time, this passage is more specific than that. 00:02:06.560 --> 00:02:09.360 A few ways of reading it, and I'm going to give you one today. 00:02:09.860 --> 00:02:15.219 And we have to be responsible as we read the Bible to laws, rules of interpretation. 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:25.599 And that means that sometimes we come to passages where there are people in the same community of faith looking out at the history of the church that read the passage in multiple ways. 00:02:25.980 --> 00:02:27.500 And let me say that that's okay. 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:31.400 Today, the Westminster Confession comes to us and says something very helpful. 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:35.560 It says, not every part of scripture is plain alike to all. 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:38.599 The gospel is plain alike to all. 00:02:38.740 --> 00:02:40.659 You can't help but find the gospel in the Bible. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:44.740 But you come to certain passages, and there are a couple different ways of reading them. 00:02:45.060 --> 00:02:54.120 But even in the specifics, if you read it slightly differently, you can still pull out the generalities and say, nevertheless, we see very clearly the main idea. 00:02:54.120 --> 00:02:55.840 And the main idea today is to pray. 00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:57.620 And we'll talk about that in just a minute. 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:07.460 But here, you know, if you don't read it carefully, and what I mean by that is read the subtext of this text in its context, 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:10.759 then you would come to a number of different interpretations. 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:14.319 A couple of those are, one, the Roman Catholic view of this passage. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:25.000 So, in Roman Catholicism and the Catechism of the Catholic Church from Vatican II, we learn that they regard this passage to teach something called extreme unction. 00:03:25.579 --> 00:03:27.840 An extreme unction is when somebody is dying. 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:32.759 You go, the priest goes and gives them the holy order of oil, consecrated oil. 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:36.039 And upon their death, their sins will be remitted. 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:40.259 They'll have remission of sins because of that act of holy oil being given to them. 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:48.579 And so, the prayer of the righteous person, a righteous person in verse 15, is the priest, the righteous person, who consecrates the holy oil. 00:03:48.899 --> 00:03:50.199 That's called extreme unction. 00:03:50.199 --> 00:04:05.899 Or, on the very opposite end of the perspective, looking at this passage and thinking that it teaches faith healing, where you go visit the sick and you pray the prayer of faith over them, and they will be healed. 00:04:05.979 --> 00:04:07.780 That's what the passage says, after all, will be healed. 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:12.539 And the problem, of course, is that how many times have we gone and prayed for the sick and they didn't heal? 00:04:12.939 --> 00:04:16.980 They passed away, or they never recovered, really, from a chronic illness. 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:19.980 And so, that's another way. 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:24.600 And what happens in that scenario is we look up and say, the prayer of faith. 00:04:24.640 --> 00:04:25.939 That's what it takes to heal somebody. 00:04:26.020 --> 00:04:29.640 And that means somebody in this room who came to pray did not have enough faith. 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:34.280 And so, who's the, was it the elders that were doing the doubting or the sick person that was doing the doubting? 00:04:34.280 --> 00:04:34.600 Somebody. 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:37.540 And then, that's a problem. 00:04:39.140 --> 00:04:44.280 Lots of ways to read this, but the problem is, is if you don't pay attention to the context, I think you'll get it slightly wrong. 00:04:45.040 --> 00:04:47.939 And that's happened in those instances and a couple other ways in church history. 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:50.180 So, let's think about it together. 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:52.759 Let's look at the specifics. 00:04:53.860 --> 00:04:57.300 Understand what I want to suggest is the precise context here. 00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:00.680 And then, that'll help us, secondly, to look at the generalities of what it teaches us. 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:06.319 So, the way to talk about it specifically is under the heading, when God gets through to us. 00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:12.079 And then, secondly, the ministries that we're being given here, all of us, any Christian, the ministries that we have. 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:17.319 So, first, when God breaks through, when God gets through to us, through to our pride, really. 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:22.319 Now, last week, we looked at the passage just before this. 00:05:23.019 --> 00:05:27.500 And in that passage, James is writing to a church, we learn, that's under pressure. 00:05:28.459 --> 00:05:31.040 He's writing to the rich. 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:35.060 And I argued last week that the rich are not just material wealthy people. 00:05:35.159 --> 00:05:41.699 They are the religious elite that are actually oppressing the Jewish Christians that are scattered around the Mediterranean. 00:05:41.699 --> 00:05:48.579 This week at General Assembly, we had delegates from different churches around the world. 00:05:48.779 --> 00:05:50.740 And one of them was from a country in Asia. 00:05:51.599 --> 00:05:58.019 And he said that a few years back, the government in his country came into his area of the country. 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:03.159 And they burned 300 churches and took away some of the pastors. 00:06:03.219 --> 00:06:04.219 And the pastors just disappeared. 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:10.959 And he said this past year, 2026, I should say, in the spring, that one of his dear friends disappeared. 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:13.819 And they found his clothing and nothing else. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:15.739 Now, that's ministry oppression. 00:06:16.239 --> 00:06:18.399 It happens all over the world in different ways. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:26.099 And James is writing to some measure of that in different pockets around the Mediterranean to different degrees. 00:06:26.180 --> 00:06:33.159 Now, that's why when you come to verse 13 in our passage, he gives you three different contexts you might be existing in. 00:06:33.479 --> 00:06:35.939 So, he says, is anybody among you suffering? 00:06:36.659 --> 00:06:39.579 Suffering meaning under the context of ministry oppression. 00:06:39.579 --> 00:06:41.339 Suffering, let him pray. 00:06:42.620 --> 00:06:44.959 But then he turns and says, but is anybody among you cheerful? 00:06:45.139 --> 00:06:51.060 So, are you living in a place, as James writes a letter that goes all around the Mediterranean, are you living in a place where things are okay? 00:06:51.139 --> 00:06:53.939 Where you're not walking through hard circumstances like that? 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:55.379 Well, sing, be cheerful. 00:06:55.620 --> 00:06:56.560 Sing praise to God. 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:57.379 Pray as well. 00:06:57.919 --> 00:07:00.339 But then he turns, and this is different. 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:03.259 He says, is anybody among you sick? 00:07:03.259 --> 00:07:07.659 And you can tell that it's not exactly the same as the first two. 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:10.219 And the reason for that is because he camps out on it. 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:15.539 I think that he spends the rest of the section on that question. 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:17.319 Is anyone among you sick? 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:21.240 And the rest of the passage is dedicated ultimately to that. 00:07:21.939 --> 00:07:23.259 And so, he says, you know, it's different. 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:23.959 Call the elders. 00:07:24.819 --> 00:07:26.180 Tell them to bring anointing oil. 00:07:27.099 --> 00:07:29.539 Come and give the prayer of faith and you could be healed. 00:07:29.540 --> 00:07:32.140 So, this is, he spends more time on that more ink. 00:07:32.819 --> 00:07:34.420 And the question is, why? 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:37.620 What's going on here that makes him do that? 00:07:38.020 --> 00:07:43.300 And we could spend the rest of the sermon just answering that question. 00:07:43.840 --> 00:07:49.500 How do you figure out what is going on underneath in the context, the subtext of this passage? 00:07:49.820 --> 00:07:50.660 But I won't do it. 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:53.560 Because otherwise, then we wouldn't have any application. 00:07:54.060 --> 00:07:55.120 And we need application. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:59.780 So, instead, let me just give you two ways to read this passage. 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:04.819 Two proofs, I should say, from the text itself that help us to understand maybe what's going on here. 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:09.120 And the first is the fact that he goes to the story of Elijah. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.040 So, if you look down, you'll see in verse 17 and 18, 00:08:13.540 --> 00:08:19.500 when he's trying to get the people in the local churches to pray prayers of healing for the sick, 00:08:19.899 --> 00:08:21.500 he gives the example of Elijah. 00:08:21.500 --> 00:08:27.180 And if you were to turn to this story that he mentions, 1 Kings 17, 00:08:27.779 --> 00:08:30.620 it would read a little bit differently than what you have here. 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:36.279 Because he says, Elijah prayed fervently that it would not rain for three and a half years. 00:08:36.620 --> 00:08:37.120 And it didn't. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:38.960 And then he prayed fervently that it would. 00:08:39.100 --> 00:08:39.620 And it did. 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:44.899 But when you go to 1 Kings 17, Elijah nowhere in that passage prays for rain. 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:47.620 He doesn't, it's not mentioned. 00:08:47.620 --> 00:08:51.960 So, we're being told through James by the Holy Spirit that he did pray fervently for rain, 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.200 but it's not mentioned in the 1 Kings story. 00:08:55.779 --> 00:09:01.159 And instead, what you do have there is a different story that you would have expected James to refer to. 00:09:01.220 --> 00:09:04.639 And that's the story where James visits the widow, Zarephath. 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:08.759 And there, her son dies. 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:14.319 And James prays fervently to God and the boy comes back to life. 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:20.819 So, James is talking about going, the elders going to the sick and praying the prayer of faith and healing them. 00:09:21.139 --> 00:09:26.559 And so, you would think, surely you're going to tell the story of Elijah going to the widow of Zarephath 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:28.720 and raising that boy from the dead through prayer. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:29.779 But he doesn't. 00:09:29.899 --> 00:09:32.840 He goes to a story that doesn't even mention prayer. 00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:39.320 And that's where God brought no rain to Israel for three and a half years and brought a famine. 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:45.240 And the context of that story was all about how the fact Israel had entered into idolatry 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:48.519 and they had run away from God and they were wandering from the truth. 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:50.500 And so, there was no rain for three and a half years. 00:09:50.560 --> 00:09:52.340 And we're told here Elijah actually prayed for that. 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:54.840 And that's very true because we read about it here. 00:09:54.840 --> 00:09:58.920 Now, there's a little moment in that story that's very similar to the book of James. 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:04.659 And it is when Elijah says to the people on Mount Carmel, 00:10:05.219 --> 00:10:07.579 how long will you waver between two opinions? 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:08.799 You are double-minded. 00:10:09.299 --> 00:10:14.599 And at the beginning of the book of James, James started talking to people under suffering, 00:10:15.099 --> 00:10:16.779 saying some of you are double-minded. 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:21.599 Now, that means that there's a little thread running all throughout this book that we have 00:10:21.599 --> 00:10:22.559 not talked about at all. 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:28.399 And that's the thread that the way people are responding to ministry oppression 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:30.439 in their culture has been different. 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:34.139 And some people are wandering from the truth because of it. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:36.379 Some people are double-minded because of it. 00:10:37.459 --> 00:10:39.299 And wandering from the truth, what does that look like? 00:10:39.299 --> 00:10:43.799 We don't know exactly, but it's got to mean at least these little hints and shadows throughout 00:10:43.799 --> 00:10:44.399 the whole book. 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:48.399 He talks a lot about speech and he says, stop grumbling with one another. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:54.480 I think what's going on here is that there is someone in some of the local churches that 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:58.919 in response to the ministry oppression that's going on outside the church, where they're saying, 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:00.519 hey, be patient, wait for the Lord. 00:11:00.819 --> 00:11:01.600 Don't play judge. 00:11:01.699 --> 00:11:02.779 Don't make an oath of vengeance. 00:11:03.019 --> 00:11:04.740 Don't seek vengeance against the oppressor. 00:11:05.579 --> 00:11:08.159 Inside the church, that is causing massive division. 00:11:09.319 --> 00:11:12.519 And he says, some of you are grumbling against one another. 00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:18.100 And so it must be, you know, if you are struggling in your circumstances in life and you're having 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:21.340 a really hard time at work, you're having a really hard time in any context of life, 00:11:21.740 --> 00:11:23.960 who's the person that you take it out on? 00:11:25.220 --> 00:11:28.500 You come home and you take it out on the person that's closest to you. 00:11:28.539 --> 00:11:32.079 And in the same way, in the context of ministry oppression, there's something going on where 00:11:32.079 --> 00:11:35.679 somebody is destroying the local church from the inside. 00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:37.039 They're grumbling. 00:11:37.199 --> 00:11:38.480 They're taking it out on everybody else. 00:11:38.519 --> 00:11:39.379 They're making oath of vengeance. 00:11:39.379 --> 00:11:44.580 There's even a suggestion in some of the commentators that the reference in chapter four to murder 00:11:44.580 --> 00:11:48.399 is real, physical, that somebody has been murdered, perhaps even. 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.840 They're expressing themselves in violence in some way, and it's tearing apart some of the 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:54.600 local churches around the Mediterranean. 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:58.820 And so what's going on, I think, in this passage is something really significant, and that's this. 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:07.259 To get the attention of whoever it is that's tearing the church apart from the inside, 00:12:07.259 --> 00:12:10.539 God has struck this person with sickness. 00:12:12.139 --> 00:12:17.460 And so this is a very specific moment where the elders of the church are being called in, 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:24.100 pray for this person, tell them, confess their sins, anoint them with oil, and they can be healed. 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:25.620 They can be restored. 00:12:25.620 --> 00:12:32.340 And that's why verses 19 and 20 are there, because a lot of times people look at verse 19 and 20 in 00:12:32.340 --> 00:12:35.240 this passage and say, how in the world is this connected? 00:12:35.399 --> 00:12:38.980 It's almost like James is just giving you little proverbs of different ministries. 00:12:39.379 --> 00:12:44.299 But if you look at 19 and 20, he says, brothers and sisters, if anybody among you is wandering away 00:12:44.299 --> 00:12:48.039 from the truth, you go and reclaim them and bring them back. 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:50.919 And see, that helps us read the first part of the passage. 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:55.639 He's saying that there is somebody wandering from the truth, and they need to go and be reclaimed 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:56.579 and brought back. 00:12:56.919 --> 00:12:58.500 And that's the ministry to the sick. 00:12:58.579 --> 00:13:04.159 This person, I think, with a number of scholars, has been struck with sickness of some kind. 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:06.879 Now, that's a troubling thing to say. 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:08.959 It's a startling thing, I know. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:11.860 Look at verse 15. 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:13.719 Let me give you one more little proof, and we'll move on. 00:13:14.599 --> 00:13:15.459 Look at verse 15. 00:13:15.459 --> 00:13:20.319 The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:22.360 And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 00:13:22.680 --> 00:13:25.940 Sorry, let me back up to verse 14. 00:13:26.280 --> 00:13:27.379 Is anyone sick among you? 00:13:27.660 --> 00:13:29.000 Let him call for the elders of the church. 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:32.160 Let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:33.120 That's the practice. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:38.100 And then the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:42.360 Now, if somebody's sick physically, what word do you expect there? 00:13:42.660 --> 00:13:46.000 The prayer of faith will heal the one who is sick. 00:13:46.400 --> 00:13:47.280 But it doesn't say that. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:47.880 It says save. 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:50.159 But then look down at the next verse, 16. 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:56.139 Therefore, confess your sins, pray for one another, that you may be, you think, forgiven. 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:00.399 Pray and confess your sins to each other so that you could be forgiven. 00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:01.200 No, it says healed. 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:06.240 You see, he's intermixing the language between the spiritual plight and the physical plight. 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:15.759 And that's because in this instance, somebody has been struck with physical illness because of their divisiveness in the local church. 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:17.980 Now, that's a startling thing to say. 00:14:18.259 --> 00:14:20.740 Let me say a couple things about it to help us. 00:14:20.740 --> 00:14:38.039 Number one, in the Bible, let's be clear, very, very clear that in the Bible, overwhelmingly, our sickness, our colds, getting the flu, getting cancer, diseases, bad circumstances have nothing to do with your sins. 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:42.419 They come from the fact that this world has been corrupted by sin. 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:44.099 And so, biologically, we're corrupted. 00:14:44.319 --> 00:14:46.759 And there's disease and there's disaster and there's death. 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:54.719 So, overwhelmingly in the Bible, most of the time, like in the example of Job, having illness has nothing to do with your behavior. 00:14:54.720 --> 00:15:03.420 So, you think about the example in John 9 where they come to Jesus and the Pharisees say, hey, what about this guy born blind? 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:07.259 Was it him or his parents that sinned so much to make him blind? 00:15:07.420 --> 00:15:08.879 And Jesus says, neither of them. 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:10.639 He lives in a fallen world. 00:15:10.820 --> 00:15:11.420 He's blind. 00:15:11.620 --> 00:15:12.300 That's it. 00:15:12.379 --> 00:15:14.240 And so, overwhelmingly, that's the case. 00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:22.320 But secondly, sometimes God does use sickness and hard circumstances to wake people up. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:32.379 And there is a note of discipline in that from a loving father that is a repeated theme throughout the Bible here and there. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:34.160 So, let me give you the most famous example of that. 00:15:34.260 --> 00:15:36.620 1 Corinthians 11, the Lord's Supper. 00:15:37.280 --> 00:15:48.620 And in 1 Corinthians 11, you had rich Christians, socioeconomically rich, who were coming to the Lord's table during a feast, during worship. 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:57.720 And they were eating all the food, drinking all the wine, eating all the communion bread before the poor would ever even show up to the feast. 00:15:58.379 --> 00:16:05.820 So, if you imagine something like that here, it would be that we email everybody this week, Wednesday email. 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:09.600 It goes out to some people, the 20% of you who are most wealthy. 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:12.940 And we say, worship next Sunday is going to be at 10 a.m. 00:16:14.659 --> 00:16:15.720 And we have communion. 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:21.060 And then we say to the 80% who are less wealthy, you come at 11. 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:24.779 And by the time you get there at 11, there's no communion left to be served. 00:16:25.220 --> 00:16:25.560 Why? 00:16:25.800 --> 00:16:27.300 Because the 20% give more. 00:16:28.680 --> 00:16:30.399 That's what was happening in 1 Corinthians 11. 00:16:30.659 --> 00:16:32.379 That would be, it would be akin to that today. 00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:35.980 And what is, what happens in that passage is so divisive. 00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:36.919 This is what Paul writes. 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:40.860 That is why some of you are weak, ill, and have fallen asleep. 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:46.120 Some of you have died because of how divisive you have been in the local church. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:52.840 Now, the beautiful news here in this story, this specific passage is, thirdly, finally, we'll move on. 00:16:52.840 --> 00:17:01.800 Whoever, whoever is doing this and has been struck with this is in the process of being restored, being reclaimed. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:03.440 And that's the heartbeat of the passage. 00:17:03.620 --> 00:17:08.700 Call the elders, bring anointing oil, pray the prayer of faith over them, have them confess their sins. 00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:16.860 Because anybody who's wandering away and destroying the church from the inside can be restored and will be restored when they confess their sins. 00:17:16.859 --> 00:17:24.059 And that's, you think about a passage like 2 Corinthians 2, where Paul talks about church discipline. 00:17:24.619 --> 00:17:29.659 And he says, there is some man in the church in Corinth who is doing something very evil. 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:31.359 And I won't get into the details in here. 00:17:32.639 --> 00:17:41.240 And, but he says to them, as you have cast him out in tears and sorrow, forgive him and love him in order that you might bring him back again. 00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:50.440 And so here we're being told about this ministry, how serious God takes divisiveness in the local church, the sin that breaks the church apart, 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:58.640 and how much God wants the people of God to chase and pursue and rescue and cover a multitude of sins. 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:02.259 And anybody who's wandering away from the truth, it's the ministry of reclamation. 00:18:02.700 --> 00:18:06.140 The ministry like God does, Jesus does to us of bringing people back. 00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:07.940 And that's the invitation and calling here. 00:18:07.940 --> 00:18:12.480 Let me say something very general about this. 00:18:15.059 --> 00:18:20.259 God, in this moment, uses sickness to wake somebody up. 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:21.960 It's very specific. 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:23.059 It's very rare. 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:26.500 So today, don't go from here and think, I've got a cold. 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:29.580 I've probably done something very bad. 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:30.700 Okay. 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:33.100 Overwhelmingly, the answer is, no, you have not. 00:18:33.420 --> 00:18:34.140 You just have a cold. 00:18:34.140 --> 00:18:37.900 Also, don't go today and say, I have a cold. 00:18:38.020 --> 00:18:39.980 I'm going to call the elders to come and anoint me with oil. 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:40.660 Okay. 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:42.620 So please don't do that either. 00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:45.340 Though we want to pray for you. 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:47.540 But this is a more rare instance. 00:18:48.080 --> 00:18:48.920 And it's more specific. 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:50.520 And the practice is right. 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:53.000 But in general, at the same time, we can say this. 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:55.100 Sickness is humbling. 00:18:57.180 --> 00:19:02.340 And sickness strips us of the illusion of control. 00:19:02.339 --> 00:19:08.119 When we're sick, when we're laid down on our back, when we've got the flu, when we've got 00:19:08.119 --> 00:19:14.039 that very difficult diagnosis, it puts us down and it helps us realize that I'm not in 00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:14.339 control. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:15.220 I'm contingent. 00:19:15.339 --> 00:19:16.099 I'm vulnerable. 00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:18.559 I'm radically dependent. 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:24.579 And why does God, the loving Father, do things like this in this moment, this moment 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:26.220 of discipline, but in sickness in general? 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:28.939 And what does Psalm 23 say? 00:19:28.940 --> 00:19:31.920 It says, he makes us lie down next to green pastures. 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:35.539 You know, when you are walking, when you've been put into the valley of shadow of death, 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:39.539 it forces you to lie down next to the green pastures. 00:19:39.580 --> 00:19:40.820 And that's what sickness does to us. 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:46.120 And so this passage is really, I think, asking everybody, well, have you ever had a moment 00:19:46.120 --> 00:19:47.640 where you are desperately sick? 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:51.779 You thought of yourself as pretty healthy, but you get really sick. 00:19:51.779 --> 00:19:57.759 And it brings you to a point where you think, I'm so sick, I need to get right with the Lord. 00:19:58.500 --> 00:20:00.039 I need to confess my sins. 00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:03.079 That's exactly what sickness does for us. 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:04.039 It's a gift in that way. 00:20:04.139 --> 00:20:04.960 It humbles us. 00:20:05.019 --> 00:20:07.859 It tells us, I need to confess my sins before God. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.420 It's showing us, sickness shows us what's important. 00:20:11.879 --> 00:20:15.200 Now, secondly, finally, that is the specific context. 00:20:15.299 --> 00:20:19.960 Let's move out to the general things we can learn here about ministry, the ministries that 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:26.319 we've been given, two principles for ministry, two ministries to leave you from the epistle 00:20:26.319 --> 00:20:28.360 of James with, that James talks about here. 00:20:29.340 --> 00:20:30.460 The first is this. 00:20:30.600 --> 00:20:37.579 He writes in this passage, call the elders, confess your sins to one another, pray for one 00:20:37.579 --> 00:20:42.779 another, bring the wanderer back, have a ministry of reclamation in your life for people who 00:20:42.779 --> 00:20:43.200 are wandering. 00:20:43.980 --> 00:20:44.620 What do we learn? 00:20:44.620 --> 00:20:49.380 First principle, your spiritual formation is a community project. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:55.180 Every person's spiritual formation in this room is not an individual project, but a community 00:20:55.180 --> 00:20:55.720 project. 00:20:56.279 --> 00:21:01.579 So there's a clear call to the one anothering, pray for one another, pursue one another, reclaim 00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:03.680 one another when we're wandering from the truth. 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:09.259 So we're being invited here to look out and reject the culture of individualism that we live 00:21:09.259 --> 00:21:16.819 in the Western world and say, while the evangelical emphasis on the personal relationship with 00:21:16.819 --> 00:21:18.400 God is so important, so vital. 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:19.099 Yes. 00:21:19.259 --> 00:21:24.539 At the same time, the New Testament has no place for saying that my personal relationship with 00:21:24.539 --> 00:21:28.500 the Lord is me and my Bible in my closet. 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:34.460 Praying in the closet is very good, but we're being asked here to reject any sense of individualism 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:35.200 in the Christian life. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.340 And he takes that further and further here. 00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:45.380 He assumes, he assumes that it is normal to ask elders to pray for you here. 00:21:46.019 --> 00:21:51.140 He assumes that it is normal to ask somebody else to pray for you because of what you're 00:21:51.140 --> 00:21:51.460 going through. 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:55.120 He assumes here that it is normal to confess your sins to one another. 00:21:55.119 --> 00:22:00.719 And so we're being asked to reject any sense of Western individualism when it comes to our 00:22:00.719 --> 00:22:01.739 personal spiritual formation. 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:06.119 The second principle is, let me just take that a step further as James does. 00:22:06.599 --> 00:22:10.639 We need people in our lives who can tell the truth and love to us. 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:17.259 And so if you look at just again, scan your eyes across the passage, call the elders in a 00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:19.519 situation where there's a sin that needs to be confessed. 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:23.299 Verse 15, confess your sins to one another. 00:22:23.299 --> 00:22:29.200 Verse 17 and 18, the whole situation with Elijah was about him confronting idolatry in ancient 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:29.559 Israel. 00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:37.220 There's a pattern in this passage and it is that confrontation, we need, we need to be 00:22:37.220 --> 00:22:44.399 willing to allow confrontation with the truth in order to restore us by seeking the truth 00:22:44.399 --> 00:22:44.779 and love. 00:22:45.419 --> 00:22:47.619 There's an assumption that's running all throughout the passage. 00:22:48.059 --> 00:22:53.259 And that's that the local church is a culture where you give people permission to tell you 00:22:53.259 --> 00:22:54.099 the truth and love. 00:22:54.740 --> 00:23:01.299 And I know that here in verse 15, when we're told to confess our sins to one another in 00:23:01.299 --> 00:23:06.799 order to pray for one another, that that is standing awkwardly against every cultural norm 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:13.059 that we have in our culture here and in the West, in the frame of Western individualism. 00:23:13.059 --> 00:23:20.960 But there is a command here to invite somebody into your life that is allowed to intrude, that 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:25.940 is allowed to tell you the truth, that is allowed to come to you and you with them and talk about 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:28.720 the sins that you're struggling with and have them regularly praying for you. 00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:29.940 There's an invitation to that. 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:36.399 Let me ask you today, do you have a person in your life that can tell you the truth? 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:42.080 Do you have somebody that you've actually invited to intrude and say, I don't think you're walking 00:23:42.080 --> 00:23:42.920 in the right path? 00:23:43.380 --> 00:23:47.759 Do you have somebody in relationship that's called Christian friendship that can come and 00:23:47.759 --> 00:23:50.620 tell you the truth about what they think is going on in your soul? 00:23:50.800 --> 00:23:54.900 And you do the same for them because of how deep the love is between the two of you. 00:23:55.040 --> 00:23:56.380 That is the invitation here. 00:23:56.440 --> 00:23:57.200 It's that thick. 00:23:57.280 --> 00:23:57.900 It's that deep. 00:23:58.180 --> 00:24:01.300 It's the fundamental principle of Christian friendship. 00:24:01.299 --> 00:24:06.659 So who knows you here? 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:08.259 Who knows you at St. 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:08.599 Columbus? 00:24:09.819 --> 00:24:15.359 Who knows you enough to pray for the sins that you're walking through in the indwelling 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:16.659 part of your soul? 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:19.980 Now, how do we work that out? 00:24:20.099 --> 00:24:22.099 Let me finish with the two ministries he gives you. 00:24:23.339 --> 00:24:23.899 Here they are. 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:28.960 First, ministry number one, pray for one another. 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:36.680 So the theme of the passage is verse 14, pray, 13, pray, 15, pray, 16, pray, 17, and 18. 00:24:37.100 --> 00:24:37.559 Pray, pray. 00:24:37.660 --> 00:24:38.779 It's mentioned seven times. 00:24:39.620 --> 00:24:40.299 Pray for one another. 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:41.819 It's all over the passage. 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:48.720 And the ministry that we are being given, I should say here, is to pray for one another 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:53.319 on the assumption, on the belief that prayer really does change things. 00:24:54.740 --> 00:24:56.700 Prayer, James is saying, is effective. 00:24:56.700 --> 00:25:02.460 There's a preacher in the early church named John Chrysostom. 00:25:02.840 --> 00:25:04.420 Chrysostom, it was a nickname. 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:05.640 It means golden tongue. 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:08.299 And he lived in Antioch. 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:11.200 And I'm going to read you a quote from him about prayer. 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:14.500 And you'll know why he was called Chrysostom at the end of this quote. 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:18.279 We all, every preacher wishes they could be like this, but we're just not. 00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:19.960 And this is what he says. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:23.079 The potency of prayer has subdued the strength of fire. 00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:30.579 It has bridled the rage of lions, hushed the anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:37.599 the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:43.539 disease, repelled fraud, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:46.059 arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. 00:25:46.699 --> 00:25:52.679 Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:57.320 a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. 00:25:57.660 --> 00:26:00.460 It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings. 00:26:02.120 --> 00:26:05.900 Now, Chrysostom, golden tongued, prayer is very powerful and effective. 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:09.620 At the same time, I know that if we spoke like that in sermons all the time, more people would 00:26:09.620 --> 00:26:10.539 sleep than they even do. 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:13.380 So you can't listen to speech like that from the pulpit. 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:14.420 You have to read it. 00:26:15.420 --> 00:26:19.480 But his point is that prayer is wildly powerful, wildly effective. 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:20.539 What is prayer? 00:26:20.539 --> 00:26:28.319 Prayer is talking to God with love and gratitude while you're resting and trusting in Jesus. 00:26:29.159 --> 00:26:34.259 Prayer is talking to God with love and gratitude while you're resting and trusting in Jesus. 00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:38.299 And you see, that means that you can say, is anybody suffering? 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:40.079 You're in a situation of bad circumstances. 00:26:40.399 --> 00:26:44.279 Well, prayer is talking to God with love and gratitude, saying, Lord, I don't know why I'm 00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:46.639 walking through this, but I thank you for it, Philippians. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:51.680 Or if you're cheerful, if you're going through great circumstances, it's saying, I need to 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:53.880 remember, Lord, right now to be dependent on you. 00:26:54.740 --> 00:27:01.360 Or if you're sick, it's talking to God with love and gratitude, even for sickness and trust 00:27:01.360 --> 00:27:05.660 while you're trusting in Jesus for whatever he might do, whatever might happen in the 00:27:05.660 --> 00:27:05.940 midst of it. 00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:09.240 And you see the heartbeat of prayer in this passage that is wildly effective. 00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:15.440 And that it is simply depending on Jesus in all circumstances, depending on God and talking 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.120 to him about it in all circumstances. 00:27:17.120 --> 00:27:18.259 That's the power of prayer. 00:27:18.700 --> 00:27:24.000 I love how he mentions, he goes to Elijah here and he gives that story from Elijah. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:26.059 And what does he say? 00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:28.839 He says, look at Elijah. 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:31.259 His prayers were so powerful. 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:31.720 Why? 00:27:31.720 --> 00:27:34.240 Because he was such a great prophet. 00:27:35.500 --> 00:27:36.880 He was an amazing prophet. 00:27:37.079 --> 00:27:38.180 And none of you are like that. 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:39.720 No, that's not what he says. 00:27:40.380 --> 00:27:41.640 He says, look at Elijah. 00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:42.740 You saw the passage. 00:27:42.900 --> 00:27:47.740 Elijah was a man with a like nature to you, a like nature. 00:27:48.120 --> 00:27:54.400 He goes out of his way to say, Elijah's prayers were not powerful because he was Elijah, the 00:27:54.400 --> 00:27:54.860 great prophet. 00:27:55.360 --> 00:27:56.480 He's just a normal dude. 00:27:56.600 --> 00:27:57.500 He's just a normal guy. 00:27:57.600 --> 00:27:58.240 That's what he says. 00:27:58.559 --> 00:27:59.400 He's just a man. 00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:01.720 And what is he saying? 00:28:01.880 --> 00:28:08.640 Your prayer is as powerful as Elijah because the power is not in Elijah or you, the power 00:28:08.640 --> 00:28:09.120 of prayer. 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:12.860 Think about Elijah. 00:28:13.540 --> 00:28:18.560 He goes up to the top of the mountain and he dispels the idols. 00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:23.519 He destroys the 400 prophets of Baal and Asherah. 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:26.160 Great ministry heights, the mountain. 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:32.220 And then if you flip the chapter and the next story, he is found under a tree in suicidal 00:28:32.220 --> 00:28:32.740 depression. 00:28:33.980 --> 00:28:39.380 And you think about Charles Spurgeon who filled up the metropolitan tabernacle in London. 00:28:39.380 --> 00:28:41.920 And, you know, we couldn't get enough people in the door. 00:28:42.360 --> 00:28:45.460 We didn't have enough seats and revival came through that ministry. 00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:49.940 And he came up to the heights in terms of ministry power in every way. 00:28:49.940 --> 00:28:55.880 And Spurgeon couldn't get out of bed for weeks throughout his life regularly because of depression. 00:28:57.160 --> 00:29:03.180 And I love that, how he goes to Elijah because Elijah in 1 Kings 17 and 18 is the height of 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:03.960 ministry power. 00:29:04.380 --> 00:29:07.720 And in 1 Kings 19, the lowest seat of depression. 00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:09.620 And that's the spectrum we all live between. 00:29:10.660 --> 00:29:14.340 Those moments of great ministry joy and power. 00:29:14.339 --> 00:29:17.299 And then you can't get out of bed because of how sad you are. 00:29:18.179 --> 00:29:20.859 And he says, and you have the power of prayer. 00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:22.939 That's exactly the same as Elijah and Charles Spurgeon. 00:29:23.699 --> 00:29:26.379 The same ministry power, the same power of prayer. 00:29:26.819 --> 00:29:30.939 And so that leads then to just be slightly more specific as we conclude. 00:29:31.339 --> 00:29:34.480 And that's this ministry of the prayer of the righteous person. 00:29:35.079 --> 00:29:40.699 So after calling on the elders of the church to come and to pray the prayer of faith and to 00:29:40.699 --> 00:29:41.919 anoint a person with oil. 00:29:42.039 --> 00:29:43.459 I'm going to say something about that as we finish. 00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:43.840 Don't worry. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:50.980 He then comes and says, and the prayer of the righteous person availeth much, the King 00:29:50.980 --> 00:29:54.880 James says, or the prayer of the righteous person is very powerful as it is working. 00:29:55.960 --> 00:30:02.840 Now here we find him telling us that when you, when you come to depend on God and prayer 00:30:02.840 --> 00:30:08.660 in all circumstances, cheerful, suffering, sick, and it's dependent. 00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:08.900 Dependent. 00:30:09.940 --> 00:30:12.140 And like Elijah, fervent. 00:30:12.300 --> 00:30:13.700 That is what makes it powerful. 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:16.000 Dependency and fervency. 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:17.940 The power was not in Elijah. 00:30:18.040 --> 00:30:19.160 The power is in God. 00:30:19.160 --> 00:30:26.540 And so we are being told here that prayer becomes especially effective when it's dependent and 00:30:26.540 --> 00:30:27.019 fervent. 00:30:27.019 --> 00:30:30.019 When it's regular, when it's in all circumstances, all the time. 00:30:30.120 --> 00:30:34.560 And very, very, uh, comes with tons of desire saying, Lord, we utterly depend on you in this 00:30:34.560 --> 00:30:34.759 moment. 00:30:34.820 --> 00:30:35.940 That's the example of Elijah. 00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:37.160 It's his fervency. 00:30:37.160 --> 00:30:38.380 That's being highlighted. 00:30:38.380 --> 00:30:40.540 That's the prayer of a righteous person. 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:45.280 So you say today, am I a righteous person with powerful prayer? 00:30:45.460 --> 00:30:51.780 And the answer is, do you come to the Lord in all seasons, sick, suffering, or cheerful 00:30:51.780 --> 00:30:56.240 with prayer fervency, with expectation, with real expectation. 00:30:56.340 --> 00:30:59.400 And that's what makes the prayer so powerful and effective. 00:30:59.520 --> 00:31:03.000 That's where God loves to hear and loves to, to answer it. 00:31:03.020 --> 00:31:07.760 And so here, when the elders are called out for this very specific moment, somebody sick, 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:10.000 they've called, caused division in the church. 00:31:10.220 --> 00:31:11.839 What makes their prayers powerful? 00:31:11.980 --> 00:31:13.240 Are they the righteous person? 00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:14.900 Well, yeah, because we all are. 00:31:15.240 --> 00:31:16.980 If you are in Christ, you are righteous. 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:21.879 And so the Roman Catholic tradition has it halfway right. 00:31:21.879 --> 00:31:27.779 When they say that the priest comes, the priest comes and prays over the person. 00:31:27.879 --> 00:31:31.799 Well, they do because every single one of you that's a believer today is a priest. 00:31:32.619 --> 00:31:35.859 The priesthood of all believers, you have access. 00:31:35.859 --> 00:31:37.179 You have prayer power. 00:31:37.679 --> 00:31:39.639 The elders are simply the example of that. 00:31:39.719 --> 00:31:40.199 That's all. 00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:45.779 All of us, all of us are priests coming to represent other people, including the sick before God. 00:31:46.139 --> 00:31:51.839 You have the ministry of praying for people's healing because you are a priest of the kingdom, 00:31:51.959 --> 00:31:54.479 a priest of all believers as we enjoy that together. 00:31:55.399 --> 00:31:57.939 And so here, what makes prayer so, so powerful? 00:31:58.419 --> 00:31:59.799 Well, think about it like this. 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:11.180 If you have a relative who calls you once every three, four, five years, let's say a brother or sister, 00:32:11.619 --> 00:32:16.720 and you never talk to them otherwise, and they call you, and every time they call you, they ask for money. 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:21.460 And, you know, you don't have any existing relationship, not really. 00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:23.539 There's never communication of love. 00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:24.279 They don't come visit. 00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:26.360 You don't visit them, and they just call. 00:32:26.980 --> 00:32:30.799 But when they call you, they say, oh, and by the way, I do love you, and I need money. 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:31.480 I'm in an emergency. 00:32:33.019 --> 00:32:39.160 Imagine on the other hand, you have your other sibling, and they are checking on you every month. 00:32:39.279 --> 00:32:41.160 I mean, you have a two-hour phone call with them all the time. 00:32:41.160 --> 00:32:44.980 You see them at Christmas and Easter and through the summer, and you holiday together, 00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:49.740 and they couldn't have supported you more when you walk through that pain and that trial. 00:32:49.840 --> 00:32:50.279 They couldn't have. 00:32:50.500 --> 00:32:53.660 And they call you, and they say, I've lost my job. 00:32:54.600 --> 00:32:56.880 I need help. 00:32:57.180 --> 00:32:57.420 Help. 00:32:58.000 --> 00:32:59.380 In the first instance, what do you say? 00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:01.640 You say, I am being used. 00:33:02.380 --> 00:33:07.100 Every time this person needs something, every five years, they call me and pretend to love me. 00:33:07.099 --> 00:33:11.439 On the other hand, with this other sibling, you say, they love me so much. 00:33:11.779 --> 00:33:15.339 I want to pour myself out to them and help them in any way. 00:33:15.679 --> 00:33:20.379 Now, we have to be careful in not using that analogy to read it into God so precisely. 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:21.959 Absolutely, we don't. 00:33:22.059 --> 00:33:22.879 We need to be careful there. 00:33:23.299 --> 00:33:25.399 At the same time, what is fervent and dependent prayer? 00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:32.519 It's not when you simply pray only in the moments where you're the most sick, where God is just the 999 line. 00:33:32.519 --> 00:33:40.460 Fervent prayer, dependent prayer is when you're cheerful, when you're suffering, and when you're sick. 00:33:41.799 --> 00:33:50.079 And God says that fervency of consistent prayer, of depending on me, is exactly what I long for, what I desire, and I long to answer. 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:52.200 That's what makes the elders' prayer powerful. 00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:55.920 And so, what do they do when they anoint with oil here, as we conclude? 00:33:56.259 --> 00:33:56.779 Last thought. 00:33:57.119 --> 00:34:01.700 As they anoint with oil in this passage, and this is a good and right practice in the church, 00:34:01.700 --> 00:34:03.380 it's not common. 00:34:03.559 --> 00:34:04.559 It's meant to be rare. 00:34:05.759 --> 00:34:06.539 What are they doing? 00:34:06.620 --> 00:34:07.120 What is that? 00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:11.500 Oil in the Bible is from the Garden of Eden. 00:34:11.960 --> 00:34:14.019 It's a sign of Eden. 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:17.980 There was oil in Eden from the trees, the bushes, the seeds. 00:34:18.720 --> 00:34:23.599 And in Eden, the great moment of creation, God condescended by the Holy Spirit. 00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:25.900 He came down into Eden. 00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:30.199 And so, throughout the Bible, in this fallen world, kings are anointed with oil, 00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:33.359 and priests are anointed with oil, and the temple is anointed with oil. 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:34.019 Why? 00:34:34.739 --> 00:34:35.399 It's just prayer. 00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:40.819 It's just saying, Lord, like you did in the Garden of Eden with the great oils of Eden, 00:34:40.939 --> 00:34:42.759 the trees, the bushes, the seeds. 00:34:43.279 --> 00:34:45.480 So, we need you to condescend. 00:34:46.339 --> 00:34:47.939 And so, when the elders go and anoint somebody with oil, 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:49.799 all it is, is they're saying, this isn't magic. 00:34:50.399 --> 00:34:52.859 This is just a visible sign of us saying, Lord, 00:34:52.860 --> 00:34:58.160 Lord, this person cannot be healed or restored to your church without the Spirit condescending. 00:34:58.920 --> 00:34:59.860 And that's what the oil does. 00:34:59.900 --> 00:35:01.240 It's just a prayer request. 00:35:01.559 --> 00:35:02.599 That's all it really is. 00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:07.460 See, when the elders do that, and they are fervently praying, 00:35:07.660 --> 00:35:09.320 God says, I will restore that person. 00:35:09.940 --> 00:35:13.940 The prayer of a righteous person availeth much. 00:35:13.940 --> 00:35:16.780 Well, if the prayers of a righteous person are powerful, 00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:20.480 how much more the prayers of a perfect person? 00:35:22.220 --> 00:35:25.619 If the prayers of a righteous person are potent, 00:35:26.059 --> 00:35:28.960 how much more the prayer of the righteous person? 00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:33.900 And you see, the reason that you, Christian, your prayers are powerful today 00:35:33.900 --> 00:35:39.099 is because you have the prayers of the righteous one. 00:35:40.659 --> 00:35:41.980 And what does Romans 8 say? 00:35:41.980 --> 00:35:44.320 Romans 8 say, who can bring a charge against you? 00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:47.800 Who can bring something before God against you? 00:35:48.059 --> 00:35:51.659 And the answer is no one, because it says Jesus Christ died. 00:35:51.880 --> 00:35:53.460 More than that, he was raised from the dead. 00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:57.900 More than that, he is now interceding for us at the right hand of God the Father. 00:35:58.000 --> 00:36:03.219 The reason your prayer is so powerful is because Jesus Christ is actively praying for you, 00:36:03.300 --> 00:36:06.240 talking to God and interceding in all your prayers. 00:36:06.920 --> 00:36:09.659 And so that means that because you have the great high priest 00:36:09.659 --> 00:36:12.839 interceding and mediating on your behalf, 00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:14.299 praying for you to God the Father, 00:36:14.839 --> 00:36:17.239 you can go and priest for others. 00:36:17.399 --> 00:36:19.460 You can go and pray for other people and it has power. 00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:21.379 So friends, 00:36:21.940 --> 00:36:25.019 because the great high priest is praying for you, 00:36:25.079 --> 00:36:25.859 interceding for you, 00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:29.239 know today that when you go 00:36:29.239 --> 00:36:31.639 and you pray for somebody in this room, 00:36:32.239 --> 00:36:33.839 God listens. 00:36:33.960 --> 00:36:34.739 He will answer that. 00:36:34.839 --> 00:36:35.259 He will heal. 00:36:35.260 --> 00:36:35.940 He will restore. 00:36:36.060 --> 00:36:36.560 He will forgive. 00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:38.340 He will bring them back. 00:36:39.120 --> 00:36:40.040 So let's go and do it. 00:36:40.080 --> 00:36:41.080 Let's have the ministry of prayer. 00:36:42.500 --> 00:36:43.200 Let's do it now. 00:36:43.260 --> 00:36:43.580 Let's pray. 00:36:43.720 --> 00:36:49.800 Father, we pray that you would give us a vision of ministry power through prayer. 00:36:50.140 --> 00:36:53.700 We ask for forgiveness for our unbelief in prayer. 00:36:53.699 --> 00:36:56.419 And we ask for the fervency of Elijah, 00:36:57.039 --> 00:36:59.460 knowing that we are like him, 00:36:59.599 --> 00:37:00.379 completely ordinary. 00:37:01.439 --> 00:37:03.079 So in our ordinariness, 00:37:03.279 --> 00:37:03.399 Lord, 00:37:03.480 --> 00:37:04.159 teach us to pray, 00:37:04.359 --> 00:37:05.960 teach us to believe in prayer, 00:37:06.039 --> 00:37:07.019 to pray when we're cheerful, 00:37:07.259 --> 00:37:09.480 when we are suffering, 00:37:09.819 --> 00:37:11.039 when we are sick. 00:37:11.299 --> 00:37:11.980 And then Lord, 00:37:12.039 --> 00:37:16.619 we do pray in our hearts right now for those who we know, 00:37:17.319 --> 00:37:22.939 who may be underneath this specific position of wandering from the truth. 00:37:23.920 --> 00:37:29.400 So we could all maybe name someone in our lives who we want to think about right now and pray for. 00:37:29.679 --> 00:37:30.039 Lord, 00:37:30.119 --> 00:37:31.840 you promised that you will restore. 00:37:32.099 --> 00:37:34.440 So give us the heart to pursue them. 00:37:34.500 --> 00:37:36.099 And then we pray for them now and ask, 00:37:36.220 --> 00:37:36.280 Lord, 00:37:36.320 --> 00:37:37.340 that you would restore them. 00:37:38.240 --> 00:37:40.960 You would bring them back into the fellowship of your local church. 00:37:41.119 --> 00:37:42.159 And Lord, 00:37:42.220 --> 00:37:45.460 that you would grant them forgiveness and that we would celebrate that, 00:37:45.800 --> 00:37:47.840 that we would love them as much as you love them. 00:37:48.320 --> 00:37:48.800 And so we, 00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:52.920 we pray for that now for a heart of pursuit like you have for us, 00:37:52.940 --> 00:37:54.179 through prayer. 00:37:54.659 --> 00:37:55.820 We pray in Jesus name. 00:37:56.200 --> 00:37:56.440 Amen.