WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:06.179 Good morning. It's great to see you all here. It's great to gather with you, both for those 00:00:06.179 --> 00:00:10.359 of you who are here physically present and for those of you who are on the live stream. 00:00:10.740 --> 00:00:17.240 We continue to rejoice at the opportunities that God gives us to gather, whether in person 00:00:17.240 --> 00:00:24.140 or virtually, as is the best for you, for your safety and well-being. But it is always 00:00:24.140 --> 00:00:29.060 good to be with God's people. So thank you for being here. It's great to have you. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:38.420 When I was 16, I went to the Rogers School of Driving. It was the driver's ed class that 00:00:38.420 --> 00:00:44.939 I had to take in order to get my learner's permit when I was in Pennsylvania. And at the Rogers 00:00:44.939 --> 00:00:50.500 School of Driving, there was the Rogers Rules of the Road. And I don't remember all of them, 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:55.400 but I remember a few. One of them is leave yourself an out when you're driving on the highway or 00:00:55.399 --> 00:01:00.420 in a crowded area. Make sure you know you try to leave space so if you have to make an emergency 00:01:00.420 --> 00:01:06.340 maneuver, you know where you're going to go so you don't run into other cars. Another one was, 00:01:06.500 --> 00:01:12.459 this is sort of obvious, but look twice before you turn into oncoming traffic. But the one I 00:01:12.459 --> 00:01:19.739 remember the most clearly is actually this one. Aim high in steering. What this means is, and for 00:01:19.739 --> 00:01:25.119 those of you who are teenagers, this is really good advice, mark this down so you can hold it. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:29.780 What it means is that when you're looking, you want to look not right in front of you, 00:01:29.839 --> 00:01:35.919 but you want to look down the road, 30, 50, 100 yards, to see where you're going. It helps you 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:41.579 when you go around turns to do it smoothly rather than sharply. It helps you drive straight on the 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:46.000 highway. If you look at the road right in front of you, you will weave back and forth like this 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:53.280 the whole time. And when you don't look ahead, when you look down, you lack perspective, you lack 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:59.939 the ability to anticipate challenges and trials that are going to come. And at worst, you will run off 00:01:59.939 --> 00:02:06.579 the road and die a fiery death. And we don't want that. So aim high in steering. This is your public 00:02:06.579 --> 00:02:14.199 service announcement for thriving. But I believe this is also good advice for us in life. It's so 00:02:14.199 --> 00:02:21.699 easy for us to get focused on the present. I just regained power after our storm yesterday afternoon. 00:02:22.579 --> 00:02:28.599 And I know that much of my week was very focused on the present. What are we going to do today? 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:34.919 How do I charge my phone? Where am I going to get food for me and my kids today? And that dominated 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:42.359 my vision in ways that it's easy for us to do. It's easy for us to do that as we're in August 00:02:42.359 --> 00:02:47.039 looking ahead. Some of you may have had vacation or travel plans that you've put off hoping that 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:51.560 they might happen. And now you're having to decide, do we do it? Do we not do it? Some of you are looking 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:56.699 ahead to schooling decisions, whether it's for your kids or whether it's for yourself. And you're 00:02:56.699 --> 00:03:01.319 deciding, how do I do these things? And these are immediate things. And it's very easy to get 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:09.799 focused on those things in trials and crises. Of course, the Bible has lots to say to us about 00:03:09.799 --> 00:03:15.179 this too. The Bible, there's a phrase that theologians use called eternal perspective. 00:03:15.180 --> 00:03:21.980 And it's the ability to lift our eyes from our present circumstances and present realities and 00:03:21.980 --> 00:03:30.460 to look up and to see the truth and the reality of who God is and what he has said is coming for us. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:37.000 Because when we do that, it allows us to navigate the present difficulties and circumstances 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:40.520 in a particularly fruitful way. 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:49.219 This leads us, of course, to our passage this morning. We're continuing our study in the book 00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:55.800 of James. We're in James chapter 5, looking at verses 1 through 12. We're going to read this 00:03:55.800 --> 00:04:01.539 together and then pray. So will you pray? Let's read together if you want to turn with me there 00:04:01.539 --> 00:04:07.840 at home or here in the service on your phone or whichever, and then we will go ahead and read. 00:04:11.219 --> 00:04:12.840 James 5, verse 1. 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:19.819 Come now, you rich. Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 00:04:20.599 --> 00:04:26.920 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:34.699 and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:43.200 treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept 00:04:43.200 --> 00:04:51.420 back by fraud, are crying out against you. And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the 00:04:51.420 --> 00:05:01.259 Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:09.780 in a day of slaughter. You have condemned. You have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:18.920 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious 00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:24.379 fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and the late rains. 00:05:25.340 --> 00:05:30.720 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 00:05:31.520 --> 00:05:37.180 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge is 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:43.600 standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:51.340 in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remain steadfast. You have heard of the 00:05:51.340 --> 00:05:57.400 steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. 00:05:59.080 --> 00:06:05.420 But above all, brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your 00:06:05.420 --> 00:06:12.939 yes be yes and your no be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. Let's pray together. 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:23.680 Lord, we thank you for this word, and we thank you for the ways that it challenges us, the way that it 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:31.640 instructs us, and the way that it reminds us. Lord, I ask for your Holy Spirit to be at work this morning 00:06:31.640 --> 00:06:39.540 as we look into this passage together for the next few minutes. God, will you give us soft hearts? 00:06:39.540 --> 00:06:49.140 Lord, will you convict us of sin? Will you lift our eyes, Lord, to see you more clearly and the promises of 00:06:49.140 --> 00:07:02.580 what this word gives to us? Lord, convict us, strengthen us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:02.699 Amen. 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:14.659 What good does it do to look down the road spiritually together? This passage has two things to say to us, 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:21.879 two instructions that it gives us, and then we will look at the ground or the power by which we may 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:28.579 follow through with this. So it breaks down into two sections, verses one through six is the first one, 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:36.039 and in this we see James gives us a warning, a warning to the rich, and what he is saying to them 00:07:36.039 --> 00:07:45.699 is your present good will bring a future of disaster. Look at me. James comes right out of the gate in this 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:51.479 particular passage like an Old Testament prophet, does he not? He is not pulling any punches. He is 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:58.600 speaking very strongly, and of course the audience is a question. Commentators wonder, who is he speaking 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:04.120 to exactly? Is he speaking to the church? Is he speaking to particularly wealthy people in the church? 00:08:04.220 --> 00:08:10.580 Is he speaking to those outside the church? Certainly in the first century there was a cultural pattern of 00:08:10.580 --> 00:08:19.819 landowners who owned much property and had great power as well as wealth, and it seems that that may be 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:28.159 James' primary audience, not within the church. He doesn't call them brothers or sisters. He calls 00:08:28.159 --> 00:08:38.480 them, he doesn't address them in that way, and yet may we have ears to hear for ourselves as well. We'll 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:46.559 explore that as we go on. James comes right out of the gate. He says, misery is in your future. 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:51.439 The things that you are investing in, the things that you are hoarding, the things that you are doing 00:08:51.439 --> 00:08:57.099 that you think are going to be building a good life for yourself, in fact will bring only misery. 00:08:57.599 --> 00:09:01.939 Why is this? First of all, because the treasures that you are investing in are worthless. 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:10.199 The cloth and the garments, the rich fabrics that were really valuable in the first century, 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:15.400 even more so than today, although I suppose if you go spend $5,000 on an Armani suit, it's similar. 00:09:15.920 --> 00:09:23.759 They're not going to last. The cloth will rot. The moths will eat holes in it. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:29.840 He says, even your gold and silver will corrode, and for those of you who are scientists, you know 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:35.320 gold and silver can't corrode. It doesn't rust. That's the whole point of them being precious metals, 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:44.340 is they can last forever. And yet, what he says is, even these things are going to turn to dust. 00:09:44.760 --> 00:09:50.480 They're going to become worthless. They're going to be as valuable as the food that sat in my fridge 00:09:50.480 --> 00:10:01.660 all week. Good only worth throwing out. And they will bear witness. They will bear witness in a final 00:10:01.659 --> 00:10:06.860 courtroom of where you have invested your time and your energy and where you have put your heart and 00:10:06.860 --> 00:10:17.639 your security. And so, James is saying, woe to you rich, because your investment in those things, 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:24.159 for those of you who invest in those things, recognize that what you're investing in ultimately 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:31.600 will be worthless. Now look, we need to recognize having wealth, having resources is not an 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:40.759 inherently sinful thing. It is not bad to have those things necessarily, but it is what we do with 00:10:40.759 --> 00:10:46.860 them that is important. And here, what we see is hoarding, seeking security in those things, 00:10:47.180 --> 00:10:54.500 and being self-centered, using them for our selfish desires. Self-indulgence and luxury are the words 00:10:54.500 --> 00:11:02.399 that are used. Spending it all on ourselves rather than thinking about others. And when we use things 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:10.419 like this, we are being foolish, and James warns us that our future is not good. The end will not be 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:16.240 what we desire. But for these rich that James is looking at, it's more than just poor investment. 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:23.799 It is also because their self-indulgence is fitting them for judgment, because they are abusing others 00:11:23.799 --> 00:11:31.100 around them for in the pursuit of and in the spending of their wealth and power. This is what 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:36.919 verse 3 is about, the day laborers, the wages. Remember the parable that Jesus tells about the 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:43.740 workers in the vineyard? They come for a day, and some come at 9, and some come at 12, and some come at 3, 00:11:43.740 --> 00:11:49.620 and they're all paid at the end. And some of you may know this. It's because they need to get paid 00:11:49.620 --> 00:11:55.279 at the end of the day so that they can feed their family that day. They're getting food for their work 00:11:55.279 --> 00:12:02.419 that day. And these people, these rich, have withheld that money. They have said, no, I will not give it 00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:09.340 to you today, and maybe I will never give it to you. And they've abused their power, likely to enforce 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:16.379 unfair and oppressive terms upon their workers. 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:24.800 They're mowers, they're harvesters, they've withheld their wages from it. 00:12:26.560 --> 00:12:32.600 And in the end, they've not only done that, but in verse 6, it shows us that they have actively 00:12:32.600 --> 00:12:39.720 pursued the condemnation of those who have sought to do right. James doesn't explain to us a lot, 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:44.080 but what we do see clearly is that the greed of these people 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:49.800 have driven them to use their power to destroy innocent lives. 00:12:51.779 --> 00:12:56.480 The righteous are suffering. Those who seek to do good and who are not resisting 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:01.220 are being taken advantage of. 00:13:04.180 --> 00:13:06.580 For them, the future is misery. 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:09.320 It is not a good thing. 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:15.320 One commentator says, 00:13:16.180 --> 00:13:19.960 as thinking about riches for all of us, it says, 00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:23.000 there's no sin in being rich where sin exists among the rich. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:28.379 It arises, the sin arises, that is, from the manner in which the wealth was acquired, 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:32.620 the spirit which it tends to engender in the heart, 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:35.019 and the way it is used. 00:13:36.379 --> 00:13:39.200 So this is the question we need to ask ourselves. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:44.320 How have we acquired wealth that we do have? 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:49.720 What spirit has it cultivated in our hearts? 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:52.500 And how are we using it? 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:55.560 For friends, we need to be honest. 00:13:57.180 --> 00:14:00.300 Even for some of us in this room who have struggled financially, 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:04.100 we are wealthy compared to many in the world. 00:14:04.500 --> 00:14:06.139 We live in a wealthy culture. 00:14:07.180 --> 00:14:09.220 And God has called us to have a stewardship 00:14:09.220 --> 00:14:12.080 before him of what we have. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:15.779 And so we need to ask ourselves a series of questions. 00:14:15.779 --> 00:14:19.519 Have we put our hope in our earthly treasures, 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:23.959 whether they be our money, our position, our power? 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:31.199 Have we trusted in our IRAs and our 401ks, 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:35.480 or even in our bank accounts and our savings? 00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:40.539 It's not bad to have those things, but are we trusting in them? 00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:42.019 Is that where our hope is? 00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:46.840 Are we living a life of luxury and self-indulgence, 00:14:47.220 --> 00:14:49.659 meeting our own selfish desires 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:52.159 while ignoring the needs of those around us? 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:55.939 Are we using our power, our economic power, 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:57.759 to defraud or shortchange others? 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:01.159 I'm from New England. 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:02.579 I get it. 00:15:02.899 --> 00:15:04.120 We like to be thrifty. 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:05.299 We like a deal. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:09.419 We like to get a good bargain. 00:15:09.939 --> 00:15:11.100 There's nothing wrong with that. 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:15.720 But sometimes we can do that at the expense of others, 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:18.079 rather than having a generous spirit. 00:15:21.179 --> 00:15:22.840 We need to be careful with that. 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:24.840 I've been struck during this pandemic 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:29.019 about the plight of those who work in the food service industry, 00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:32.579 those who are delivering, those who are working. 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:41.540 Are we being overly generous with those who are in vulnerable positions economically because of that? 00:15:42.440 --> 00:15:48.639 Have you tipped your drivers, your delivery person, your servers more during this time 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:49.800 to help them get through? 00:15:51.560 --> 00:15:53.680 If you have the ability to do so. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:56.799 Then we need to ask ourselves, 00:15:56.939 --> 00:15:59.879 have we attacked or belittled righteous people 00:15:59.879 --> 00:16:03.539 when in their righteousness they've impinged upon us, 00:16:03.579 --> 00:16:06.039 where their sacrifice has made us feel guilty? 00:16:06.879 --> 00:16:09.879 Have we disparaged them rather than praising them 00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:12.779 for the way that they've cared for others? 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:20.539 Finally, are we participating in societal systems that perpetuate harm to the poor? 00:16:21.379 --> 00:16:23.799 This is a broad and complex question. 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:25.959 It's not the point of our sermon today. 00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:30.279 But it is a question that we must grapple with in our day and age. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:35.620 How are we being conscious of how our society works 00:16:35.620 --> 00:16:43.279 and how we can be proactively fighting against the cultivation of this kind of riches 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:46.840 and these kinds of attitudes in our world? 00:16:49.060 --> 00:16:52.759 So James starts with this warning to the rich and then he moves on. 00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:53.639 And there's a shift. 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:57.360 There's a shift in audience for sure and a shift in tone in verse 7. 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:01.000 As he looks then to his church, to his brothers and sisters. 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:07.140 And in James' world, probably these people were those who were suffering under the oppression of the rich. 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:08.400 Many of them. 00:17:09.140 --> 00:17:14.279 And many of them were the ones who were actually being mistreated by the rich. 00:17:14.619 --> 00:17:16.720 And he turns to them and he says, 00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:20.700 Be patient, brothers and sisters, and endure. 00:17:21.220 --> 00:17:25.380 He says, be patient like a farmer who works really hard. 00:17:25.660 --> 00:17:29.579 He goes out and he plows the field and he pulls up the rocks 00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:32.919 and he pulls up the weeds and he plants the seed and he waters the seed 00:17:32.919 --> 00:17:35.460 and he pulls the weeds again and he watches it. 00:17:35.879 --> 00:17:42.220 And he does all of this work knowing that he cannot make his crop grow. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:50.099 He does all of this work patiently waiting for God to provide the late rains and the early rains, 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:56.740 which in Palestine meant the fall rains that would begin the crop 00:17:56.740 --> 00:18:00.079 and the spring rains that would come at the end of the time 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:03.160 that would bring a bountiful harvest in Palestine. 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:07.839 And the farmer knows that with all of his work, 00:18:08.440 --> 00:18:14.319 his patience is trusting and waiting on the Lord to provide what only he can do. 00:18:15.859 --> 00:18:18.059 Patience is the focus in this. 00:18:18.059 --> 00:18:19.059 Patience is the focus in this. 00:18:19.059 --> 00:18:24.899 And he's encouraging these suffering saints to be patient 00:18:24.899 --> 00:18:34.819 as in God's timing we look for vindication, for relief, for deliverance from our situation. 00:18:35.159 --> 00:18:36.519 He goes on in verse 8 and he says, 00:18:36.639 --> 00:18:38.200 Establish your hearts. 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:43.099 The patience that he calls on is not a laying back on your bed, 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:45.000 weeping and moaning and doing nothing. 00:18:45.139 --> 00:18:47.240 It is a proactive patience. 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:49.519 So here, establish your hearts. 00:18:49.900 --> 00:18:53.200 This word is used in Luke 9, 51, 00:18:53.339 --> 00:18:57.620 when Jesus turns his face towards Jerusalem. 00:18:58.359 --> 00:18:59.700 It's the same idea. 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:04.440 This steely determination as Jesus turns his face to Jerusalem in Luke 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:06.539 so that he's going to the cross. 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:10.099 Here, James uses that word to say, 00:19:10.259 --> 00:19:13.720 You, brothers and sisters, in the face of the hardship that you are facing, 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:17.279 dig in, establish yourself. 00:19:17.360 --> 00:19:20.460 Like Jim Cantore when he's like in the hurricane winds. 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:22.339 And he's like, here comes a big gust. 00:19:22.779 --> 00:19:27.100 And he sets his feet so that when the blast comes, he can stand firm. 00:19:27.420 --> 00:19:31.000 This is what God wants us to do with our hearts before him. 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:35.160 James says, remember the prophets of old. 00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:37.380 Remember Jeremiah who was told, 00:19:37.380 --> 00:19:40.040 Go preach to a people who will not listen. 00:19:43.740 --> 00:19:47.140 And Jeremiah, for his whole life, preached. 00:19:47.340 --> 00:19:50.060 Preached against the injustice that he saw. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:53.320 Preached against the ungodliness that was in the people of God. 00:19:53.540 --> 00:19:57.260 And preached knowing from the very start that people would not repent 00:19:57.260 --> 00:19:59.700 and would not turn in his day. 00:19:59.700 --> 00:20:04.759 By all modern metrics of ministry, he was a great failure. 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:08.620 But in God's economy, 00:20:09.140 --> 00:20:15.500 he's held up as an example of faithful, patient, endurance, and steadfastness. 00:20:16.660 --> 00:20:19.759 And even more so, James says, think of Job. 00:20:20.340 --> 00:20:24.980 The righteous man for whom he lost humanly everything. 00:20:24.980 --> 00:20:29.960 And in his loss and in his suffering, 00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:33.200 again, his patience was not simply, 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:35.960 well, I guess that's the way it is. 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:39.700 He went to God and he railed against God. 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:45.519 And he pleaded with God to explain and to give him good reason and to understand. 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:51.339 And he sought freedom from condemnation for it. 00:20:51.339 --> 00:20:58.519 But in his patience, he continued to seek God and to wait for God's answer. 00:20:59.699 --> 00:21:01.939 And when God did answer him, he said, 00:21:02.639 --> 00:21:03.419 Now I see. 00:21:04.679 --> 00:21:07.879 Not now I understand everything, but now I see God. 00:21:09.139 --> 00:21:10.179 And I repent. 00:21:12.659 --> 00:21:14.299 This is the kind of endurance. 00:21:14.679 --> 00:21:16.559 This is the kind of steadfastness. 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:20.399 This is the kind of patience that James is encouraging. 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:25.299 And he laces in it a couple of behavioral commands for us too. 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:27.139 Don't grumble against one another. 00:21:27.419 --> 00:21:30.279 Have you ever noticed that when it gets really hard, 00:21:30.379 --> 00:21:34.819 how easy it is to begin to pick at the people who are with you in the suffering? 00:21:36.139 --> 00:21:40.519 How easy it is to criticize others who don't respond exactly the way you do. 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:46.639 How easy it is to disagree with others who don't do the same thing that you want them to. 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:51.819 How easy it is for us to criticize and attack one another in the midst of suffering. 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:52.759 James says, 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:56.819 Don't do that, lest you be judged, for the judge is coming. 00:21:57.900 --> 00:22:03.639 And then in verse 12, which is a verse that is challenging to figure out how it fits into this. 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:11.180 And it has a broader application that Jesus brings out in other parts of the Gospels about this. 00:22:11.580 --> 00:22:17.460 Not swearing on anything because you should be before God a man or a woman of integrity 00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:19.820 who when you say yes, you mean yes. 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:21.140 And when you say no, you mean no. 00:22:21.180 --> 00:22:26.140 And you don't have to swear on any other authority other than your own integrity. 00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:34.360 But here I think James may be applying it specifically to those people who are tenant farmers, 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:37.480 who are under pressure from these landowners, 00:22:38.060 --> 00:22:42.360 who may be facing a great pressure to make promises 00:22:42.360 --> 00:22:46.620 to try to get out of the heat of this unjust oppression. 00:22:48.080 --> 00:22:53.780 I imagine this scene translated into the 20th century into a movie like Goodfellas. 00:22:53.779 --> 00:22:57.500 Paulie, I'll get you the money, I swear. 00:22:57.579 --> 00:22:58.680 I swear on my mother's grave. 00:22:58.740 --> 00:22:59.960 I'll get it to you next week. 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:01.279 Here, it's going to come. 00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:06.319 That this is the kind of oath that James is saying, 00:23:06.420 --> 00:23:07.759 You don't have to make that. 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:09.720 You don't have to swear on your mother's grave. 00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:13.379 Just let your yes be yes and your no be no 00:23:13.379 --> 00:23:17.119 before injustice. 00:23:17.740 --> 00:23:20.720 And in the face of the trials that you're facing, 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:26.740 don't allow them to warp you away from being the kind of person who has integrity. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:33.660 Because the Lord is coming. 00:23:37.100 --> 00:23:42.380 And how do we apply this patient endurance to our own lives? 00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:46.080 Well, we need to recognize that the trials we're going through 00:23:46.080 --> 00:23:50.660 are meant to be responded to with passive, 00:23:50.780 --> 00:23:52.440 not with passive inactivity, 00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:55.840 but active faith and pursuit of the Lord. 00:23:57.560 --> 00:24:00.180 Some of you may be facing crises of health. 00:24:01.360 --> 00:24:05.800 Some of you have had crises of health that are chronic and ongoing and difficult. 00:24:05.799 --> 00:24:12.799 Some of you may be facing present economic circumstances and challenges. 00:24:14.319 --> 00:24:19.460 Some of you may be facing loss of jobs or of loved ones. 00:24:22.779 --> 00:24:28.119 How do we pursue following this instruction in light of that? 00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:34.519 You know, I think of one of the great examples of the most extreme circumstances. 00:24:36.899 --> 00:24:39.319 The book, The Miracle on the River Kwai. 00:24:39.659 --> 00:24:42.179 If you haven't read it, it's by a man named Ernest Gordon. 00:24:44.159 --> 00:24:47.879 And he was a POW in Southeast Asia in World War II 00:24:47.879 --> 00:24:52.399 during the Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia. 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:58.560 He was a soldier who was captured and taken to one of the prison camps 00:24:58.560 --> 00:25:02.380 on the labor camps where they were building roads through Southeast Asia. 00:25:04.300 --> 00:25:08.040 And he walked in and he saw a place that was full of despair and death. 00:25:09.140 --> 00:25:12.220 The soldiers were brutally mistreated. 00:25:16.259 --> 00:25:16.740 Dehumanized. 00:25:16.740 --> 00:25:21.839 He came in and he saw that he had a choice. 00:25:22.620 --> 00:25:25.339 He could either believe that God was with him in there 00:25:25.339 --> 00:25:31.579 and to choose to pursue patiently waiting for God 00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:33.880 and steadfastly doing what is right 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:37.819 or he could give in to selfish indulgence 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:40.579 and simply live for himself and try to survive. 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:43.120 He chose the first, not the second. 00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:46.420 He saw his mates die. 00:25:46.420 --> 00:25:47.420 He saw them beaten. 00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:51.779 But his unshakable hope kept him going. 00:25:52.140 --> 00:25:53.400 And he brought life. 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:56.560 He would suffer at times for showing acts of kindness. 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:59.180 When he was forbidden to share food with others, 00:25:59.620 --> 00:26:00.940 he would do it anyways, 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:04.019 even when it meant beatings or solitary confinement. 00:26:06.860 --> 00:26:08.960 And as he waited and as he prayed, 00:26:09.080 --> 00:26:12.039 how long, O Lord, and looked to deliverance, 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:17.559 he lived with active patience, 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:19.200 loving in the meantime, 00:26:19.659 --> 00:26:22.019 seeking to do good while he could. 00:26:24.659 --> 00:26:26.220 Friends, this is a great example 00:26:26.220 --> 00:26:28.519 in the most extreme circumstances. 00:26:29.319 --> 00:26:30.240 And so for us, 00:26:30.259 --> 00:26:35.039 as we experience lesser trials, 00:26:35.139 --> 00:26:36.240 like power outages 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:40.059 or the inconvenience of COVID-19 restrictions, 00:26:40.059 --> 00:26:43.480 or as we face greater circumstances, 00:26:43.480 --> 00:26:47.279 like ongoing racial prejudice and inequality, 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:50.859 or the persecution of the church in parts of the world, 00:26:51.599 --> 00:26:52.819 let us stand fast. 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:55.200 Let us be active in faith 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:57.160 and patient in endurance. 00:26:57.160 --> 00:27:02.820 But as we hear these commands, 00:27:03.140 --> 00:27:04.440 these warnings to the rich, 00:27:04.500 --> 00:27:08.000 and this encouragement to the faithful, 00:27:09.120 --> 00:27:10.779 I don't know about you, 00:27:10.880 --> 00:27:13.300 but I can become very weary 00:27:13.300 --> 00:27:14.060 and think, 00:27:14.140 --> 00:27:15.420 I don't know if I can do that. 00:27:16.360 --> 00:27:18.200 I don't know how to press on. 00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:20.940 But friends, 00:27:21.060 --> 00:27:23.600 this is where Roger's rules of driving help. 00:27:24.320 --> 00:27:25.700 Lift up your eyes. 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:28.000 Look to the end. 00:27:28.120 --> 00:27:31.759 For this passage is laced with a reminder 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:36.160 that though our present circumstances are hard, 00:27:36.900 --> 00:27:38.440 the Lord is at hand. 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:39.880 In verse 8, it says, 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:40.819 the Lord is at hand. 00:27:41.120 --> 00:27:42.140 In verse 9, it says, 00:27:42.220 --> 00:27:44.180 the Lord is standing at the door. 00:27:44.799 --> 00:27:49.360 We saw it in verse 9, 00:27:49.440 --> 00:27:50.220 where it says that 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:52.019 there is a judge who is coming. 00:27:52.680 --> 00:27:54.860 We saw it in verse 3 and 4, 00:27:54.860 --> 00:27:55.519 where it says, 00:27:55.700 --> 00:27:58.940 there is a day of slaughter coming. 00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:01.900 And there is a Lord of hosts 00:28:01.900 --> 00:28:05.240 who is coming to vindicate the righteous. 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:07.640 So over and over and over again 00:28:07.640 --> 00:28:08.400 in this passage, 00:28:08.600 --> 00:28:13.259 we see that in the context of these commands, 00:28:13.380 --> 00:28:15.759 there is this reminder again and again and again. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:18.059 The future, in the future, 00:28:18.299 --> 00:28:19.480 the Lord will come. 00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:24.559 In fact, the last days mean not just a future day, 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:25.599 but mean now. 00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:28.720 It's not merely a chronological term. 00:28:28.819 --> 00:28:30.620 It's a salvation historical term. 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:32.660 The last days were begun 00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:37.099 when Jesus came and through his life and death and resurrection, 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:41.740 accomplished the redemption that God is now working out in the world. 00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:44.099 And these last days, 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:47.660 from his resurrection to his return again, 00:28:47.940 --> 00:28:49.880 is what we are living in now. 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:52.000 And the Bible consistently says, 00:28:52.180 --> 00:28:53.559 be ready for his coming. 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:54.980 Wait for his coming. 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:56.220 Look for his coming. 00:28:56.220 --> 00:28:57.420 Because when it comes, 00:28:57.700 --> 00:28:58.860 it will be the end. 00:28:59.339 --> 00:29:01.000 And it will be a glorious thing. 00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:04.160 He will come as a judge. 00:29:05.100 --> 00:29:07.220 And he will judge the rich 00:29:07.220 --> 00:29:09.940 who wickedly oppress others 00:29:09.940 --> 00:29:11.660 and deny God 00:29:11.660 --> 00:29:15.000 and use their wealth and power for selfish gain. 00:29:15.539 --> 00:29:18.839 They will get their recompense 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:21.279 and their future will be one of misery. 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:25.180 But he will also come as a deliverer. 00:29:25.180 --> 00:29:27.440 And so you, brothers and sisters, 00:29:27.560 --> 00:29:28.980 who have placed your hope in him, 00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:30.620 you, brothers and sisters, 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:32.720 who know that you are his, 00:29:33.660 --> 00:29:34.740 when he comes, 00:29:34.840 --> 00:29:36.680 he will judge us for our actions. 00:29:36.820 --> 00:29:38.860 And so we are called to be faithful. 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:41.500 But he will ultimately deliver us. 00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:44.920 Verse 11 says, 00:29:46.120 --> 00:29:48.080 for you know the purpose of the Lord, 00:29:49.100 --> 00:29:50.120 his compassion, 00:29:51.259 --> 00:29:53.060 and his mercy. 00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:56.700 Friends, this is the good news of the gospel 00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:58.240 that gives us hope 00:29:58.240 --> 00:30:00.159 in the midst of present circumstances 00:30:00.159 --> 00:30:01.379 by looking ahead. 00:30:02.119 --> 00:30:03.000 It gives us hope 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:04.599 that we have this kind of Savior 00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:06.619 talked about in Isaiah 53, 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:10.440 speaking prophetically of Jesus to come. 00:30:11.019 --> 00:30:12.839 He was oppressed and he was afflicted, 00:30:12.899 --> 00:30:14.299 yet he opened not his mouth. 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:16.639 Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter 00:30:16.639 --> 00:30:17.519 and like a sheep 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:19.539 that is before its shearers is silent, 00:30:19.539 --> 00:30:22.059 so he opened not his mouth. 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:24.240 By oppression and judgment, 00:30:24.379 --> 00:30:25.420 he was taken away. 00:30:26.440 --> 00:30:27.819 And as for his generation, 00:30:28.119 --> 00:30:29.779 who considered that he was cut off, 00:30:29.980 --> 00:30:31.879 who considered he was cut off 00:30:31.879 --> 00:30:32.940 from the land of the living, 00:30:33.539 --> 00:30:36.039 stricken for the transgression of my people? 00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:39.159 Or think of the words of the Apostle Paul, 00:30:39.259 --> 00:30:41.659 for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:44.460 that though he was rich in heaven, 00:30:45.139 --> 00:30:47.339 yet for your sake he became poor, 00:30:47.339 --> 00:30:49.399 so that by his poverty 00:30:49.399 --> 00:30:51.179 you might become rich. 00:30:52.319 --> 00:30:54.139 For Christ also suffered, 00:30:55.159 --> 00:30:55.879 Peter says, 00:30:56.679 --> 00:30:57.799 once for sins, 00:30:57.919 --> 00:30:59.740 the righteous for the unrighteous, 00:30:59.799 --> 00:31:02.079 that he might bring us to God. 00:31:02.980 --> 00:31:04.679 Friends, this is the compassion 00:31:04.679 --> 00:31:06.000 and the mercy of God 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.299 that he has shown such a great love 00:31:08.299 --> 00:31:10.419 for us and for this world in Christ. 00:31:10.419 --> 00:31:13.179 He has accomplished a redemption for us 00:31:13.179 --> 00:31:14.899 that is beyond belief. 00:31:14.900 --> 00:31:17.200 And so, it gives us a warning 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:20.220 for us to not put our hope in this life. 00:31:20.440 --> 00:31:21.900 And it gives us the power 00:31:21.900 --> 00:31:23.519 to endure the hardships 00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:25.500 of our present circumstances 00:31:25.500 --> 00:31:26.720 as we look forward 00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:29.220 to this redemption that is to come. 00:31:30.759 --> 00:31:32.080 Friends, I'm going to close 00:31:32.080 --> 00:31:34.800 with words from this commentator, 00:31:35.860 --> 00:31:36.960 Alec Mottier, 00:31:37.120 --> 00:31:38.280 who wrote this, 00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:41.519 behind all that God has ever done for us, 00:31:41.940 --> 00:31:43.940 lies his heart of love, 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:46.480 behind his choice of us, 00:31:47.019 --> 00:31:48.559 his gift of his son, 00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:51.160 the temporal and eternal blessings 00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:52.660 of his great salvation, 00:31:53.440 --> 00:31:55.740 his daily and nightly care for us, 00:31:55.980 --> 00:31:58.700 his provisions for body, mind, and soul, 00:31:59.259 --> 00:32:01.160 his presence day by day, 00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:03.079 and the hope of glory. 00:32:03.079 --> 00:32:06.559 The wonder of the day of Christ coming 00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:10.079 is that then the full content 00:32:10.659 --> 00:32:12.279 of that heart of love 00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:14.799 will come home in experience 00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:17.699 to the people of this great 00:32:17.699 --> 00:32:20.119 and tender-hearted God. 00:32:22.119 --> 00:32:24.539 And so, as we pursue this life 00:32:24.539 --> 00:32:25.480 of knowing God, 00:32:25.539 --> 00:32:27.220 as we pursue it in the midst 00:32:27.220 --> 00:32:28.720 of sufferings and trials 00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:29.599 and hardships, 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:32.519 know that there is a God of love, 00:32:33.059 --> 00:32:34.480 a God of mercy 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:35.619 and of compassion, 00:32:36.179 --> 00:32:38.240 and that in the future 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:39.459 when he comes, 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:43.579 that will reign on this earth 00:32:43.579 --> 00:32:44.740 forever. 00:32:46.719 --> 00:32:48.039 May this be a warning 00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:49.879 to our selfish hearts 00:32:49.879 --> 00:32:52.719 and an encouragement to us 00:32:52.719 --> 00:32:54.779 to continue to trust in him. 00:32:54.879 --> 00:32:55.359 Let's pray. 00:32:56.579 --> 00:32:58.019 Lord, thank you for this 00:32:58.019 --> 00:32:59.740 word. 00:33:00.019 --> 00:33:01.539 Thank you for the good news 00:33:01.539 --> 00:33:04.379 that Jesus has accomplished 00:33:04.379 --> 00:33:06.920 and Jesus will return 00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:09.319 to fulfill his redemption. 00:33:11.220 --> 00:33:12.539 Lord, that you will make 00:33:12.539 --> 00:33:13.400 the world new 00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:14.859 and that evil and sin 00:33:14.859 --> 00:33:16.200 will end 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:18.039 and injustice will end. 00:33:20.559 --> 00:33:21.759 Lord, that righteousness 00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:22.759 will roll 00:33:22.759 --> 00:33:24.339 and that the sweetness 00:33:24.339 --> 00:33:25.240 and the beauty 00:33:25.240 --> 00:33:26.819 of your love 00:33:26.819 --> 00:33:27.339 and mercy 00:33:27.339 --> 00:33:28.079 will be 00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:30.220 that which rules 00:33:30.220 --> 00:33:30.819 the day 00:33:30.819 --> 00:33:32.559 in your new creation. 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:36.259 God, give us hope. 00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:38.240 Give us confidence 00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:39.420 in these things 00:33:39.420 --> 00:33:42.079 and that you will come 00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:44.220 and that you will do them 00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:46.319 and help us to live today 00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:47.759 in light of that future. 00:33:48.279 --> 00:33:49.759 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:50.700 Amen. 00:33:50.700 --> 00:33:50.839 Amen.