WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.240 So we're going to just look at this passage tonight and think about it in the context 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:13.160 of what you've been doing at City Groups and also what you've been hearing on a Wednesday 00:00:13.160 --> 00:00:22.839 evening. And James is great, it's such a great group, so much in it. And I think at this towards 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:29.199 the end here what he's doing is he's out working the difference it makes in our day-to-day 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:35.280 life to be a Christian, as Jesus' followers to live by the wisdom of heaven and not by 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:41.519 our worldly wisdom if you look back to chapter 3 and verses 13 to 16 it talks about, you 00:00:41.519 --> 00:00:45.879 know, worldly wisdom and then God's wisdom and it's as if he spends a lot of the rest 00:00:45.879 --> 00:00:51.560 of time explaining the difference between, in fact, it's quite, that's quite similar 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:57.439 right through the book seems to be two ways to live as it were, you know, going right 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:05.679 back to chapter 1 and verse 27 he talks about not being polluted, keeping oneself unstained 00:01:05.679 --> 00:01:11.159 from the world, don't ignore injustice, don't be polluted by the world and he makes a lot 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:19.439 of that right throughout his letter. And here he's talking about worldly or he's talking 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:28.519 about wealth and making wealth an idol and he's really saying that that's worldly wisdom 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:37.640 and it's just these first five, six verses they're like Jeremiah or Ezekiel or some of 00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:46.640 the old prophets it's there's real prophetic rage when he's speaking about the injustice 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:56.439 of those who are rich and he's railing against it with rage what he sees around him. There's 00:01:56.439 --> 00:02:01.480 different opinions about who he's speaking to here as he's speaking to rich Christians. 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:09.639 I suspect he's not because he talks about you rich it's kind of quite derogatory in 00:02:09.639 --> 00:02:14.400 some ways he doesn't call them brothers or sisters other places he says brothers and 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:21.439 sisters and it's almost just he's raging against the injustice around him and but also using 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:28.080 it as a warning and he is also he's speaking to the church he's speaking to believers but 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:34.680 he's he's looking beyond them and seeing the kind of society that can influence the behavior 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:42.240 of Christians it is a warning and he's he's really looking at what he sees and he says 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:49.600 look Christians we need to be critically aware of sometimes the way the world thinks and 00:02:49.600 --> 00:02:57.560 there's things we need to leave behind or he's saying that if if you're a Christian maybe 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:03.200 even he's saying to people that he's writing to if you are Christians who have come from 00:03:03.200 --> 00:03:09.160 a rich Christians who have come from the environment a god godless environment then there's attitudes 00:03:09.159 --> 00:03:16.719 and principles and thinking in our business and in our work life that we need to put behind 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:22.759 us because there is dangers in the pursuit of wealth isn't there and he kind of highlights 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:31.680 here and three dangers connected with what he sees in the world around him with regard 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:38.639 to wealth the first is in verse three where he says you know you're golden silver I've 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:43.399 been corroded corrosion as evidence you've laid up treasure in the last days or you've 00:03:43.399 --> 00:03:51.039 hoarded treasure in the last days so he's just saying that he's decrying the attitude 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:57.759 that is trusting in and making lots and lots of money and hoarding it up and putting your 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:04.000 your hope in that and it just fits in with lots of the Bible which is look money's not 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:08.759 going to last you're not going to take it with you it's rotting away you're going to 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:15.080 die naked the same way you came into the world and it's selfish and sad to be living to pursue 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:20.319 money and to pursue the protection that you think money is going to give you so don't 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:27.920 hoard it that's that's one danger the second danger he says in verse four to hold the wages 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:33.079 of the labourers who mowed your fields you've kept back by fraud and it's crying against 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:41.479 you so here's a very specific problem of fraudulent wage oppression that was evident in the society 00:04:41.479 --> 00:04:47.599 obviously maybe today it would be paying less than the minimum wage or a living wage and 00:04:47.599 --> 00:04:55.919 generally it's it's speaking of the the oppression of the rich towards the poor who are powerless 00:04:55.919 --> 00:05:02.959 maybe using if you were updating it a little bit political or legal or business muscle 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:09.639 to suppress and to oppress and to ignore and to take advantage of those who can't stand 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:16.079 against that power and you know we see that all around us and he says that's that's ungodly 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:21.959 and it's it's it's not the wisdom of God so there's hoarding there's fraudulent wage 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:27.919 oppression and the third thing is the third thing he condemns in verse five is you've 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:36.040 lived on the earth in luxury and self indulgence and and that's really again it's just talking 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:48.040 about living off the benefits of sometimes fraudulent rich possession of wealth getting 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:54.160 rich sometimes on on immoral or illegal means but not necessarily but then using that wealth 00:05:54.160 --> 00:06:01.680 simply to be absolutely self indulgent and to live a life of opulence and luxury thinking 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:09.800 of no one but you know yourself and and it seems to be there's this idea of you've lived 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:15.840 on the earth and so it's it's a very earthy way of thinking that it's not spiritual it 00:06:15.840 --> 00:06:23.400 doesn't take into account the future and it's that it's the obscenity of wealth that we 00:06:23.399 --> 00:06:31.959 see that it's the inequality of wealth that we see around us often even today where there's 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:37.839 that huge gap between those who have more than enough for a hundred lifestyles for a hundred 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:46.120 lives and who have no interest in the needs of others but who simply hoard it for themselves 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:53.720 so James is kind of railing against that in anger and he's saying that's not how Christians 00:06:53.720 --> 00:07:02.160 should think and live and act and we take note of of God's wisdom in all of these things 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:09.639 which is different and I've just applied the second half of that section which talks goes 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:14.519 on to talk about patience and suffering in the light of what's gone before so I'm taking 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:24.599 it as one section I think in general terms we've got to stand up as James mentions here 00:07:24.599 --> 00:07:32.839 we've got to stand up for godly wisdom and the social injustice that we see around us 00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:38.359 we should all of us as Christians I think should hold loosely to political and economic 00:07:38.359 --> 00:07:44.439 ideologies I'm not saying we ignore them I'm not saying that we become separatists or insular 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:54.279 and sectarian at all in any way but we do belong to a different kingdom and we need to use 00:07:54.279 --> 00:08:04.519 God's wisdom to critically assess the world and the philosophies of wealth creation and 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:11.079 everything else around us in the world and we don't just point the finger we don't just 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:19.319 cry out woe is me and go our own way but I think we need to recognise that any political or economic 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:27.159 system is flawed and doesn't have that doesn't have God at the centre so if you take the two 00:08:27.159 --> 00:08:34.439 extremes for example in capitalism you find there's a great temptation at the end at one end of it 00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:41.880 towards greed because it appeals to the greed of humanity but then if you take socialism at one 00:08:41.880 --> 00:08:46.840 end of the scale with socialism there's the temptation to covetousness and to wanting what 00:08:46.840 --> 00:08:54.440 everyone else has and you know that there's good things in both of these things that's very simplistic 00:08:54.440 --> 00:09:00.760 I know but I don't think we should champion either economies as the hope of the world you know and 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:09.399 and I know we don't do that but our place as Christians is to stand up for the voiceless 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:16.039 the oppressed and the crushed for the poor both the poor in spirit and also those who have no 00:09:16.039 --> 00:09:21.399 voice in society we should be champions of them that's very difficult to do but I think that 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:28.039 is something in our own lives we should consider in Christ you know we're always to be different 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:35.799 if we are rich Christians because God doesn't doesn't condemn wealth creation nor does he 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:41.480 condemn wealth per se in the Bible with a lot of rich people in the Bible but it's what we do with 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:49.559 it and it's what's in our heart and where our trust lies it's important but if you're in business or 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:57.879 or if you're thinking about how to deal with your money then your business ethics or the qualities of 00:09:58.599 --> 00:10:07.559 honesty and fairness generosity to staff loyalty all these things should be revolutionary for 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:16.759 someone who is a Christian who maybe has influence in these areas and I think all the power that 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:25.559 sometimes money allows us in this world should be used in a way as servants of God so we're 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:31.639 servants of God in all that we do and generally I think if we don't have power if we're not business 00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:39.480 people or we don't have influence in that area similarly our attitude to money should be godly 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:48.200 and we should have a godly wisdom I think simplicity sacrifice providing for family generosity kingdom 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:55.480 investment trusting in God to provide not making riches an idol and not making poverty a virtue 00:10:56.120 --> 00:11:00.120 I think the Bible speaks about all of these things and James touches on some of it here and well 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:12.519 here and well in this section but I think also then we should live under injustice with patience 00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:20.039 and love I'm not sure whether James is speaking specifically into a situation here where he's 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:27.320 asking his brothers to show patience but I wonder whether he may be speaking here to 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:34.040 brothers to Christians who are victims of rich oppressors that he has railed against in the 00:11:34.040 --> 00:11:44.920 previous section or maybe he's speaking to Christians within the community who are shoulder 00:11:44.920 --> 00:11:51.240 live shoulder to shoulder with rich brothers and sisters and are tempted to grumble against them 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:59.480 talks about that in verse 8 do not grumble against another brother and it may be in that context 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:08.440 that there's a tension between rich and poor in the Christian community but let's broaden it a bit 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:14.120 because he's speaking about patience and it may be patience in relation to this or it may generally 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:23.080 be the need for patience in a world that doesn't love Christ and doesn't serve Christ and he uses 00:12:23.080 --> 00:12:28.440 three different words another quick three ones three different words for patience here or three 00:12:28.440 --> 00:12:33.560 different concepts the first is is just the word patience in seven and eight where he talks about 00:12:33.560 --> 00:12:38.840 waiting for the the harvest to come you know there's nothing you can do about it once you've 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:44.280 planted the seed it's just got to wait for the harvest to come and hopefully in Scotland we'll get 00:12:44.280 --> 00:12:48.600 some sun to bring out the seeds and to bring something to growth but that's literally 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:56.600 waiting it's literally being patient having a different perspective recognizing that God's 00:12:56.600 --> 00:13:02.120 timing is different to ours that we have an eternal perspective and every day we need that 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:09.560 patience because life is tough marriage is tough families are tough employment is tough people's 00:13:09.560 --> 00:13:15.000 attitudes are tough to us our attitudes to others sometimes may be tough but there's a million 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:20.759 different reasons that we might grumble today you might have got up today and thought and had a 00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:24.840 right good grumble or maybe as the day went on you had a right good grumble because it's easy to 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.680 and you might have had a right good grumble against someone else who's a Christian today 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:38.279 and it's very easy for us and so God calls us not to grumble and be patient with other people 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:47.319 and with our brothers and sisters in Christ and not judge one another but just be patient 00:13:48.199 --> 00:13:51.399 and that may apply to you in a whole lot of different ways today I don't know 00:13:51.399 --> 00:14:00.759 and then the second sort of illustration or second description of patience is in verse 8 00:14:01.319 --> 00:14:07.240 where he says establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand and that the 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:15.960 NIV has stand firm there and this is kind of more about having a a steely resolve and being rooted 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:23.720 in Christ who's a rock stand firm there don't let anything move you it's more like a really 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:31.879 a really strong attitude of mind and let Jesus be your influencer I'm not I'm not 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:38.120 of an age or stage to really know what an influencer is very much but apparently now you 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:43.560 can make lots of money by being an influencer on social media whether it's clothes or 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:51.239 restaurants or whatever and if you get lots of followers you become an influencer now as Christians 00:14:51.239 --> 00:14:58.359 we want Jesus to be our number one influencer and so we stand firm in him and we go back to him 00:14:58.359 --> 00:15:04.359 and we establish our hearts so that at every point when we're trying to be impatient we find 00:15:04.359 --> 00:15:11.159 ourselves going back to him so patience standing firm which is a little bit more active and then 00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:18.360 the third one is in verse 11 about being steadfast behold we consider those blessed to remain 00:15:18.360 --> 00:15:24.039 steadfast you've heard of the steadfastness of job and that's the whole idea of actually 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:31.319 keeping on the right road persevering even when it's tough it's like walking uphill keeping going 00:15:31.319 --> 00:15:40.199 even when your legs are really sore and not giving up so there's there's waiting there's standing 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:48.280 and there's keeping going three slightly different elements that we're encouraged to do now I'm not 00:15:48.280 --> 00:15:54.120 going to apply that you might have a myriad different ways of applying that truth to your 00:15:54.120 --> 00:16:03.160 own heart today maybe you've had a horrible day maybe there's been things that have really pushed 00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:12.199 you towards in patience or giving up or being fed up with with your faith or with other people and 00:16:12.199 --> 00:16:21.000 so I certainly having prepared this last yesterday was in great need of it last night for one or two 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:26.600 different reasons and sometimes you remember you remember after you've prepared something oh actually 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:33.000 that's God maybe speaking to me first before he's speaking to anyone else so patience however you 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:42.919 apply that can be a word from the Holy Spirit now I'm just going to finish now but can anyone tell me 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:47.000 that there's something in this passage that I haven't mentioned that's quite significant 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:54.440 to anyone thinking oh Derek's talked about wealth and about patience but he hasn't mentioned 00:16:54.440 --> 00:17:00.840 something else that's in this passage kind of in both sections if you look at the both section 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:03.399 anyone going to be brave enough to suggest what I've missed out 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:22.440 no judgment judgment ah Thomas you couldn't couldn't resist could he couldn't resist 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:28.200 we couldn't get unmuted we had a year I know I think there was a few people said something I 00:17:28.200 --> 00:17:35.400 noticed a few mouths moving but they were unmuted they were muted so yeah judgment it's quite 00:17:35.400 --> 00:17:46.039 interesting that both sections really verse five well both you've got the the cries of the harvesters 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:50.519 have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts you've lived in earth and luxured yourself you've fattened 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:58.920 your hearts in the day of slaughter which is very colorful language and then in verse eight 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:06.440 we have that you know for the coming of the Lord is at hand and then it goes on to speak about 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:14.279 the judge standing at the door and I think that's he also talks about job I haven't 00:18:14.279 --> 00:18:21.480 a time to look at job but you know isn't that interesting that that James is speaking 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:29.160 in the last days you know the days between Christ's first and second coming and you know he talks about 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:37.559 the day of the Lord being near and the judge is standing at the door and there's that sense in which 00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:45.079 the day of the Lord the coming of the Lord is at hand and we just remember that when you sit at 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:49.960 the Lord's table which we've done that quite a bit in the last week while during lockdown it's always 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:59.000 until he comes and that's an important element and James speaks about that day being near now 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:04.279 that's obviously in God's timescale and not necessarily as a day as a thousand years and a 00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:11.240 thousand years a day but the judge is standing at the door and it's interesting isn't it that James 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:20.839 has that perspective in terms of godly living how we live with money how we deal with matters that 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:29.000 tend to drive us towards impatience he says that listen what you're saying today 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:35.240 God hears all the cries he's hearing all the cries of the injustice in the society we live in and the 00:19:35.240 --> 00:19:41.480 injustice we see there's not one wrong that will be ignored on that last day there's not one injustice 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:47.400 that will not be dealt with there's not one sin that will be left unpunished no evil will be 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:53.319 victorious on that day and we remember that our sins are already dealt with and already punished 00:19:53.319 --> 00:20:00.439 that's why that last great day that will be different for us and as Christians therefore 00:20:00.439 --> 00:20:04.759 we're not to take that place of judgment and we're not to be this we're not the standard 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:11.559 and we don't take God's place we're not the judges we are to discern between right and wrong 00:20:11.559 --> 00:20:18.359 but we don't grumble and we don't complain and we don't condemn we are accountable as Christians 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:27.159 to live by grace and we are answerable to God on that last great day for how we've used his gifts 00:20:27.159 --> 00:20:34.119 of grace and wisdom and that's a really challenging thought I've never found myself terribly comfortable 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:40.279 under that truth but we are accountable we're forgiven we're his children but nonetheless 00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:46.679 will be held to account for how we've used our gifts and how we've served God and how we have 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:53.400 borne fruit in our lives and maybe that's worth discussing at city group when it comes up because 00:20:53.400 --> 00:21:00.600 it's very challenging and it's sobering and I think it stops us from being critical and judgmental 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:11.400 or careless or unjust or uncaring about those who have no voice and those who have 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:21.400 no no one to represent them in this world so that's me done