WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:21.179 Please turn back in your Bibles to James chapter 5, and we'll try and bring things into land in this series. 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:21.179 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:42.799 I'm glad to say that they didn't hold to that. My mom was too tender-hearted to hold to that. I discovered that good things happen to naughty boys as well. 00:00:44.179 --> 00:00:46.899 But she used to say it all the time, good things happen to good boys. 00:00:47.400 --> 00:00:56.140 The other one which she was much more consistent in following through on was, patience is a virtue. 00:00:56.140 --> 00:01:07.719 Now that's widely used. It's a maxim, it's a truism that we hear, but it was something that was held to rigidly in my house when we were growing up. 00:01:07.859 --> 00:01:12.939 My mom's preferred form of discipline was grounding, also known as house arrest. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:25.019 And one year, I believe it was 1985, it would have been easier to record that sanction in months rather than in days or weeks for me. 00:01:26.140 --> 00:01:31.980 But having to wait and wait and wait didn't feel like a virtue. 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:39.379 My experience when I was younger did, of course, make lockdown a lot easier, but that's a different story. 00:01:39.980 --> 00:01:46.219 But having to learn patience didn't feel like a virtue when I was a boy, and it still doesn't feel that way today. 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:48.500 None of us like to wait. 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:55.560 And it's even harder today than it was in the 1980s because so much of life is instant. 00:01:56.960 --> 00:02:04.519 From Amazon, see you in an hour, to Uber, and whatever you like, in between, we live in a time of instant everything. 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:09.000 So having to wait for something is just alien to us. 00:02:09.020 --> 00:02:09.920 It feels unnatural. 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:15.500 And if you're being asked to wait in a hard situation, it's not just that it feels unnatural. 00:02:15.899 --> 00:02:17.699 Sometimes it can feel unbearable. 00:02:18.899 --> 00:02:21.899 Which is why our instincts take us in other directions. 00:02:22.119 --> 00:02:24.179 We try and change our circumstances. 00:02:24.399 --> 00:02:25.619 We try and do things. 00:02:26.279 --> 00:02:30.159 We get about being busy in order to try and change the situation. 00:02:32.019 --> 00:02:37.019 James has showed us all the way through this letter that this is the predicament of these Christians. 00:02:37.020 --> 00:02:45.860 Their lives have been made very difficult because of the kind of persecution and depression that we were just praying about a moment or two ago. 00:02:45.980 --> 00:02:54.680 They have been scattered, and they are experiencing loss and pain and separation and difficulty. 00:02:55.760 --> 00:02:57.540 And it's difficult. 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:00.580 But they haven't responded well. 00:03:00.660 --> 00:03:03.379 They haven't responded in the way that they should. 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:08.639 We've seen that in their words and in their actions, they have tried to fight fire with fire. 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:13.259 They've tried to take their persecutors on in the way that their persecutors have acted. 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:19.719 They have tried to behave towards those who have made their life difficult by being difficult back to them. 00:03:20.379 --> 00:03:23.439 And James, through the letter, has been calling them back to obedience. 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:25.000 That's what we've seen week by week. 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:36.419 And we saw last week that one of the motivations for their obedience, for coming back to submit their lives under God in His world, 00:03:37.080 --> 00:03:40.319 is that God is going to deal with their oppressors. 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:48.860 He sees what these Christians are experiencing, and He sees what those who are oppressing them are doing to His children. 00:03:48.979 --> 00:03:51.039 And He will act to judge. 00:03:51.099 --> 00:03:52.860 We saw that last week. 00:03:52.860 --> 00:03:56.160 In fact, James raises this point about judgment again. 00:03:56.600 --> 00:04:01.140 In our passage this morning in verses 8 and 9, God's judgment is coming. 00:04:01.700 --> 00:04:06.980 And His people need to settle it in their hearts that they will be on the right side of that event. 00:04:07.720 --> 00:04:13.660 That they won't make decisions now that will lead them to be on the wrong side of that judgment when it comes. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:15.440 Do you see verses 8 and 9? 00:04:16.400 --> 00:04:19.060 The coming of the Lord Jesus is at hand. 00:04:19.060 --> 00:04:23.459 The Lord Jesus is coming back to judge the living and the dead. 00:04:23.540 --> 00:04:25.459 We confessed it in our creed this morning. 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:28.300 And James is saying, He's at hand. 00:04:29.280 --> 00:04:30.480 He's not in the taxi. 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:32.040 He's not coming down the street. 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:33.620 He's at the door, verse 9. 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:38.300 And the only thing that remains is for Him to open that door and come in. 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:50.180 And so James exhorts this church to wait on the Lord and to wait on Him to bring His purposes to pass in His time on His terms. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:55.300 And as he closes out the letter, he tells them that this will require patience. 00:04:55.300 --> 00:05:03.400 From our perspective, as James teases out what this looks like, we are given the mandate for the church in the negative world. 00:05:04.100 --> 00:05:12.519 In our context where we are struggling to live faithfully as Christians because being Christian, naming the name of Christ is costly for us. 00:05:13.019 --> 00:05:15.480 He says, this is what it looks like. 00:05:15.780 --> 00:05:17.000 This is what is required. 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:22.000 The church in the negative world must be marked by, number one, patient endurance. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:25.819 Patient endurance, verses 7 to 12. 00:05:25.899 --> 00:05:28.540 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. 00:05:28.860 --> 00:05:31.220 Verse 8, you also be patient. 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:35.699 James mentions patience or waiting five times. 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:39.639 And he fleshes out what that patience will look like by giving us three examples. 00:05:39.779 --> 00:05:40.420 Did you notice them? 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:42.259 The first is there in verse 7. 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:43.319 It's the farmer. 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:45.139 We're to look to the farmer. 00:05:45.139 --> 00:05:46.300 What's going on here? 00:05:46.300 --> 00:05:49.360 We're waiting while we're not in control. 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:58.639 See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, verse 7, being patient about it until it receives the early and the late rains. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:05.879 As a family, a while ago, we enjoyed sitting down together and watching Clarkson's farm, as lots of people have done. 00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:11.560 Now, two things, well, there were lots of things, but two things in particular struck me about that series. 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:15.280 The first is how hard the work of farming actually is. 00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:22.420 Even with all of the machinery that Amazon provided, a Lamborghini tractor, for goodness sake. 00:06:23.540 --> 00:06:24.480 It's hard work. 00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:26.740 It is hard graft. 00:06:27.300 --> 00:06:33.819 But as well as that, you couldn't miss just how much of the success of the farmer's work that is actually out of his hands. 00:06:33.819 --> 00:06:40.399 The crop farmer hopes for the early rain to be able to plant, but he can't make the early rain fall. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:45.959 And when he's done that, when he's planted it, there is nothing else he can do but wait. 00:06:47.139 --> 00:06:49.240 Yeah, he can put some fertilizer on. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:50.399 He can put a bit of water on. 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:53.060 He can do various bits of tending here and there. 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:55.980 He can keep an eye on things, pick the weeds and that sort of stuff. 00:06:55.980 --> 00:07:00.460 But whatever comes up out of the ground is actually out of his control. 00:07:01.200 --> 00:07:04.060 He just has to wait and see what comes. 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:08.700 He has to wait and see what God brings out of the ground. 00:07:08.699 --> 00:07:14.740 And this is what God calls his church to do in every era. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:20.060 To hand over control of our lives and to wait on him. 00:07:21.039 --> 00:07:25.019 And when life is hard, that is also what we are to do with our pain. 00:07:25.139 --> 00:07:31.519 We are to plant our pain in the ground of his promises and wait and see what he does with it. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:40.819 Even though we can't see what he's doing, even though we can't do anything to change the situation, 00:07:41.819 --> 00:07:44.439 we are to wait on the Lord and see what comes up. 00:07:45.219 --> 00:07:47.339 We are to weep patiently. 00:07:50.519 --> 00:07:57.060 Last week we were told, or sorry, earlier in the letter we've been told that we are to humble ourselves before the Lord. 00:07:57.060 --> 00:08:02.939 In many ways this is where humility before the Lord really bites for us. 00:08:03.019 --> 00:08:06.079 Because when life is hard, we get angry with him. 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:09.759 We, verse 9, grumble against him and against one another. 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:11.519 We've seen that again and again in the letter. 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:15.420 Because we're not in control and we're not able to change the situation. 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:18.459 We can't do anything about where we're stuck. 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:22.879 And we don't know what he's doing beneath the surface. 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:27.159 Like the farmer doesn't know what's really going on under there. 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:31.159 We don't know what God is doing beneath the surface of this whole situation. 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:35.320 And we don't know what fruit he plans to bring out of it all. 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:42.179 James says, like the farmer, we need to wait while we're not in control. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:49.179 Second example is the prophets, verse 10. 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:51.740 It points us in that direction. 00:08:51.740 --> 00:08:55.519 And here it is trusting when obedience is unpopular. 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:01.440 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 00:09:02.180 --> 00:09:04.720 James doesn't specify which prophets he had in mind. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:09.440 But the Old Testament prophets suffered persecution and rejection as they proclaimed God's Word 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:16.100 and called God's people to obedience and were really unpopular for it. 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:18.379 And yet they remained steadfast. 00:09:18.379 --> 00:09:21.299 And now we call them blessed. 00:09:21.299 --> 00:09:32.419 Now, again, mentioning the prophets here is designed to draw a line between James' hearers to the faithful of the past 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:37.779 in such a way as to assure them that they really belong to God. 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:43.079 You remember their oppressors are the ones who are saying, come back to the true way of God. 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:48.819 Come back to the Judaism that is the established religion, the true way of God's blessing. 00:09:49.779 --> 00:09:56.240 And it would have been easy for this scattered and weak and persecuted group to think, have we got this right? 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:59.879 These are amongst the very first disciples of the Lord Jesus. 00:10:00.680 --> 00:10:06.620 And they look around and they're saying, maybe you should, do you think that we're on the right track here? 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:10.659 Look at this temple and how impressive it is. 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:16.960 Look at all that's going on in the structures that these guys are talking about here and are part of. 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:21.440 And what James is doing is subverting the message of the Jewish religious oppressors. 00:10:21.900 --> 00:10:27.680 And he's assuring his hearers that those who follow Jesus are the faithful remnant of Israel. 00:10:29.060 --> 00:10:34.400 Even though to the naked eye it's the oppressors with all of their power and wealth who look like they have the blessing. 00:10:36.019 --> 00:10:38.700 James is saying, remember the prophets. 00:10:38.700 --> 00:10:46.060 And remember how they trusted God and they kept going in God's Word even when their obedience was unpopular. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:50.840 And the third example, verse 11. 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:59.280 You've heard the steadfastness of Job and you've seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:00.820 Here he says, look at Job. 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:04.420 Yes, go to the farmer, go to the prophets, but look at Job. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:08.340 Enduring, keeping on when life hurts. 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:12.660 You know the story of Job. 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:16.340 He lost his wife, he lost his children, he lost his health, he lost his wealth. 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:24.259 The man lost everything he had in a physical and a material sense, but he remained steadfast. 00:11:25.780 --> 00:11:27.540 Yes, he complained to God. 00:11:27.680 --> 00:11:30.320 He cursed the day that he was born, Job chapter 3. 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:34.480 He believed God was absent in his suffering. 00:11:34.800 --> 00:11:37.500 Verse chapter 23 of the book of Job. 00:11:37.620 --> 00:11:40.180 But his faith was never ultimately snuffed out. 00:11:40.179 --> 00:11:45.919 In the midst of his incredible personal suffering, he hung on to God. 00:11:48.239 --> 00:11:53.739 Job is a surprising name to find here, I think, given how much he wrestled and thrashed in his situation. 00:11:55.579 --> 00:11:58.299 Is Job really an example of patient suffering? 00:11:58.299 --> 00:12:02.639 Is he really an example of someone who endured faithfully? 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:11.259 But we only ask that question if we think that being patient, waiting on the Lord, is a stoic thing. 00:12:11.659 --> 00:12:15.000 Or an English stiff upper lip thing, where there's no emotion. 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:19.419 We just suck it up and get on with things and everything's very calm. 00:12:19.419 --> 00:12:23.240 That's not what waiting patiently looks like biblically. 00:12:24.479 --> 00:12:28.139 Waiting on the Lord in the midst of your trials doesn't mean that there aren't tears. 00:12:28.419 --> 00:12:30.779 There isn't wrestling and anger and frustration. 00:12:30.939 --> 00:12:39.219 The book of Psalms is an inspired example of an intense passion and confusion and pleading and wrestling. 00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:47.480 And we're given that book because it is through this journey that God grows us up to maturity. 00:12:49.340 --> 00:12:51.139 Remember, that's what our trials are aimed at. 00:12:51.220 --> 00:12:54.440 That's where this journey with James the Apostle started out. 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:58.279 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. 00:12:58.360 --> 00:12:59.540 Why on earth would you do that? 00:12:59.740 --> 00:13:02.379 You do it because of what God is doing under the surface. 00:13:03.920 --> 00:13:06.180 Because of what God is growing under there. 00:13:06.179 --> 00:13:09.759 In terms of growing our character. 00:13:10.059 --> 00:13:11.199 Giving us steadfastness. 00:13:11.299 --> 00:13:12.099 Giving us courage. 00:13:12.719 --> 00:13:15.959 Giving us maturity as brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:13:16.539 --> 00:13:20.679 Job is an example of patient endurance for us to follow, James says. 00:13:23.939 --> 00:13:27.379 But in mentioning Job and explaining what's going on there, 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:29.219 the way that he does in verse 11, 00:13:30.819 --> 00:13:33.740 James is reminding us of what God is doing in our suffering. 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:36.059 See that? 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:41.299 Consider the example of Job. 00:13:41.659 --> 00:13:43.039 You've seen the purpose of the Lord. 00:13:44.199 --> 00:13:47.979 How the Lord is compassionate and merciful. 00:13:49.439 --> 00:13:52.819 What is going on in all of that is that God is revealing to us 00:13:52.819 --> 00:13:55.579 His compassion and mercy in a deeper way. 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:56.239 Do you see that? 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:02.559 The promise of the example of Job is that when we meet our trials with patient endurance, 00:14:03.139 --> 00:14:05.459 suffering is not the end of the story. 00:14:05.460 --> 00:14:08.800 Suffering is not all there is. 00:14:08.800 --> 00:14:16.259 And these verses assure us that in the end, God transforms our trials to magnify His grace and mercy. 00:14:16.259 --> 00:14:22.639 That was the promise that sustained Joseph in an Egyptian prison cell. 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:27.199 It was that promise that sustained David when he was on the run from Saul. 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:31.159 It was that promise that sustained the Lord Jesus as he went to his death. 00:14:31.500 --> 00:14:34.439 He knew that Sunday would follow Friday. 00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:41.360 And it is ultimately the victory of the Lord Jesus that motivates us to patiently endure. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:46.480 One author puts it well when he says this. 00:14:46.480 --> 00:15:16.460 Quote, 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:46.460 End quote. 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:49.800 Maybe your life is very, very painful. 00:15:49.800 --> 00:15:55.620 And it feels like God is taking one thing after another from you. 00:15:55.800 --> 00:15:57.980 Or He's adding another burden. 00:15:57.980 --> 00:16:01.320 And it feels like God is taking one thing. 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:06.980 None of what you're enduring is without purpose. 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:14.080 And one day it will be renewed and will be made beautiful by God. 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:24.240 And you'll see on that day His compassion and His mercy in new and deep ways. 00:16:24.420 --> 00:16:25.940 So be patient. 00:16:27.420 --> 00:16:28.600 Keep going. 00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:31.940 Don't swear allegiance to any other way of life. 00:16:31.940 --> 00:16:36.940 Don't take an oath to another God, whatever that might be. 00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:37.940 Keep going. 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:37.940 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:38.940 Keep going. 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:39.640 Patient endurance. 00:16:41.280 --> 00:16:44.780 Trust God to accomplish His work in His time. 00:16:46.280 --> 00:16:47.280 Keep going. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:57.600 And of course, one of the ways that we express this commitment, express our patience, is through what James then turns to next. 00:16:58.399 --> 00:16:58.959 Prayer. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:07.400 Here's the second quality that should mark the church that is faithful in difficult times. 00:17:08.299 --> 00:17:10.220 Point number two, prayerful community. 00:17:10.900 --> 00:17:12.380 Point one, patient endurance. 00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:13.819 Point two, prayerful community. 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:14.980 Thirteen to twenty. 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:16.500 Is anyone among you suffering? 00:17:17.120 --> 00:17:17.759 Let him pray. 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:19.400 Is anyone cheerful? 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:21.019 Let him sing praise. 00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:23.079 Is anyone among you sick? 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:26.860 Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him. 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:31.140 The emphasis on prayer in this section is obviously very clear. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:36.319 It is, of course, the one thing we can always do, however difficult our circumstances may be. 00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:38.740 When things are hard, we cry out to God. 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:44.440 But it's also the case when things are good, we give Him praise for the things that are going well. 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:49.200 Prayer is how we express the fact that God is at the center of our lives. 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:56.519 But I think there's something specific going on here with the person who is sick in verse 14. 00:17:57.900 --> 00:18:06.880 Now, in one sense, what James is describing here is the normal way that things should work with a case of particularly persistent or particularly serious illness. 00:18:07.860 --> 00:18:10.299 They call for the elders of the church to pray. 00:18:10.299 --> 00:18:15.720 Now, what they do when they call the elders in this way is they're asking for the church's prayers. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:19.899 The prayers of the church community because the elders represent the whole church. 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:24.200 And when the elders come, there's a sense in which they bring the church with them. 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:29.319 And they anoint the sick person with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:33.059 Oil is used in a variety of different ways in the Bible. 00:18:33.059 --> 00:18:40.000 But here it is applied in a symbolic way, I think, to acknowledge that the sick person needs the ministry of the Holy Spirit for their healing. 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:43.159 1 Samuel 16, verse 13. 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:45.859 Oil there symbolizes the descent of the Spirit. 00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:49.000 So what's happening with the oil? 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:50.279 Why does it get mentioned here? 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:55.139 The oil anoints the sick person, sets them apart for the prayers of the church, 00:18:55.140 --> 00:19:02.400 and represents visibly the invisible work of the Spirit in a way that can be seen and can be felt. 00:19:06.800 --> 00:19:09.940 This is James' recommendation for regular physical sickness. 00:19:10.060 --> 00:19:11.860 But I do think that there's more to say here. 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:14.500 So look again, verse 14. 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:34.859 I want to suggest that the person in question here is sick for a specific reason. 00:19:35.859 --> 00:19:39.559 And that their restoration is about more than physical healing. 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:41.720 Do you see the word play? 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:42.759 So look at verse 15. 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:48.359 We're told the prayer of faith will save, not heal, the one who is sick. 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:50.000 Verse 15. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:51.559 Forgiveness is mentioned. 00:19:52.660 --> 00:19:53.420 Verse 16. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.240 Confession and healing, you see, they're linked. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:05.359 And also, the words translated, and if, at the start of the second half of verse 15, 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:09.140 and if he has committed sins, that can also be translated, even though. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:11.339 Which would mean the verse would read like this. 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:15.359 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 00:20:15.439 --> 00:20:18.740 Even though he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:25.620 So, in this word play, the language of sickness is surrounded by language of sin and confession. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:32.359 And James' point is, the person in verse 14 is sick because of sin. 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:38.559 They have become ensnared in the things that James has criticized throughout this letter. 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:41.979 And they are refusing to humble themselves before the Lord. 00:20:42.259 --> 00:20:44.579 So the Lord has brought them low with sickness. 00:20:46.159 --> 00:20:50.119 Now, we must take care in drawing a straight line between sin and sickness. 00:20:50.259 --> 00:20:52.779 But it is something that the Bible is clear about. 00:20:52.779 --> 00:20:54.879 Deuteronomy 28, we see it there. 00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:56.119 Amos 4.11. 00:20:57.139 --> 00:21:01.599 The reason the people are sick is because of their high-handed sin, and God has brought them low with sickness. 00:21:01.899 --> 00:21:05.339 But, of course, the clearest example is in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:08.500 The apostle Paul there, he says, 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:13.460 Well, what's very interesting in 1 Corinthians 11 is that the sins that Paul mentions there, 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:16.839 that is, the rich are feasting and getting drunk at the Lord's table, 00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:20.000 and they're not taking care of others who are going hungry. 00:21:20.380 --> 00:21:23.200 At the Lord's table, at the supper of the Lord, 00:21:23.319 --> 00:21:26.599 this occasion that is supposed to mark the unity of the church, 00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:28.140 there is, guess what? 00:21:28.819 --> 00:21:31.599 Partiality and a lack of neighbor love. 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:35.440 The two of the big things that James has criticized throughout this letter. 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:43.700 But in Corinth, Paul says that this kind of behavior, this partiality, this absence of neighbor love, 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:50.039 chapter 11, verse 30, is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:57.100 Paul is very clearly connecting the sickness and even the death, in some cases, 00:21:57.779 --> 00:21:59.940 of some of the people and their sin. 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:02.259 Now, to be very clear, 00:22:02.259 --> 00:22:05.759 not all sickness is a direct result of specific sin, 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:09.160 and actually that is usually the wrong conclusion to draw. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:12.180 Jesus says so in John chapter 9, 00:22:12.259 --> 00:22:15.920 It wasn't the boy or his parents that sinned to cause his blindness. 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:19.839 The Lord had a bigger purpose at play. 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:25.879 The point here is that in some cases of high-handed unrepentance, 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:30.520 particularly where that unrepentance threatens the witness and the unity of the church, 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:33.280 the Lord humbles us with sickness. 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:39.220 And he does it because he wants to get our attention, 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:41.040 because he loves his church, 00:22:41.660 --> 00:22:43.880 and he wants to wake us up to our need to repent, 00:22:44.060 --> 00:22:46.420 because the behavior is destructive to the body. 00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:52.440 This is why the promise of healing in verse 15 can be so certain. 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:53.039 Do you see that? 00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:55.720 The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, 00:22:55.860 --> 00:22:58.220 and the Lord will raise him up. 00:22:58.380 --> 00:23:00.279 If this is just about regular healing, 00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:01.600 and you're sick, 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:02.500 and you call the elders, 00:23:02.600 --> 00:23:03.100 and they visit, 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:03.820 and they pray, 00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:05.220 and they anoint you with oil, 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:06.620 and the pain doesn't lift, 00:23:06.800 --> 00:23:08.400 and the tumor doesn't shrink, 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:10.420 either God has gone back in his word, 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:12.279 or you or the elders didn't have enough faith. 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:16.200 Both of those are very damaging ways to think about your relationship with God. 00:23:18.619 --> 00:23:22.579 But when we see that it is a specific case of sin-related sickness, 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:24.720 the certainty of verse 15 fits, 00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:26.819 because it's about having sin forgiven, 00:23:27.139 --> 00:23:29.879 and being restored to the fellowship of the church. 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:34.899 So this person has caused a load of harm to these believers. 00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:38.059 They've created a lot of disunity, 00:23:38.879 --> 00:23:42.259 and gone against all of the things that James has rebuked, 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:43.059 in this letter. 00:23:44.059 --> 00:23:44.940 But in this case, 00:23:45.019 --> 00:23:46.019 they've invited the elders, 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:47.500 and by doing that, 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:49.139 they are asking the leaders of the church, 00:23:49.200 --> 00:23:50.259 that they have sinned against, 00:23:50.339 --> 00:23:51.039 to forgive them, 00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:52.339 and to restore them. 00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:54.839 And by taking that initiative, 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:56.160 they are showing their repentance. 00:23:56.339 --> 00:23:57.240 And in this case, 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:00.899 the oil then represents another aspect of its use in the Bible. 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:02.000 Namely, 00:24:02.139 --> 00:24:03.299 Psalm 133, 00:24:03.379 --> 00:24:04.599 the oil on Aaron's beard, 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:06.819 the symbol of unity and blessing in life. 00:24:08.700 --> 00:24:12.259 A perfect symbol to mark the restoration of a wandering brother or sister. 00:24:12.279 --> 00:24:13.000 to the fellowship. 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:20.319 Just as God will give wisdom to help us understand the purpose of our trials, 00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:21.539 chapter 1, verse 5, 00:24:22.059 --> 00:24:25.759 just as He will draw near to us when we draw near to Him, 00:24:25.879 --> 00:24:27.000 chapter 4, verse 8, 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:31.059 just as He will raise us up when we humble ourselves before Him, 00:24:31.140 --> 00:24:32.420 chapter 4, verse 10, 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:40.400 so too He will forgive and restore any who are repentant. 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:46.280 This focus on prayer isn't just for the sick. 00:24:47.060 --> 00:24:48.759 It is to characterize the church as a whole. 00:24:48.840 --> 00:24:49.680 Look at verse 16. 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:51.019 Therefore, 00:24:52.120 --> 00:24:53.500 confess your sins to one another, 00:24:53.600 --> 00:24:54.560 and pray for one another, 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:55.780 that you may be healed. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:58.960 The prayer of a righteous person has great power, 00:24:59.280 --> 00:25:00.360 as it is working. 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:02.160 Confession 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:03.300 and prayer. 00:25:04.259 --> 00:25:06.700 That will involve the whole church praying for repentance, 00:25:06.940 --> 00:25:12.440 for the repentance of those who are sinning, 00:25:12.680 --> 00:25:14.580 and a restoration of the unity of the body. 00:25:14.800 --> 00:25:17.040 It will involve those who are fighting and quarreling, 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:18.300 chapter 4, verse 1, 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:20.940 to repent to one another and to restore unity. 00:25:20.940 --> 00:25:23.680 And James insists, 00:25:24.120 --> 00:25:26.740 don't doubt the power of prayer. 00:25:27.820 --> 00:25:31.059 Don't doubt the power of prayer of the righteous Christian person, 00:25:31.320 --> 00:25:34.860 to restore unity and to strengthen the church. 00:25:38.100 --> 00:25:38.799 He says, 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:40.420 if you're concerned about the power of prayer, 00:25:40.580 --> 00:25:41.360 remember Elijah. 00:25:41.940 --> 00:25:42.980 Look at verse 17. 00:25:47.980 --> 00:25:50.100 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, 00:25:50.099 --> 00:25:52.099 and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, 00:25:52.159 --> 00:25:53.599 and for three years and six months, 00:25:53.679 --> 00:25:54.859 it did not rain on the earth. 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:56.079 Then he prayed again, 00:25:56.159 --> 00:25:57.159 and heaven gave rain, 00:25:57.459 --> 00:25:59.159 and the earth bore its fruit. 00:26:00.459 --> 00:26:00.879 Again, 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:02.519 Elijah is a striking example. 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:05.299 His situation was similar to these early Christians. 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:09.159 He suffered under the rule of apostate Israel, 00:26:09.259 --> 00:26:10.719 under Ahab and Jezebel. 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:13.419 He was forced to go into hiding because of these leaders, 00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:14.879 and then to go on the run. 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:17.299 But he didn't fight back. 00:26:17.299 --> 00:26:22.000 He didn't call for a revolution to bring down this ungodly leadership. 00:26:22.779 --> 00:26:23.099 Instead, 00:26:24.019 --> 00:26:25.619 he patiently ministered to the poor, 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:27.299 caring for the widow of Zarephath, 00:26:27.619 --> 00:26:28.559 and healing her son. 00:26:29.079 --> 00:26:31.579 And he pleaded with God for the healing of the nation. 00:26:32.539 --> 00:26:33.579 And God heard. 00:26:35.159 --> 00:26:35.919 And he answered, 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:37.980 bringing rain and blessing. 00:26:38.759 --> 00:26:41.399 But the detail that James includes is so important. 00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:42.079 Verse 17, 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:44.819 He was a man with a nature like ours. 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:46.559 It's interesting. 00:26:46.679 --> 00:26:49.139 Why did James not mention Elijah on Mount Carmel? 00:26:50.699 --> 00:26:51.720 Impressive Elijah! 00:26:53.159 --> 00:26:55.439 Because it is the Elijah of the ordinary 00:26:55.439 --> 00:26:57.399 that is to be our model. 00:26:59.460 --> 00:27:01.339 He was a man just like you and me. 00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:02.599 And yet in prayer, 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:04.819 he saw things that seemed impossible 00:27:04.819 --> 00:27:06.179 actually happen. 00:27:06.180 --> 00:27:10.720 And James mentions him here at the end of the letter 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:12.580 so that in our own context of opposition, 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:13.880 we would follow his example. 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:17.240 A man with a nature like ours. 00:27:18.580 --> 00:27:19.340 Just a man. 00:27:20.380 --> 00:27:22.080 But he understood that under God, 00:27:23.259 --> 00:27:24.700 his prayer could accomplish something. 00:27:26.539 --> 00:27:28.680 So we are to suffer as Elijah suffered. 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:32.380 We are to embrace patience and care for the poor 00:27:32.380 --> 00:27:33.400 in the face of opposition 00:27:33.400 --> 00:27:35.180 in the way that Elijah did that. 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:37.200 And we endure in prayer for God 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:38.560 to bring his plans 00:27:38.560 --> 00:27:40.160 to cover the earth with his glory 00:27:40.160 --> 00:27:40.740 to pass 00:27:40.740 --> 00:27:42.980 in his time. 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:46.580 In verse 19, 00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:47.700 we do these things together. 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:53.100 We call one another to obedience. 00:27:55.320 --> 00:27:56.960 We do what James has sought to do 00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:57.620 in this whole letter. 00:27:57.720 --> 00:27:59.759 We bring wandering brothers and sisters 00:27:59.759 --> 00:28:00.860 back from their wandering. 00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:05.820 A church that suffers 00:28:05.820 --> 00:28:08.160 and obeys 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:09.700 and waits 00:28:09.700 --> 00:28:11.280 and prays together 00:28:11.280 --> 00:28:13.980 and does all this with joy 00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:16.800 because we know 00:28:16.800 --> 00:28:18.580 that every death, 00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:22.980 whether it's a death to our ambition, 00:28:24.180 --> 00:28:25.340 whether it's a death of 00:28:25.340 --> 00:28:27.600 some dream that we had, 00:28:28.200 --> 00:28:30.080 or whether it is a physical death, 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:32.000 every single one of those 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:34.259 will be followed by resurrection. 00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:35.980 That's the way it is 00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:36.939 in the kingdom of God. 00:28:38.539 --> 00:28:39.639 Every death is followed 00:28:39.639 --> 00:28:40.339 by a resurrection. 00:28:41.980 --> 00:28:43.240 And so we can do all of this. 00:28:43.359 --> 00:28:44.359 We can suffer with joy. 00:28:44.740 --> 00:28:46.319 We can obey and wait with joy. 00:28:47.839 --> 00:28:49.699 And when we rejoice in these things, 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:51.740 we will stand when the storms hit. 00:28:53.079 --> 00:28:54.359 So let us resolve 00:28:54.359 --> 00:28:56.259 to be that kind of church. 00:28:57.259 --> 00:28:58.059 Let's pray together. 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:28.039 Let's pray together.