Today is our sixth message taken from James’ letter to the early church. But as with the last five homilies, I hope you find these words, taken from the epistle of James, the Old Testament, Paul’s letters and the words of Jesus Himself, will come alive within you. May His Spirit speak to you. Please forget and forgive me, the messenger, and listen to the Holy Spirit this morning.
“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.” James 5:7-12, NIV.
Over the past five weeks, quite a few people from this church and overseas, have read these sermons and remarked to me, “I can’t believe you said that from the pulpit!” “Are you crazy?” My answer has been, “Well, why not?” These kinds of words and sermons are the “fire” that came from the prophets of old and the apostles. Do you recall what John the Baptist told the Pharisees when they came to be baptized? They were not warm, “come-as-you-are” and “leave-as-you-please words. They were not filled with saccharine or cuddly words of sweetness. We’re told this in the gospel of Matthew: “ But when (John) he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Mathew 3:7-8, NIV) Now I wonder how many mainline or mega-pastors would say such words to people that were clearly living in sin and deceit? A pastor might not last long in the pulpit if he denied membership, baptism, or communion, like John the Baptist, Amos, Elijah or James would have. We’ve cheapened the gospel and call to holiness. God does need you—or me. We need Him But it’s not the task of the pastor to keep his pulpit and favor with the congregants, but to keep his integrity and favor before God. I am happy I offend, if He smiles upon me and souls are kept from hell.
So James is bolding addressing three things here that are as essential today as they were then:
1 Be patient
2 Grumbling
3 Honest
And his audience was believers who should have known better!
So first, in terms of patience, the background is that there were rumors and suggestions that Jesus might have already returned and they did not meet the cut, or anxiousness that Jesus needed to move fast and return now! The same “fake news” has been reported throughout the history of the church. For example, Jehovah Witnesses believe that Jesus Christ returned invisibly and began to rule in heaven as king in October 1914. They are a cult. The late Christian apologist Harold Camping, embarrassed himself at least four times when he falsely asserted that Christ would return, on 9/6/1994, then 9/29, then 10/2, and then on 5/21/2011. People claiming to know the day or even year of Christ’s return accomplish nothing but to damage the credibility of Christianity and cause people get impatient or disappointed with God! What don’t they get! Jesus said, “No man knows the day and hour——not even the Son!!!”
So decide to be patient and stop suggesting that you know when He will return—you don’t. And you need to be patient with Him—and with each other. Impatience can lead to rudeness and unkindness and divisions within the body of Christ.
James points to people of God that had good reason to be impatient, and yet found the grace to hold on. Job is specifically mentioned. Who us can compare our sufferings to his? And yet he patiently waited for God to redeem and restore him. Despite taunts from his wife and bad advice from his closest friends, he did not sway in his belief that God would come to the rescue—one way or another. AND GOD DID.
These words, spoken by him 4000 years ago, are some of the most profound ever uttered by a mortal that has experienced perhaps the greatest suffering….one who was sorely tempted to give up—but did not. Job said this:
“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27, NIV)
Friends! Our Redeemer lives! When Satan whispers to you to give up….keep telling yourself this and watch the devil, coward that he is, run away! Nothing evil or upsetting has happened to anyone of us this past week that God did not know about. No matter what has transpired, He could have prevented.…or He has permitted it, for the holy purpose of sanctifying you! Believe this…. And life becomes a holy crusade and adventure—not purposeless suffering. If you are being denied something you believe you need, deserve, pine for—be patient, and trust that God knows the innermost panting of your soul. Bring those petitions to Him—and leave them with Him, and be certain that He has heard your cries and that He knows the burden you’re carrying.
There's something about patience that God deems necessary for our life, so whether through farming, discipleship, physical development, the return of Jesus or even having grandchildren, God makes us wait. Waiting can be a good thing, no matter how often we resent it. One of our early Presidents put it this way:. "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." — John Quincy Adams. If you are not patient, it’s because you are not abiding in Him and trusting Him. Nothing can happen, today or tomorrow, without His permission or His divine purpose for it. Relax and enjoy the moment.
But know this as well my friend, as we determine to be patient with each other: patience is not just “gritting our teeth and waiting” - it means we’re behaving, i.e, acting in love. while we're waiting..
His second point was about grumbling—which is the result of our impatience! We all know what bad whining is and we all know how debilitating it is to be around people that always complain and grumble, and yet sometimes the best of us slip. This was going on in the early church and every apostle confronted it as what it is —sin. Any idiot can point out problems or imperfections, and most idiots do, but complaining about problems doesn’t really bring solutions. It just brings more problems. Our camp rule about grumbling is simple: If there’s no solution, there’s problem.
The Bible continuously stresses that we reap what we sow—as individuals and as a congregation.
“If we want to reap happiness, we must sow happiness. And that happiness inspires, strengthens others and builds bridges. If we want solutions, we have to think about solutions and be detached from the problem. Otherwise, if we focus on the problem we take the problem with us, keep it active, and poison the future.
So before we start bellyaching and complaining, consider this: “God has the power to change things and make things happen. But because of our redemption and our place at His table, we have the authority to change things and make things happen. “So stop complaining, get up, & manifest your destiny.” ― Tony Warrick
If you’re doing God’s work or trying to please Him, people will oppose you and the enemy will try to trip you up. It’s nothing new and you’re not special because you’re being picked on! In fact, you should wear those attacks and that opposition as a badge of honor for being considered worthy. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul was being opposed by some people, and people had ridiculous comments and beliefs about the day of the Lord, and Paul was fearful that it was a deliberate attempt to embarrass the apostles and hurt the church. So here’s what he says about folks that argue, fight, present crazy doctrines and try to undermine the work of Jesus Christ:
“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,10and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” —2 Thessalonians 2:3–10, NIV
The source of whining, bickering and grumbling is Satan himself. Have nothing to do with him or his character flaws. Row that boat and stop rocking it! People are being lost because we they’re starving for the truth about Jesus Christ.
His final point is about only saying “yes” or “no”. Have you ever wondered why people can’t just say yes or no? No matter what you ask them, it’s a lecture, or a story or an answer to a question that was never presented! Have you ever listened to a moderator ask a political candidate a question? It’s insane! They can’t give a yes or no! They just use the question as a springboard to spread their agenda or propaganda. Why not answer a question with a yes or no?
I think that by giving elaborate answers it makes some feel smart, or it's because they can't tell a straight story. But by answering yes or no, and not embellishing or elaborating, and not promising or swearing, you are testifying that you’re honest.
Jesus also said that we should not swear or promise—but simply give a yes or no. Jesus’s point is that taking oaths voluntarily is a sin. A person taking a voluntary oath is attempting to convince someone else they are telling the truth. Phrases like “I swear on a stack of Bibles” or “I swear to God” are given as evidence that someone is not lying, which is only necessary when the person is suspected of being untrustworthy. Therefore, when a person volunteers to take an oath, they do so to compensate for their lack of integrity. A Christian should be trustworthy in everything he or she says and does, thereby making oaths unnecessary.
The Bible teaches that our honesty and integrity must be of the most importance. When we say we are going to do something, we should honor our word. James stresses the importance of demonstrating our faith by our works (chapter 2), and living up to our word is a work of our faith. Taking oaths doesn't improve a Christian's witness; it just complicates it.
Let me remind you of these three important concerns:
1. As Christians, members of this church and citizens of this country, we must place our faith in God and trust that He will bring about good things if we humble ourselves and turn away from wicked things—- but all of this in His time. James likened it to a farm, when he said, “how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop.” The crop grows and the harvest is made at the right time. Our task is to keep the weeds out and the water and fertilizer in!
2. Next, stop complaining about you life and how bad things are going around you. It does no good and brings the rest of us down! When you’re tempted to gripe about life, do what James suggests when he said, “You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.” God is going to bring about wonderful things, but we have to not only wait for him, but also pray for those that taunt us and try to lead us the wrong way. Pray that God have mercy upon them and see how He blesses you.
3. It’s interesting that James says, “Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear”. But Christ said the same thing. If there’s ONE THING we should be careful and legalistic about, it’s truth. Be known for your honesty and simply, straightforward “yes” or “no”s. Don’t dance around the truth—-become incapable of lying! Unlearn it! Our integrity as Christians is “above all essential” if we are to bring others to Christ! “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” ― Mark Twain
The world is starving for TRUTH, no matter what you’ve read or been told. We want to know the truth. But if Christians are known to lie, the opportunity for evangelism is also lost! — Friedrich Nietzsche famously said,“I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you”
Can the non-believer, the atheist, the agnostic, those that have fallen away trust and believe you and me? If not, who will they believe?