Patient Suffering
James • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
> There are many things about God that are so worthy of worship.
His attributes: sovereignty, wisdom, power, justice, holiness, wrath
His law: ten commandments, the great commandment
His justice: his power, righteousness, omniscience
His grace: the giving of his Son, the sending of the Spirit, the formation of the Bible
As Christians, we think of the Cross as the pinnacle of God’s work (which it is).
Thinking of God, there are so many things that we wish were better in ourselves.
Our discipline in prayer or in the word
Growing our affections, so that we continue to desire him more and more
But in both of these categories, there is something that I feel we sometimes overlook.
I’ve realized that there is something about God that I ought to praise and worship him for—more.
And we’ve just read that there is something in us that, in seeking him, we ought to long to be better at.
This is something that is tied to every moment of our life.
I’m referring to the Christian virtue of patience.
> Patience is the measuring stick of trust and confidence.
James has spent the entirety of his letter fighting for the purity of the believer’s faith—to be doers; to demonstrate the faith that we say we possess.
We are to embrace trials—with joy, even—because we understand that God is leading us
We are to forsake the world’s wisdom, and wait for the wisdom from above
We are to trust in God’s provision and not our own strength
We could go on to summarize all of James letter—the point is this: what is required in order for us to be faithful in these ways?
Patience.
In chapter one, James describes the blessed man as someone who “remains steadfast under trials.” How do we not lose our minds when things go terribly wrong in our life?
By being patient, trusting in God.
In chapter two, James points out that those who are poor in the world are actually rich in the faith, and will inherit the kingdom. What is it called when someone like that accepts their condition, with their eye on the future prize?
Patience — trust in God.
In chapter three, James explains that real wisdom from above is peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits. What is going to keep us believing and seeking this wisdom, when it seems that the whole world around us profits off of lies and deceit?
Patience — that, with God, all things are possible, and nothing can stand against us.
In chapter four, he rebukes us for being too confident and too wrapped up in the plans we have for our life. Or perhaps we are too wrapped in how we wish we had spent our lives. Regardless, he says we ought to say, “If the Lords wills it, we will live and do this or that.”
What is the measuring stick of our trust and confidence in God in all these areas?
Patience.
> As the farmer waits patiently for rain and harvest, so we ought to wait patiently for the Lord’s return.
This is bigger than simply an eye on the sky. Patience is not a holding pattern—it is a way of life. It’s not passivity, it is action.
8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Let’s think about the farmer. What does he do in between his sowing and his reaping?
He maintains his equipment, protects his property, and keeps himself supplied.
The farmer, in a sense, establishes himself so that he has the ability to be patient.
How does the Christian establish their hearts, as they wait patiently for Christ?
James 5:9 (ESV)
9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers…
To demonstrate the answer to this question, James goes to grumbling.
Bowman, the church today is weak in many areas. Some of them are obvious, but some of them aren’t.
One of these shrivelled organs in the body of Christ is our ability to be patient with one another.
Of course this includes how we treat each other face to face, but what I’m talking about is much deeper than this.
Have you ever considered the reality that the people around you who are truly Christians, and worship God with you in Spirit and in truth, every Sunday, are more your brother and more your sister than even some of your own blood family?
How often do we read the New Testament, and come to those passages that describe the church as being deeply involved in each other’s lives—and frown in confusion?
Or, when we read about the church as being constantly in each other’s homes, knowing each other intimately, and being close enough to die together for the Christ?
Here’s the reality: the same blood that covers you and me covers them, too.
The Savior descended into our spiritual darkness, where we were all naked and helpless—knowing each and every one of our sins, secret or otherwise—and he clothed us.
The Savior clothed us, raised us, and leads us together.
When we see one another this way—when we see our own ugly self made beautiful by Jesus, in this other person, do our hearts not simply melt?
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Patience with one another begins with understanding the terrible price that Jesus paid to welcome us… and to welcome them. Would we smear our pride across the image of Christ in others, and in ourselves? As Paul wrote, “God forbid.”
The truth is that those who are quickly angered or annoyed by others—who have an established pattern of impatient grumbling, are making a statement about themselves and about God.
Only the Spirit can communicate to you if you fall into this group of people. We all struggle with this, yes, but there are those in the spiritual family of God who disown their own siblings in the faith regularly.
Our own church struggles with this. We are not immune.
We live in a great nation of wealth and prosperity, and so we get to have houses and cars and jobs and hobbies. We have the freedom and liberty to live our life how we want to live it—more than any other generation and in any nation in all of human history.
But what wraps this great gift of independence is a sneaky and poisonous lie: that we don’t really need each other.
“Someone in the church offended me, I’ll just ignore them.” How long?
Will you forever refuse to obey God and be reconciled to one another?
James 5:8 (ESV)
8 … for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
James 5:9 (ESV)
9 … behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
How much will we regret grumbling and resisting each other when we’re standing, side-by-side, before God on judgment day?
Here’s the bottom line: if you don’t bury the hatchet with your family, God will.
18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
God calls us to be patient with each other, and in doing so, we will, like the farmer, be blessed with good fruit.
If we struggle to know how to do this, take James’ advice, and act with the knowledge that the Lord is standing in the door.
10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
James gives more instruction to us who struggle to be patient.
He motions to those who have long gone before us, who we will soon feast in heaven with, as examples of patience and faithfulness.
We could talk about Moses, who had the lonely responsibility of representing the people of God before the terror of his manifested presence. We could talk about how he had to strip Aaron, his brother and closest friend, of his clothes, and pass his priestly role onto his nephew, before they both witnessed the Lord take his life.
We could talk about Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, who was forbidden from having a wife or children, and spent his life preaching to his country that loved its wickedness and ignored his warnings.
36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
We look to these prophets as examples of people who demonstrated amazing patience.
The only way steadfastness and patience like that is possible with sinful humanity is for a person to have established their heart on the purposes of God.
Some of you have had extremely hard lives. You have endured things that I cannot imagine, and I don’t want to think about how I’d react to them.
If you asked me what my greatest fear on earth is, I would tell you that it’s the thought of Felicity falling asleep and not waking up today.
Some of you have actually experienced this soul scraping grief.
You’ve lost children, spouses, friends, and loved ones. Some of those deaths were peaceful, and others weren’t. Some had closure, and some didn’t. All of them, all together, the heaviest burden.
Like Job, you have not only read, but experienced the words, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.”
My friends, whatever your grief is; whatever your suffering is, I ask you: is there really any comfort or hope in the darkness other than the bright light of heaven, shining in the face of Jesus?
Is there anyone who can better sympathize with your burden than the Savior himself, who bore the cross to Calvary?
Does anything else preserve our sanity and steady our trembling nerves like the knowledge that the Almighty God loves sinners, and will come to make it all right?
“You have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”
This is why James brings Job and all the prophets up — to drive home the point that our patience cannot depend on anything other than a total commitment and total reliance on God to take care of us. Only then will we be brave, steadfast, and patient.
12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
We come to the end of our passage with a puzzling statement.
He says, “but above all”—if you take anything away from this, take this.
Most commentaries will explain that what James is getting at is patient Christian living will result in keeping one’s word.
This is simply the plain meaning of the text: to take God seriously, to take his holiness seriously, and to take his commandment not to lie seriously.
Are any of us terrified at the idea of seeing all the times that we told someone we would do something, but never did?
Or what about all the times we’ve promised not to do something, but did!
How much combined heartbreak has occurred in our combined lives on account of this impatient way of living.
And impatience is what it is. We say we’ll do something, and then choose not to do it, because we decided something else was better—even if that something was nothing. We came to this conclusion because we felt that it would be a waste of energy. It wouldn’t be worthwhile. And we would rather be free of that obligation, than be like God and keep our promises.
We promise to another that we won’t do something, but we break that promise—why? Why do we do things like this? Because something else came along, more appealing, and we chose it over our promise. Our no wasn’t a real no because we didn’t want to be patient. We wanted whatever that other thing was, and we wanted it now, rather than being like God, and keeping our promises.
We see, then, that if patience is the measuring stick for trust, saying what we mean and meaning what we say are notches on the ruler.
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I want to near the end with what I feel is the most important reflection to be had on this text—and on the topic of patience.
We’ve heard from James trusting God amidst suffering sanctifies us. It produces steadfastness. As we grow in patience, we become more like Jesus.
We’ve been reminded of the farmer, who is not passive in his patience. He’s active, he’s moving, he’s preparing for planting season or harvest. He waits eagerly for the rains. Like this, the Christian must be active in their patience. We are to seek the Lord and his wisdom, so we can understand our trials, instead of being confused and ruled by them. We can bring our burdens and pain to him in prayer, so that he can take them from us.
We’ve talked about how patience with one another means seeing them as brother or sister that we’ve been given in Christ, and seeing that we both are united in the same savior.
We’ve surveyed these Old Testament prophets who showed us what faithful patience looks like in the face of extreme adversity and oppression.
But we have yet to gaze at the greatest comfort.
The greatest expression of human patience was that patience of our amazing, wonderful Savior.
The most beautiful one took on flesh, and was so marred with whip and fist that he was “beyond human semblance,” and his appearance “beyond that of the children of mankind.”
Jesus knew it was coming.
The most powerful one emptied himself, and gave himself willingly on behalf of his own creatures.
Jesus knew what he was doing.
The Eternal Son, the son of the Father’s love, the priceless diamond of heaven, said, “Yes, Father, I will go. I will die.”
He left his throne. He entered time. He who had everything in his hand became hungry, and thirsty, and tired, and weak—he became like us so he could do what we never could.
What other patient suffering compares to the tears of Jesus?
He could’ve vaporized the entire human race at any point, and he would’ve been perfectly justified to do so, but no...
Our Jesus saw the redeemed people of God on the other side of the Cross and rejoiced, for the joy that was set before.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
If Jesus endured such hostility from his enemies, how could we not also happily bear with one another, in love.
13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
The same Lord who gave us this instruction is the same Lord who will return soon, and his will for his people is that we would be united in love, and waiting patiently, with joy, for his return
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Paul, when reflecting on his salvation, recognized that he was an opponent to the Gospel. Like all of us, before salvation, he was an enemy of God.
That is until the grace of the Lord overflowed for him through faith and love in Jesus.
He wrote the following words to Timothy in his first letter, and we’ll end with this.
These words ought to melt us and sanctify us, and encourage us as we suffer in this life, patiently.
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
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Benevolence Fund Prayer & Benediction
17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
