A Faith that Works Patiently Prays

A quick review from last week:

Let’s look at that first section, James 4:13-17:

Let’s not plan out our lives ignoring the will of God.

Notice the goal of all these plans – to make money. Now, making money is not bad but if making money is the goal instead of doing God’s will then it is wrong! James is not against making profit (remember the parable of the talents where the master applauds the man who wisely used his money to make more) but he is against making profits that ignore God’s role in the making of those profits.

James 4:15 (NIV) — 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

Do we factor God’s will in our planning? Are our calendars formed by faith or by selfish desires? When we make decisions about things like college, job, retirement, even vacations – do we allow God to sit down with us and help us plan our future?

Why would I ever do that? Because I believe that God plans better than I do! That’s what faith is. A belief that God’s plans are better than mine, That his plans will lead me to life a life that glorifies him better and a life that will actually give me the abundant life that he promises.

Isaiah 55:8–9 (NET) — 8 “Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds, 9 for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans.

Psalm 94:11 (NIV) — 11 The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.

Psalm 32:8 (NIV) — 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Don’t we need that. We must allow God to inform and sometimes alter our plans.

Let’s get to that second section from last week:

James 5:1–6 (NIV) — 1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

Sounds like you are doomed for destruction if you are rich. Let me remind you that money is a chief rival to God for your soul. Scripture warns that wealth can be a particularly strong obstacle to Christian discipleship. (Moo)

This is abundantly clear in the Bible.

Matthew 6:24 (NIV) — 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Matthew 19:23–24 (NIV) - 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

1 Timothy 6:9–10 (NIV) — 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Once again, it is not the money that is evil. It is our use of that money that can be destructive. In the case here in James, he is offering these words of condemnation to people who believe money will last forever and who accumulate their money at the expense of others. There are two things affirmed here.

1) Physical wealth is temporary.

This is so reminiscent of Jesus’ words:

Matthew 6:19–21 (NIV) — 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

2) Living in luxury at the expense of workers will be condemned and is tantamount to murder.

James 5:5–6 (NIV) — 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

Accumulating money has become more important than people.

The Bible does not denounce wealth per se, but wealth immorally gained and selfishly used.

The hoarding of wealth is wrong not just because it demonstrates utterly false priorities; it is doubly sinful because it also deprives others of their very life.

The pursuit of a luxurious lifestyle that is selfish and unconcerned about others’ needs is the accusation brought against the rich.

Moo, D. J. (2015). James: An Introduction and Commentary

Most of us are willing to give God a few hours and few dollars but are we willing to hand over our calendars and our wallets to him?

Are we willing to seek his advice? Do we believe he has better advice for us than we do? Do we believe he really loves us?

I said in an earlier sermon I don’t want this to just be a guilt trip. Those don’t last long and don’t take you very far. Think of it his way: God has a much better plan for my life than I do. So I am willing to turn the calendar over to Him.

God, what do you think is best because a faith that works seeks God’s will. God can use my money in much better ways than simply spending it on myself. Instead of using my money for things that will rust away, fall apart and end up in the dump maybe God can use my money to bring life to people. I will seek your advice on how to distribute my wealth.

So I am willing to turn over my wallet to him and seek his advice because a faith that works seeks God’s will.

The last section of the letter:

James 5:7–20 (NIV) — 7 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. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 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. 12 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. 13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

As always, there is so much here. I can’t cover it all. What I won’t cover in detail:

5:12 - Let your yes be yes and your no be no. We must be people of our word. We must be trustworthy. We must resist the loopholes and excuses we make for not being truthful. Say what you mean. Don’t be hasty in making promises. Do what you said you’d do. Don’t do what you said you wouldn’t do.

5:16 - We must be confessional people. Take responsibility for your mistakes. Be open and honest with people and be forgiving. We are all struggling and it is healing and encouraging to know that. Let’s not pretend we are a bunch of perfect people who have it all together.

I want to spend a little more time on the two people James uses as examples for us – Job and Elijah.

Job’s story is told in an entire OT book – it’s a long story, 42 chapters – it’s one we all need to know as it explores the question of suffering and our response. There are many facets to this story but what James is highlighting is Job’s perseverance (steadfastness ESV; endurance, NLT; staying power, MSG)

Job, a man of faith, experienced all kinds of trouble. He lost his family, he lost his wealth, he lost his own health despite being a pretty good guy. The book begins with God bragging on him.

Your faith will be challenged. There will be times when your faith will not make sense. There will be times when you see absolutely no reward for your faith. In fact, there may be times when you not only don’t see rewards but you will see punishment.

How did Job do it? We know the end of the story – he was doubly blessed!

Job 42:10–13 (NIV) — 10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. 12 The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

Because of that James says in 5:11:

James 5:11 (NIV) — 11 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.

We know the end of the story. It ends with God’s compassion and mercy! This is what Jesus said (many parallels between James and the SOM)

Luke 6:22–23 (NIV) — 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

We are studying Revelation on Wednesday nights. There are many mysteries but one thing is clear:

Revelation 2:10 (ESV) — 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

A faith that works endures – so don’t give up.

Jame’s second example is Elijah, one of the great prophets of the Old Testament. It should be known that Elijah didn’t live an easy life – not many prophets did – so these persecuted believers should certainly find in Elijah a sympathetic soul. Elijah was in a prolonged feud with the evil king Ahab and his even more evil wife Jezebel. At times he had to ruin for his life. The story James is referring to is in 1 Kings 17-18. Elijah prayed for God to keep it from raining for 3.5 years and it did. This was to punish the evil king and to show God’s power. Then Elijah prayer again after the 3.5 years and it rained.

I like how James words it:

James 5:17 (NIV) — 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

James 5:17 (YLT) — 17 Elijah was a man like affected as we, and with prayer he did pray—not to rain, and it did not rain upon the land three years and six months.

“He pray prayed” would be a literal translation.

So there are a few things we take from this about prayer that we learn in the preceding verses:

James 5:13–16 (NIV) — 13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

We need to pray when we are troubled. We pray when we are happy in the form of song. We need to pray when we are sick. We need to ask others (elders) to pray with us anointing us with oil which I see as a symbol of calling for God’s special attention on the one who is sick. It’s a symbol of our fervency, our seriousness. We need to pray for one another. Then he reminds them that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

I notice that he doesn’t say that prayer is predictable or that pray is answered affirmatively in every case – he simply says that prayer is powerful and effective.

Prayer shapes the way we successfully navigate the winding and mysterious path of faith. Prayer keeps us on that path even when the path seems to be a dead end. Prayer helps us see past the troubles and persecutions and see the glorious destination and keeps us on that path. And if prayer can do that it is indeed powerful and effective!

James ends on an abrupt note:

James 5:19–20 (NIV) — 19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Maybe you have been wandering. My hope is that as we have worked our way through James, that if you have wandered, I pray you have been convicted in your heart to really look at your faith. Is it a faith that works? Or is it dead? Does all this mean nothing to you – going to church, singing these songs, taking communion – is it all meaningless to you? Or maybe your faith isn’t dead but it’s really sick. You find yourself caught up in the world. You find yourself weak against temptation. You find yourself constantly discouraged. You find yourself acting out in anger and selfishness. You find yourself judging people. You fill your calendar with meaningless activities and spend most of your money on things that will break down or fall part. You hardly pray or read the Bible.

Come back and be blessed by a vibrant, working faith. Your Father will always receive you back. I’ll pray with you right now. Our elders will pray with you. Or call one of us and we will pray. If you need the prayers of God’s people you can come as we stand and sing.