Praying Church James 5:13-20
Notes
Transcript
Today we are in our 11th sermon in our series in James. (Finale Sermon in this series)
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Today, I will be unpacking 4 points from this passage...
1. The Call to Continuous Prayer and Praise (v. 13)
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.
How many would agree this morning that to have a healthy relationship you need to have consistent communication?
You cannot have a healthy relationship, when you only communicate when things are bad.…
or
You cannot have a healthy relationship, when you only communicate when things are good.…
(Marriage example)
Healthy relationships are built through constant communication…
Thus,
James tells us if you are suffering communicate with God....
James tells us if you are rejoicing communicate with God....
(The idea don’t forget God on the mountaintop or in the valley)
Paul writes,
Philippians 4:6–7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I am a firm believer that we become like those we hear the most from…
Have you ever been around someone and as they talk you realize… (Attitude was influenced) [Good and Bad]
little grand canyon… Story of family… Douglas Wilson…
As believers we need to be the most influenced by God…
Continuous prayer and praise...
God is the God of peace.… God is the God of joy.… God is the God of breakthrough.....
There is an individual call to Prayer and Praise....
But that does not mean we stop with individual communication with God...
2. The Call to Agreement in Prayer (vv. 14–16)
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
There is power in agreement through prayer.
2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Jesus said...
Matthew 18:19–20 “19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.””
There is great power when we are united in faith through prayer—believing together for God to do the impossible.
Many testimonies of God’s healing… Craig Keener… Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World
(my elbow)
[Story of Forrest Frank.… Tauren Wells concert… Power in agreement…]
James instructs those who are sick,
Call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.
In the Gospel of Mark we also witness the practice of anointing with oil for healing.
Mark 6:13 “And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.”
The practice of anointing the sick with oil, as mentioned in James 5:14 and Mark 6:13, is grounded in Old Testament traditions.
Anointing with oil in the Old Testament,
was a ritual act signifying the consecration of a person for God’s distinctive purpose and favor.
It was marking them outwardly as set apart by God. (King David)
1 Samuel 16:13 “13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him (David) in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.”
(David was being marked… As Samuel acted in the natural… God was acting in the spiritual… )
The practice of anointing with oil today,
is best understood as a visible, symbolic act—marking the person in the natural realm as set apart for God to move in the supernatural.
Faith is essential on both sides—both in the one who is sick and in the one laying hands upon them in prayer.
The one who is sick exercises faith by trusting in God’s power to heal,
while the one ministering through the laying on of hands joins in that faith,
agreeing in the Spirit and petitioning the Lord for His healing touch.
This shared act of faith becomes a united act of dependence on God,
aligning both hearts with His sovereign will and opening the way for God to do what only He can do.
They are agreeing together in faith,
that God is going to move supernaturally to bring healing and breakthrough… (Tracking with me?)
James connects this passage on healing to an often-overlooked reason why healing and breakthrough may not be taking place in a person’s life.
James 5:15–16a “15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
Sickness and other means of bondage can be in our lives because of unrepentant sins...
Pool of Bethesda… (John 5) 38 years confined to his mat by the pool...
John 5:14 “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.””
Man Born Blind… (John 9) Disciple ask Jesus who sinned, his parents or him..
John 9:3 “3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Explaine…
Systematically view Scripture… (not one passage)
I believe it is important to understand a few things about answered prayer and divine healing.
I have said this before,
but I beleive God brings healing to everyone that is born again,
it just may not be on this side of eternity. (glorified bodies when Christ returns)
I also I beleive God answers every pray that is spoken by His children....
1.yes.
2. no.
3 wait. V16b “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
3. The Call to Righteous Prayer (vv. 16b–18)
16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
Notice how James communicates that prayer from the righteous has great power as it is working… then gives the example of fervent or some translations earnest prayer from Elijah...
As Elijah prayed fervently, God answered his prayers…
Jesus gives us a great key to understand,
that is often missed about fervent pray that is effective....
Mustard Seed Faith… working prayer is engaging prayer… “pray without ceasing” (Paul 1 Thes. 5:17)
Wicked judge with the widow… continuous prayer is effective prayer…
James highlights the reality Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.…
Therefore, as God’s children, we are granted the privilege and capacity to engage in an effective prayer life, just as the saints of old did.
Elijah’s example of effective earnest prayer,
is a perfect reminder for believers today.
I say this because not only did Elijah have a nature like ours,
but also, one could argue was in a similar spiritual climate as us today.
Elijah… Moses and Joshua… 400 years of seemingly spiritual drought…
We today can sometimes fall into believing that we are in a spiritual drought…
(always important that our faith is not dictated by the spiritual climate) highs and lows...
I think it is always good to reflect and ask the question....
In the midst of the battle for breakthrough,
Are we engaging continuously in faith through prayer,
or do we give up and make the excuse and say “God does not answer prayers like he once did….”
Instead of asking tough questions in the church,
We have created doctrinal loopholes to explain away the move of God in order make us feel better.
We need to go back to Scripture,
instead of following the doctrines of men.
And when the Word of God becomes the authority over man,
men and women of fervent prayer will rise up,
to pray without ceasing knowing that righteous prayer has great power as it is working.
Even if you don’t see it in the moment,
Christians will continue to believe in faith for the impossible....
because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
4. The Call to Pray with Action to Restore the Wandering (vv. 19–20)
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
James closes out his letter with a call to action.
After emphasizing the importance and effectiveness of prayer,
James transitions to a final exhortation—the vital work of turning a wandering brother or sister back home.
It is interesting that James puts this call to action right after his emphasis on the power of prayer.
Because I am a firm believer that prayer plays a vital role in bringing those who have drifted back to the church.
It is that fervent prayer that is continuously working,
turning that heart of stone into heart of flesh.
One thing I know about prayer,
is that this thing that is happening in the spiritual is the most effective when it interacts in the natural.....
I need to Explain what I mean.… example of lost…
(There is a tendency to lean one extreme to another....)
Example… Prayer only… Action Only…
(james calls the church not just leaders to restore the wondering)
pastor calls it is believed to be out of obligation…
brother or sister calls it is out of love that they are contacting them…
James closes out his letter with a call to action to bring those who have wondered from the church,
back into the church.
And I beleive it makes sense that James would end his letter with a call to action,
because that has been his main message to the church.
Be people of action.… not just talk...
Close with this story…
In the late 1700’s a man was born in the country of England named William Carey.
Carey grew up and became a shoemaker,
but his heart burned for world missions.
In the young shoemaker’s workshop hung a world map that he would spend hours praying over that the people of these nations would come to know Christ as Lord and Savior.
While many around him were content to keep the gospel within their own borders,
Carey prayed daily for distant nations, asking God to send workers to places where Jesus was not yet known.
Though one would assume that he would be praised for his burning heart to see the nations reached for Jesus.
He actually met much resistance from the local church body.
In one famous church meeting, when Carey urged his fellow believers to take the gospel to unreached lands, an older pastor reportedly replied, “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your help or mine.”
But this opposition did not derail Carey’s passion for the lost,
So he continued to prayer for the unreached nations.
Over time, he realized that God was stirring not just his heart to pray—but was stirring his heart to go.
Acting on that conviction, Carey left England for India in 1793.
The work was hard, and years passed before he saw one single convert.
But because of his fervent prayer over the years,
his heart was prepared to persevere with endurance.
In the end, Carey translated the Bible into multiple Indian languages, helped end the practice of sati (widow-burning), planted churches, and sparked a global missionary movement.
William Carey today is known by many as the father of world missions.
His famous motto summed up his life:
“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”
Carey’s story reminds us that prayer prepares the heart and plants the seed of faith,
but it is often bold action that creates the moments for God to bring the breakthrough.
