Hopeful Priorities

Last week, we took a big leap and we looked at the entire chapter 4 of the book of James. The central theme of all of that was submitting ourselves to God. Taking all of the different areas of our life and seeing where we are not truly submitting, and then giving ourselves over to the Lord.

What I love about James is there is no down time. He is very direct. So as we continue, he doesn’t let up.

Now, we all have priorities in life. If you were to look at my life, right now one of my priorities is helping to coach Peighton’s softball team. We have her all star tournament next weekend so our life has been a little busier due to that. There are good things that can be priorities. Family, church, work. All of this can be good.

But are we focused on the God priorities?

the gospel changes everything

gospel presentation

the gospel brings hope, hope should change our priorities

I see 4 areas in our text today that hope should change

Hope Changes our Finances

I know that money is the last thing that most people want to hear about when they come to church. But it is clear that our Christian life is tied to our finances.

Matthew 6:24 ESV

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

This goes back to the idea of submission. But I believe that James takes this even further than submitting. He says that we must prioritize how we spend our money.

James 5:1 ESV

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

being rich is not ungodly; how you view your money can be; if you are financially focused and not gospel focused, misery is coming

James 5:2–3 ESV

2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.

worldly investment is temporary; 2008 market crash; October 28-29 1929(Black Monday and Tuesday), $14 Billion Dollars in 1 day loss, 25% of market drop in 2 days; by 1932, market lost 89% of value during the Great Depression

Earthly value has no eternal value; when I get buried, I am gonna have the same net worth as every other person to be buried before me

James even points to the last days; when Christ returns, what will be the measuring stick; our bank accounts will not matter

So how should we view money?

our money isn’t our money; all good and perfect gifts come from God; all things are God’s

I believe that tithing is a good and beneficial practice; has nothing to do the church getting money from you; has all to do with trusting God with your finances;

There are a lot of people who say they trust God but you could look at their bank statement and see. Priorities are evident with where we put our money. Maybe you are prioritizing things over trusting in God with your finances. Things like your stock investments, new cars, vacations, how much you go out to eat, it could very well be sports or tv.

I want to challenge you to take an honest assessment of your finances and ask God how you should spend his money because it is all his and not yours.

Hope Changes How We Treat Others

We have all been wronged by someone. Whether it be on the playground choosing teams for a game of basketball or at work when that one person doesn’t mind running you over to get where they want to go.

Everyone here knows that we live in a fallen and sinful world and we should expect that there will be people who are against us and will do what they can to keep us down. This is why it is so important for us to make sure that we are treating others the way that we need to.

James 5:4 ESV

4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

warning against doing wrong in business; keeping back money that is owed to others; this attitude towards others is anti the gospel

James 5:5–6 ESV

5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Remember that scripture is not condemning having financial assets; throughout there is this distinction between being spiritually poor and selfishly rich; James is making this same case here for people who have treated others in an evil way

use illustration of meat and how cows will fatten themselves up without even knowing where they are headed

day of slaughter=day of judgment; the ones who are treating others in an unchristian way are adding onto themselves areas of judgment

The righteous person won’t care in the long run; even though evil has been done to them, they will be secure in Christ

let breath; maybe talk about security

Reminded of Wednesday night study;

Matthew 7:12 ESV

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

5 year old theology; but we tend to forget it; teenagers are dealing with it, adults in the workplace seem to not understand it

How you treat others says more than often think; it tells them everything about where your hope is found;

hope changes how we treat others

Hope Changes Our Patience

talk about struggles with patience

I am not where I feel like I should be in my walk with Christ; I get frustrated with myself because I am inpatient

patience is a fruit of the spirit though; doesn’t mean it is an option but it should be something that is obvious in my life because of the hope of Jesus in me

James 5:7 ESV

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.

time of the year now; praying for rain; talk about moms green bean plants;

what we can’t do is naturally make stuff happen faster than God is working; like if I wanted my hair to grow back, it is only gonna happen if God does it; I can try to add in things to do it, but even then God must be working

James 5:8 ESV

8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

just like the farmer, you need to be patient;

while you are waiting, establish your hearts; make sure you are strengthening yourselves while you are waiting for Jesus to return; scripture promises his return; next great event on God’s calendar; it could be at any moment; not trying to sit here and prophesy and you know I am not one to do that; people say that events are playing out around us, they have been for 2000 years; but we must be ready.

James 5:9 ESV

9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

seems out of place almost; think about our patience; when we are impatient, our grumbling will increase; think of a child that wants to go on a trip and it is still a couple of days away, the closer you get, the more impatient they are the the more the grumbling increases

keep our patience in check because this is another area that we open ourselves to judgment

ways to be patient

don’t look at suffering as an inconvenience but an opportunity to grow you closer to the Lord

make sure your plans line up with God’s plans and the timeline will come together

having hope in God will automatically cause us to be patient; trusting in his plans working out on his time and we are just along for the beautiful ride

Hope Changes Our View of Suffering

scripture never says that suffering will be easy, but it will be expected; pause and talk about the reality of suffering and the toll it takes on us as humans

James 1:2 “2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,”

maybe we face different trials than they did with how times have changed, but they still come

James 5:10 ESV

10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

so many examples of suffering in scripture; Noah and the flood, Moses and the Exodus, David and dealing with Saul

it is easy to get weary in suffering; not knowing how things may turn out, having to be patient and wait on God; scripture is a great encourager; talk about the hall of faith in Hebrews 11.

James gives us a great example of one that remained steadfast in suffering

James 5:11 ESV

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.

you think you are going through a hard time, go and look at the life of Job; lost everything except his wife; his wife was not a great encourager in this time, she told him to curse God and die; his friends were not the best friends either; but he remained steadfast and God remained steadfast with him

suffering should not be seen as a punishment or an inconvenience; take the time in suffering to grow closer to God

Conclusion

James lays out for us 4 areas that change in our lives because of the hope of Jesus. Finances, how we treat others, patience, and suffering.

Maybe these areas do not look much different for you than they always have. I want to remind you that the gospel changes everything. Not only does it change your eternal destination but it changes everything in this life you are living right now.

Make sure that you are prioritizing these areas in a manner that your life is pursuing righteousness.