James 5:13-20
Notes
Transcript
Announce:
Announce:
Good evening it is good to be back live with you tonight for our study in James. Our family missed worshipping and being with you this past weekend. Tonight we will be wrapping up James, as we look at 5:13-20.
Before, we dive into James. I want to invite you to share any prayer requests that you may have. There is no need to small or too big. As a matter of fact we will talking about the subject of prayer tonight in our study. So, feel free to comment below with your requests.
Also, I want to address a few things happening in our community.
In the last few weeks the number of COVID cases have begun to increase in our community, even impacting our sister churches.
Also, just today our Governor issued a statewide face mask order until July 31st.
These factors have caused our Pastoral Team and Deacons to prayerfully consider the best course forward for our church family. Therefore, we have decided for the next two Sundays (July 19&26) we will be moving all of our services online. This means that we will go back to 8:15 and 10:30 services online only for the next two Sundays.
When we speak of going to online services, we are aware that there are many different reactions. However, I want to assure you that the decisions that were made were made....
in prayer and with careful consideration.
for the well-being of our church family, which is very much multi-generational.
without any fear of a disease or man, but in full faith in a Sovereign God.
So, we ask that you do a couple of things over the next two weeks...
Pray (for our community, our country, the spread of the Gospel & our church family).
Be engaged with our online services. (Worship, Share, Host a Watch Party, Give Online)
Let’s Pray.
As we turn our attention to the conclusion of James, we find James addressing one of the most essential aspects of the Christian life - PRAYER. James shares essentials that every one of us must understanding and put to practice in our prayer life.
Julie is going to read this passage for us tonight...
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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. 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. 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. 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. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 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.
How then should we pray?
How then should we pray?
The first thing that James points out here is that we should...
Pray Always.
Pray Always.
Look at the questions James raises here...
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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.
Here James covers the wide range of life experiences - SUFFERING, JOY & SICKNESS. Yet, at every moment James instructs us to pray.
Therefore, prayer is not tactic of last resort, but a regular part of the Christian life.
Illus.: Talk about how I learned this many years when serving as a youth pastor in Middle TN. We lived in the rental house of a church member, who was a great lady. She told me that God had really impressed upon her how important it was to pray about everything. I was talking to her about something pretty insignificant that I was dealing with. She stopped me and asked if we could pray. This made a huge impact on me and taught me how I should be praying always about all things.
Prayer is a habit that should be cultivated in the Christian life.
Here are a few ways to cultivate the habit of prayer in your life…
(Aaron and Julie will give input on these.)
Set a time each day to pray.
Get a notebook or journal or note app to write down your prayer requests.
Find a prayer partner.
Write scripture verses on notecards or make them your phone screensaver. Pray them.
Pray whenever you feel burdened about something.
The next essential James mention is...
Pray Trusting.
Pray Trusting.
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.
If we read this verse outside of context, there are two outcomes...
(1) Disappointment with Ourselves or Others.
(1) Disappointment with Ourselves or Others.
This happens when we pray for something and feel like our lack of faith was the reason that we didn’t get the answer.
Illus.: Talk about seeing this when a church members family member was sick. They wouldn’t let anyone come to see her thinking that their lack of faith would cause her to die. She died. They blamed the lack of their faith and others.
(2) Disappointment with God.
(2) Disappointment with God.
This happens when you pray and don’t get the answer you want. You believed God and he did answer, so He must not be keeping his end of the bargain.
Prayer isn’t a bargain.
So, how do we pray trusting?
James gives us an example of prayer and faith...
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. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
Here James records a powerful story from 1 Kings 17-18. In this story Elijah I sent by God to declare and pray for an absence of rain during King Ahab’s reign. At the end of the three and half years God commands Elijah to pray again and the rain returns to the land.
There are two things that we learn about praying in faith...
You can do it. (“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours”)
You trust isn’t in the outcome but the will of God. (Elijah prayed knowing God’s will. We don’t always get this.)
Julie, have you ever felt inadequate in prayer. How have you been able to push past that feeling?
Pray Together.
Pray Together.
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.
James tells us to do two things together...
(1) Confess your sin to one another
This doesn’t mean we air our deepest sins in public. It means we have believers that we can share our struggles with and our failures with.
(2) Pray for one another
This has to be the hardest part of this season for me. That is not being able to hear all the needs and pray for folks as often as situations allowed before.
What happens when we pray together?
(1) You may be healed
This healing is not just physical. God uses prayer to bring healing in many facets of who we are - HEART, SOUL, MIND & STRENGTH.
(2) You will see power in prayer
Julie, what is the most powerful way you’ve seen God work in prayer?
Bottom line — God moves when we pray together.
Pray For Restoration.
Pray For Restoration.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 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.
In the closing verses of this passage James speaks about restoring wayward brothers and sisters. This is not really about the lost. Instead, it is about wayward believers.
Illus.: The statistic I read last week of 32% of regular church attenders not engaging at all since COVID 19 hit.
How do we do this?
Pray for our wayward brothers and sisters.
Reach out to them. (Text, call, invite to online church services)
Ask Julie to share the story of the family we reached out to when starting the church we planted years ago. They even hosted some bible studies for us in their home.
Why do we do this?
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.
This is the work that we are in church. Who are you going to pray for and reach out to this week?
So, how do we pray?
Pray Always
Pray Trusting
Pray Together
Pray For Restoration
Let’s pray for these needs tonight.
Let’s pray for these needs tonight.