Be Patient, The Lord is Coming!

Introduction

Good evening and welcome back!

Tonight if you will turn in your Bibles to James 5.

We are going to be picking up right where we left off this morning and in the first part of our message tonight, James is going to continue and finish his thought process he started this morning.

And if you recall from this morning, we talked really about trusting in God and making sure that we are not planning out our entire future apart from God’s will and God’s direction.

We discussed how we have a tendency to make plans for days, weeks, months, even years ahead and once we are on that trajectory, we rarely deviate or want to change on our own.

And when God steps in and tries to change our direction or really correct our course would be a better way to put it, we struggle with that.

We struggle because the world and the flesh is pulling us one way, but God is pulling us another way.

God is pulling us toward him and toward heaven, but we cannot see that because we are blinded and deafened by our own personal goals and the things that we think we should be doing or that we think are right.

We worry about all of these things that we have no control over whatsoever and as a result become frustrated with God and frustrated with ourselves.

Which left us as a crossroads of where we should be and where we want to be (in our own minds).

And many times that place where we “want to be” is driven by money, power, and fame.

We want all of this stuff so we can brag about having all of this stuff.

And as a response James tells us . . .

James 4:16 NIV - Anglicised

As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

And again, we substitute the word “sin” for evil.

To boast and puff yourself up like that is sinful because it means you have stepped on other people to get there.

You are more concerned with yourself and what you want, rather than being concerned about the wellbeing of your neighbor.

You neglect what God has told you for the sake of getting your own way.

You may be doing good things, but good only in your eyes and it may even be completely apart from God or what God says is good.

And to this, James tells us . . .

James 4:17 NIV - Anglicised

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

We call it the sin of omission.

We know what we should be doing.

We know what direction God is telling us to go and where He is leading us.

Yet, we refuse because it is not the direction we WANT to go or the things we WANT to do.

Which is, disobedience to God and thus sin.

And it is here, at this crossroad we find ourselves and where we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

But it is also here where many get lost and caught up in the pursuits of the world, which is what James is going to address in the first part of our sermon for tonight.

However, before we get to that, I want to read verses 7-12, that reveal to us the true hope found in the midst of all of this turmoil.

Starting in verse 7, James writes this . . .

Scripture Focus

James 5:7–12 NIV - Anglicised

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider 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. Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No”, no, or you will be condemned.

The Misery of the Rich (vs 1-6)

Now that we have an idea of the direction we are going to be going, let’s back up and take a look at how we got there.

Again, immediately after James admonishes us to get our priorities straight in chapter 4, he moves on to squashing the arguments we make about attaining riches and glory for ourselves.

James, starting in chapter 5, verse 1 writes this . . .

James 5:1 NIV - Anglicised

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.

Now, this is a message that runs completely counter to everything the world teaches us about riches, fame, money, and power.

The world tells us to attain wealth and fame at any cost, because that is where you find happiness.

Your happiness and satisfaction in life is tied directly to what you can obtain and attain in life.

But James, like Maury Povich’s DNA tests have determined that “that is a lie.”

It is a lie and a deception of Satan to tie any sort of happiness and satisfaction in life with fame or fortune.

In fact, in many instances the opposite is true.

The more fame and fortune you have, the more other people try to do what they can to “get a part of it.”

And also, the more you have the more you have to do and are willing to do to maintain it and grow it more and more.

Greed comes into play and greed is a hungry green eyed monster that is constantly in need of being fed and you do anything to feed the beast.

And you may be able to obtain stuff and may not have to worry about food, clothing, and shelter, but you become miserable for it.

By the way, Christians don’t have to worry about food, clothing, or shelter anyway, remember what Jesus told us that we covered this morning . . .

Matthew 6:25–34 NIV - Anglicised

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So, we do not need to be so worried and concerned about having to do all these things in order to meet our basic needs.

Now that doesn’t mean that we just lay around and be lazy, but it does mean that when we are working and being obedient to God, He knows what we need and will provide for our needs (even though we may not get all our wants).

But when we continue these pursuits of money and greed, James tells us . . .

James 5:2–3 NIV - Anglicised

Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 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.

James 5:5–6 NIV - Anglicised

You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.

And those we have cheated and stepped on along the way, well James writes this . . .

James 5:4 NIV - Anglicised

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.

Don’t think for a minute that the sin and evil committed in the name of greed has escaped God’s attention.

All of those people that are stepped on and hurt because of people’s greed and sin, their voices are being heard by God.

And what do we think God is going to do about it?

Is God just going to say, “oh well, I will take care of the suffering.”

He will take care of the suffering.

But He also will take care of the oppressor.

And for us here tonight though, as far as I know, none of us have achieved the level of wealth that James is talking about here.

And if you have, I don’t know about it, but see me after the service, I’ve got some projects that we can do to help alleviate some of the burden of that money.

However, all jokes aside, we don’t have to be living the lap of luxury to be an oppressor.

All we really need to be is someone who is more focused on wealth and things than we are on God.

Does the money and things have such a hold on us that we think we need to do everything we can to maintain what we have and obtain more?

And I do have to say this, for a church the size we are and also a church in the middle of a pandemic like we are, we have a giving and generous church.

Things get tight from time to time, but when we are really in need, the people come through.

But a good way to judge our attitude on our money and things is, when we are writing out the tithe check or just a general donation to the church, what goes through our mind?

Do we think about all of the other things we can be using that money on?

Do we debate on whether to give a little or a lot?

Or do we just listen to God and not give it another thought?

That’s sort of the measuring stick as to whether we have a hold on our money or whether it has a hold on us.

Be Patient, the Lord is Coming (vs 7-12)

So, with that understanding and warning to the oppressors, James moves on to a message of encouragement.

And while we can all take encouragement from it, James is specifically pointing this encouragement to those who are being oppressed.

He writes this . . .

James 5:7–9 NIV - Anglicised

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

In other words, endure a little longer because Jesus is coming.

Just like the farmer can’t rush the fields and the harvest, we can’t rush the coming of the Lord.

And the reality is, whether He comes via the sky or takes us by the way of the grave, He is coming for us.

And the short span of time that we call this life is only a drop in the bucket compared to eternity.

And while we are waiting, don’t get discouraged and disgruntled.

Don’t let our frustration manifest itself as grumbling and fighting with each other.

We are all on the same journey with the same destination.

And we all need to help one another get to where we are going.

And finally, James gives us an example.

He writes . . .

James 5:10–12 NIV - Anglicised

Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider 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. Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No”, no, or you will be condemned.

In other words, be a people of integrity and a people of high character.

Altar/Challenge

Which brings us to the end tonight and the challenge is this.

Where do we stand with the Lord?

Are we focused on the world and the things of the world, or do we listen first and foremost to God?

What are our goals and dreams?

Are they rooted in God or in the ways of the world?

Are they our ideas or Gods?

Also, do we control our money or does it control us?

And finally, do we have the necessary endurance to make it to the end?

And if the answer to any of those questions is “I don’t know” or “no” or anything other than an affirmation of God, then we need to bring that before the Lord.

We need to ask the Lord to help us with it.

Are we willing to do that tonight?

Can we do that?

Let’s pray . . .