Endure

Introduction

James: written to the church about things that matter.

Kingdom Now

On Earth As in Heaven

Evil is Still Here

James writes to a good, mainly poor group of people, who were experiencing hard times, friction, grind of life.

Life has pressures/suffering, evil.

Suffering James is talking about:

Consequences of bearing Christ's name: What it is and isn’t

Paul. Suffers the doing of his calling which promotes his work. It is a privilege for the whole community when it is for Christ's sake.

Peter (1 Peter). Undeserved punishment, abuse, threats, insults, discrimination by the masters of the courts. Injustice not just in punishment for doing what is right/following in his steps.

When Will it End?

Not the way things should be

Believers are waiting for Jesus to return and deal with it.

How you suffer/endure the friction makes a big difference in how you are representing Christ.

Tough to watch bad people prosper, not suffer

Prosperity

Power

Who create pressure, friction, grind for others

Tempted to envy them, become impatient for things to be made right

Be Patient: Consequences will come

7 - Their consequences will come - God will punish them accordingly. Believers: be patient for that time.

Patience - what is it like?

Farmer waiting for the crop to mature, bear fruit.

Establish your hearts-Prepare the field, plant, fertilize.

Withstanding the Pressure

Kingdom now: Living As God Intends

Their belief that Jesus' return was near: it could happen soon but not that it had to. Lived and taught others to live as though this could be the last generation.

-We live in the same situation - has always been and is always true.

-How then should we live? Be patient and establish your hearts.

8 - Wait patiently for the Lord to return to deliver/restore them and take care of those who are oppressing them.

Patient, hang in - longsuffering, to be slow, delay in, postponement

Waiting is tough and full of opportunities to cheat. How we live in the midst of this matters.

-While they wait (active waiting): establish your hearts. GK:

Don’t just get by until the end: Be alive

Bear with one another

Waiting is not a place we like to be. Our crankiness, can emerge; don't grumble against one another (see previous passage).

Grumbling is like judging one another (again, see last passage).

9 - Grumbling against others is a sign that the pressure of tough circumstances has gotten to us.

Taking frustrations out on friends, family, anyone

Blame them

Common reaction, yes? Happens all the time, yes?

James: more serious than you think.

It’s Judging

And it has it’s own consequences

Take a look at our own lives because our lives will be looked at too.

Patience includes bearing with one another in love.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep

Swearing - not talking about bad language

"Swears by it"- idiom

To make a very serious, solemn pledge.

One kind is this: I have complete trust: I would swear by Jim any time. He is a great guy, and he tells the truth.

OR I swear by this computer. It has always served me well.

This is what James is talking about: We have a tendency when under pressure to say things like:

Please don’t leave, I swear I’ll never do that again.

I swear by my mother's grave that I’ll see you get what you deserve.

Often under the pressure, friction, grind of life we find people to blame - rightly or wrongly - and make wild promises that to make someone believe we are telling the truth, can keep what we have or that we can deliver on something in order to gain or get an advantage.

-Our truthfulness should be so consistent and dependable that we don’t need to make promises.

Our word should be as trustworthy as a legal document.

A simple yes or no should be enough.

The Kingdom to Come

Restoration

Don't give up easily. The best way of discipleship, dealing with what is wrong is by longsuffering which is not retreating/abandoning; it is leaving the decision to God.

Take a page from the prophets: Be courageous in bearing under the weight of things

They took heat for God's prophetic word having to patiently suffer that sometimes pleading with him to follow through on his promise to stop the madness.

But God waited: The delay allows for a turning toward him.

The Sign of God’s Compassion and Mercy

James - Be encouraged: Jesus is near.

Will provide what he wants from us.

Cooperate.

Reward for Living as God Intends

Don't rush to end it. Something in it for us and others.

Some of the fruitful life he intends.

So we wait for the madness to end and life as he fully intends it to begin.

What the soul wants