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Sermon Notes for June 22, 2003

Study On The Book Of James

“The Formula For Patience

In A Busy World”

James 5:7-11

In his autobiography,Number 1, Billy Martin tells about a hunting trip he took to Texas with Mickey Mantle. Mickey had a friend who would let them hunt on his land. When they reached the sprawling Texas ranch, Mickey told Billy to wait in the car while he checked in with his friend. Mickey’s friend told him it was okay to hunt, but he asked Mickey to do him a favor. He had a pet mule in the barn who was going blind, and he didn’t have the heart to put him out of his misery. He asked Mickey to shoot the mule for him.

When Mickey came back to the car, he thought he could have some fun with this. He pretended to be angry, scowling and slamming the car door. Billy asked him what was wrong and he started ranting and raving. “Here we’ve driven all the way down here to hunt and he isn’t going to let us. I’ll show him. If he won’t let us hunt on his land, I’m going out to his barn and shoot one of his mules!”

Mantle drove like a maniac to the barn. Billy Martin protested, “Mickey we can’t do that!” Mantle was red faced. “Just watch me!”

When they got to the barn, Mantle jumped out of the car with his rifle, ran inside, and shot the mule. A couple of seconds later he heard 2 more shots. He ran back to the car and saw that Martin had his rifle too. “What are you doing, Billy?” he yelled. By now Martin’s face was red with anger too. “We’ll show that son of a gun! I just killed two of his cows!”

Introduction

  1. AMERICA’S STRUGGLE With Patience.
  2. We live in the age that “prevents” us from being patient.
  3. jets
  4. fast cars
  5. interstates
  6. cell phones
  7. microwaves
  8. remote controls
  9. computers

1. 28.8 modem

2. 56.6 modem

3. DSL

a. Before we got high speed connection at the church –
a man walked out of the computer room while we
waited on something to be downloaded – “I can’t stand
being in here.”

b. Tommy T.

  1. We are “perhaps” the most impatient society the world has ever seen.
  1. THE CHRISTIAN’S STRUGGLE With Patience.
  2. Christians are also very affected by the society in which we live.
  3. We also have very little patience.
  4. We all want things NOW!

1. in our personal spiritual relationships

2. in our requests from the church

3. in our desires from God

  1. WHY IN THE WORLD DO I HAVE TO WAIT?
  2. I want God to answer my prayers NOW!
  3. I want to be a mature Christian NOW!
  4. I want to have all of my needs met NOW!
  5. I want to experience His presence NOW!
  6. I want this struggle to end NOW!

I. An EXHORTATION For Patience For The Believer.

  1. The CALL To Patience.
  2. Why did James’ audience need patience?
  3. Their struggle.

1. In order to understand James’ call for patience in the life of
these Christians, we need to understand what was happening to
them.

a. abuse by the wealthy

1. In Chapter 5 of the book of James, reference was
made to the abuse of poor Christians by the
wealthy rich.

a. They weren’t being paid fairly for their
work.

b. They were being abused in the court
system.

2. These were people who scraped by day by day.

b. abuse by the religious

1. It was not a popular position to be a Christian in
a Jewish world.

2. After all, the Jews crucified Jesus for His
differences with the Jewish faith.

3. Hughes – “James’ scattered church was being
kicked around the Mediterranean like a
soccer ball.”

2. We may not identify with this text because we don’t understand
how hard life was for people back in the Old and New
Testament times.

a. LIFE WAS HARD,

b. and life had been hard for many, many years.

1. It had been 30 years since Jesus had resurrected
from the dead.

a. After His death, these Christians were
convinced that their Messiah, Jesus, was
going to return and reestablish His
Kingdom on this earth.

1. Luke 1:1-11 (read)

2. That’s why Peter took a sword to
the Garden of Gethsemane – to
fight the battle with Jesus!

b. They simply wondered when it would
happen.

2. We need to understand this – their lives were
hard and THEY KNEW JESUS!

a. people were killed for being Christians

b. Stephen was stoned for defending Jesus.

c. And the author of this very book, James:

1. was put on the top of the Temple
and asked to renounce his faith in
Christ.

2. when he didn’t, he was thrown
from the Temple and beaten
to death.

  1. Our struggle.

1. We are SURPRISED by struggles – IN FACT, we have NO
PATIENCE with struggles!

2. Somehow, as Christians, we think that our lives should be
blessed with:

a. a wonderful house

b. wonderful children

c. money in the bank

d. no sickness or disease

3. Please remember the words of:

a. Jesus in:

1. John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so
that in me you may have peace. In this world
you will have trouble. But take heart! I have
overcome the world."

2. John 16:1-4 - "All this I have told you so that
you will not go astray. They will put you out of
the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when
anyone who kills you will think he is offering
a service to God. They will do such things
because they have not known the Father or me. I
have told you this, so that when the time comes
you will remember that I warned you. I did not
tell you this at first because I was with you.”

b. I Peter 4:12-13 – “Dear friends, do not be surprised
at the painful trial you are suffering, as though
something strange were happening to you. But
rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so
that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

4. Please don’t miss the struggles of other generations:

a. Kent Hughes:“It is no surprise that almost all
the hymns which center on the return of Christ were
written when life was more difficult than today.”

b. Hughes: “It is also revealing that black hymnody
especially focused on Christ’s return because the
slaves had nothing in this world.”

5. Ellen Thompson has written “Life is too comfortable and
things too important for us to want to leave this world,
making it hard to sing with integrity.” On Jordan’s stormy
banks I stand. The modern western church simply has too
much here to sing words like these today.”

  1. How did James’ audience deal with their patience?
  2. It is interesting what James DID NOT say:

1. walk close with Christ

2. pray more

3. meet together as a church

  1. Notice how James . . . (pg. 6)
  1. The CAUSE For Patience.

Vs. 7 – “Be patient, then, brothers until the Lord’s coming.”

  1. THE REASON THAT JAMES GIVES THESE CHRISTIANS TO BE PATIENT IS THAT JESUS WILL RETURN!
  2. The definition of His return.

1. James uses the Greek word parousia.

2. The word means:

a. para – close to; indicating proximity

b. ousia – substance, being

c. the act of coming to be present

d. i.e. – the end is in sight!

3. Jesus’ return was thoroughly taught throughout the New
Testament.

a. Jesus’ Himself – Matthew 24:36-44 (read)

b. Paul – I Thess. 4:13-18 (read)

  1. The application of His return.

1. James is teaching these people to think

a. ETERNALLY not temporarily

b. VERTICALLY, not horizontally

2. James is saying that the ULTIMATE ENCOURAGEMENT for
the Christian on this earth was the bodily return of Jesus Christ
– look carefully at I Thess. 4:13-18.

  1. But despite this good, sound teaching of the return of Christ, the believers to whom James was speaking continued to be impatient and discouraged – so he used examples of patience.

II. EXAMPLES Of Patience For Believers.

  1. Consider The FARMER – DEPENDENT On God.

Vs. 7b – “See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.”

  1. The life of a farmer.
  2. The farmer in the days of James had a hard life.

1. The land was often dry and barren.

2. It was filled with rocks that continually needed to be taken out
of the fields.

3. And the farmer desperately needed rain to plant and harvest his
crop.

  1. The farmer HAD to wait on the rains in order to plant.

1. The early rains had to come in October and November to
break up the hard-packed soil.

2. The heavy rains had to come in December and February to
prepare the soil for planting.

3. The light spring rains had to come in April in order to prepare
the crop for harvest.

2. The lessons of a farmer.

  1. THE FARMER HAS TO BE PATIENT, WITH GOD.

1. I grew up on a farm –

a. You are TOTALLY dependent on the weather – i.e.
God’s provision.

b. And you can’t do a thing about it.

1. Dad’s book on cotton

2. weather patterns for cotton

a. you first need rain before planting

b. you then need less rain and lots of heat

c. you then need rains when cotton begins
to grow

d. you can’t get frost before you pick

2. If you aren’t patient, you can’t be a farmer.

a. If you don’t learn to be patient, you will struggle as a
Christian,

b. because you can’t do a thing about God’s timetable.

  1. THE FARMER HAS TO BE PATIENT WITH OTHER FARMERS.

Vs. 9 – “Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”

1. physical comparisons.

a. Farmers tend to compare themselves with other farmers.

1. My father was one of the first cotton farmers in
the entire country to use a “pre-emerge” called
Treflan.

a. Treflan “prevented” weeds from even
coming up.

b. It left clean, weedless rows of cotton –
which gave you cleaner cotton at harvest
times.

2. It was always interesting to look at my Dad’s
cotton fields and then compare the fields of other
farmers.

a. It would be easy for other farmers to get
jealous of my dad’s fields

b. and grumble.

2. spiritual comparisons.

a. how easy it is to “compare” our spiritual lives with
others – ESPECIALLY when another has

1. “weeds in their fields!”

2. or has had more rain than me

b. when my life is hard and another person’s life is easy,
I WANT TO GRUMBLE!

c. James says:

1. be patient

a. and focus on the Lord’s return

b. when all will be well

c. and Jesus will reign on His throne

2. trust the Sovereignty of God in your life.

a. be patient like a farmer

b. you can’t do anything about God’s
timetable in your life

c. my experience with our building

1. make our plans

2. compare with other churches

3. grumble

4. and not trust God’s timetable

d. after all, as James says – God is the
judge – the sovereign, NOT YOU!

  1. Consider The PROPHETS – DIRECTED By God.

Vs. 10 – “Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.”

  1. The life of a Prophet.
  2. Prophets WERE CALLED BY GOD TO SERVE HIM, TO SPEAK OF HIM.
  3. these Prophets served all through the Bible.
  4. The lessons of a Prophet.
  5. And HOW were their lives?

1. were they

a. happy

b. contented

c. wealthy

d. prosperous

2. no, they:

a. suffered

b. bled

c. and died

  1. And WHO were these prophets?

1. Moses, who had to struggle with Pharaoh and his own people.

2. David, who fled much of his life from the death threats of King
Saul.

3. Elijah, who suffered under evil King Ahab and his wife
Jezebel.

4. Jeremiah, who was left for dead in the muck of a cistern.

5. Daniel, who was taken as a youth to Babylon and left to die in a
den of lions.

6. John the Baptist, who was beheaded by an immoral ruler at the
whim of his daughter.

7. Stephen, who was stoned because he believed the gospel of
Jesus.

8. Paul, who was beheaded in prison.

9. Jesus Christ, who died because He came to save His people
from their sins.

  1. Once again, WHERE DO WE GET THE IDEA THAT THE CHRISTIAN LIFE WILL BE EASY?

1. Prosperity Theology

a. wealth

b. no sickness

c. no struggles

d. Pratt – “sprinkling fairy dust”

2. PLEASE SHOW ME SOMEONE IN THE SCRIPTURE
WHOSE LIFE WAS EASY.

3. Notice what James says of the Prophets in Verse 1c –
“Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering.”

4. Some of the greatest missionaries of history devotedly spread
the seed of God’s Word and yet had to wait long periods before
seeing the fruit of their efforts. William Carey, for example,
labored 7 years before the first Hindu convert was brought to
Christ in Burma, and Adoniram Judson toiled 7 years before
his faithful preaching was rewarded. In Western Africa, it was
14 years before one convert was received into the Christian
church. In New Zealand, it took 9 years; and in Tahti, it was
16 years before the first harvest of souls began.

5. Lords of the Earth – Don Richardson – The Death of
Missionaries, Phil Masters and Stan Dale in Irian Jaya:

“All of you, turn around and go home!” he commanded.

A priest of Kembu named Bereway slipped around behind Stan and – at point blank range – shot an arrow in under his upraised right arm. Another priest, Bunu, shot a bamboo-bladed shaft into Stan’s back, just below his right shoulder.

Yemu was crying now and shouting at them to stop. As the arrows entered his flesh, Stan pulled them out one by one, broke them and cast them away. Dozens of them were coming at him from all directions. He kept pulling them out, breaking them and dropping them at his feet until he could not keep ahead of them. Nalimo reached the scene after some 30 arrows had found their mark in Stan’s body.

How can he stand there so long? Nalimo gasped. Why doesn’t he fall? Any one of us would have fallen long ago! A different kind of shaft pierced Nalimo’s own flesh – fear! Perhaps he is immortal! Nalimo’s normally impassive face melted with sudden emotion. Because of that emotion. Nalimo said later, he did not shoot an arrow into Stan’s body.

Stan faced his enemies, steady and unwavering except for the jolt of each new strike. Yemu ran to where Phil stood alone. Together they watched in anguish at Stan’s agony. As some 50 or more warriors detached from the main force and came toward them, Phil pushed Yemu behind him and gestured speechlessly – run! Phil seemed hardly to notice the warriors encircling him. His eyes were fixed upon Stan.

Fifty arrows – sixty! Red ribbons of blood trailed form the many wounds, but still Stan stood his ground. Nalimo saw that he was not alone in his fear. The attack had begun with hilarity, bordering on panic because Stan refused to fall. Perhaps Kusaho was right! Perhaps they were committing a monstrous crime against the supernatural world instead of defending it, as they intended.

“Fall!” they screamed at Stan. “Die!” It was almost a plea – please die!

Yemu did not hear Phil say anything to the warriors as they aimed their arrows at him. Phil made no attempt to flee or struggle. He had faced danger many times but never certain death. But Stan had shown him how to face it, if he needed an example. That example could hardly have been followed with greater courage.

  1. So, as you ask yourself, “Why is my life so hard?”

1. LOOK AT THE LIVES PORTRAYED IN THE
SCRIPTURES!

2. Hebrews 11 – The “Faith Hall of Fame.” Hebrews 11:32-40
(read)

  1. Consider JOB – DEALT WITH By God.

Vs. 11 – “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.”

  1. The life of Job.
  2. As Satan looked the world over, he found this one man Job, to be blameless.

1. Satan told God that Job was blameless BECAUSE God had
blessed Him.

2. So God turned Job over to Satan. Job 1:13-19 (read)

Hughes - With that, four flattening blows fell on unsuspecting
Job. A messenger arrived and breathlessly told him that the
Sabeans had taken all his oxen and donkeys and killed his
servants (v. 15). Before he finished, a second messenger
informed him that fire from Heaven had consumed all Job’s
sheep and attendant servants (v. 16). Then came another
messenger with news that the Chaldeans had taken all his
camels and executed his servants (v. 17). And while he was
still reeling from these blows, a fourth messenger came with a
report of transcending tragedy – all of Job’s children were
dead, having perished when the house fell on them (vv. 18,19).
Oh, the pain! Darkness and nausea rolled across the righteous
man’s writhing soul.

3. And Job’s friends turned on Job.

a. Accusing him of sin

b. He even lost his wife’s support – Job 2:9 - His wife said
to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity?
Curse God and die!" HE WAS ALONE.

  1. After Satan got through with Job, HE HAD NOTHING.
  1. The lessons of Job.
  2. Despite what you may think, Job did NOT have patience BEFORE all of this happened to him.
  3. He actually:

1. learned patience all through this process WHICH HE DID
NOT HAVE