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[00:00] Today we're going to be in James 5.
[00:03] We're going to continue on in James 5.
[00:04] And we're going to be in verses 7 through 12.
[00:08] Well, I say 12, but it's kind of 7 through 11.
[00:11] So 12 is kind of out there in left field,
[00:15] which we'll talk about later.
[00:18] So I think one of the defining factors of the 21st century
[00:23] and something that we're going to be remembered for
[00:26] is being absolutely hellbent on not wanting
[00:30] to wait for anything.
[00:32] I mean, that could be a pretty defining definition of us today.
[00:35] It's just we don't want to wait for nothing.
[00:39] I mean, I'm only 28 years old, or as my brothers say,
[00:41] they just say, yeah, you're 30 at this point.
[00:43] Yes.
[00:46] I'm 28 years old, and there's a drastic difference
[00:48] between what I had to wait for as a kid
[00:51] and what I'm even willing to wait for now.
[00:54] And the change is even greater, or it's
[00:56] going to be even greater, from myself
[00:59] when I was a kid versus my own kids
[01:01] and saying to other people in this room versus you
[01:03] and your kids.
[01:04] For example, car rides.
[01:06] At least when I was going--
[01:08] so when we looked at Pennsylvania,
[01:10] we used to drive down Emerald Isle every summer.
[01:13] Apparently, a lot of Pennsylvania people do that.
[01:15] Really weird that Emerald Isle is like the haven
[01:18] of Pennsylvanians.
[01:21] But so we would drive down, and I
[01:22] remember we would have, for entertainment,
[01:24] it was like this little plastic box
[01:26] with a little pillow on the bottom,
[01:28] and it was just little art supplies.
[01:29] And that was our entertainment.
[01:33] And then before that, before--
[01:35] I hear these rumors of people that are older than me,
[01:37] and their entertainment was looking out the window.
[01:39] But we eventually, as kids, moved on
[01:44] from the little coloring pad things to my dad
[01:47] got a tube TV with a VHS attached and somehow
[01:52] fit a tube TV in between the passenger seat
[01:55] and the driver's seat.
[01:56] And we'd have five VHSs and decide
[02:00] what we were going to watch.
[02:01] And that was the best.
[02:04] But you look at it nowadays, I mean, really, it's only two,
[02:07] so we don't have this problem yet.
[02:08] But I mean, you just throw them an iPad,
[02:11] and they got any show on Disney Plus
[02:13] or whatever they're watching, games, anything.
[02:15] Or if they're a little bit older,
[02:17] they could watch live TV.
[02:18] They could watch live baseball if they wanted to.
[02:22] It's insane.
[02:23] We don't like to wait.
[02:24] We don't like being in the car as kids,
[02:25] don't like being in the car for a long time, even parents.
[02:28] I think another thing that has changed
[02:30] that we used to have to wait for that we don't now
[02:32] is the internet.
[02:35] At least, everyone used to have just stationary desks
[02:39] with a big, hunky, junky computer that you would go to.
[02:43] It's the best.
[02:44] And honestly, a lot of these things
[02:46] I was going through them, like, it was better than.
[02:50] But you have a T, and then you have dial-up.
[02:53] And then you made this ear piercing noise.
[02:56] And if someone went on the phone while you were trying
[02:58] to dial-up to the internet, it's over.
[03:00] It's just shut it off.
[03:02] You're done.
[03:03] It's not over yet.
[03:04] Yeah, literally.
[03:05] Now, I have a computer on me at all times.
[03:08] If it doesn't load in 10 seconds, I throw a fit.
[03:11] My cricket's the worst.
[03:12] My Wi-Fi's the worst.
[03:14] It's literally like 10 seconds, and I absolutely lose patience.
[03:16] I think another example is just video content,
[03:20] or content in general.
[03:22] If you wanted to know about--
[03:24] we're coming up on the anniversary of D-Day.
[03:26] If you wanted to know about that, you'd go to the library,
[03:28] read a book, maybe something like that,
[03:30] get knowledge that way, and encyclopedia.
[03:32] If you had encyclopedia whole sets
[03:35] for their personal library, that was their knowledge base.
[03:39] And then eventually, YouTube comes out,
[03:41] and you have regular form videos.
[03:44] And now, you have YouTube shorts and reels.
[03:46] You better explain to me the intricacies
[03:48] in the geopolitics of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the US,
[03:52] in one minute or less, or I don't want to hear it.
[03:54] However, you don't know what's true and what's not.
[03:56] Yeah, that is-- yeah, exactly.
[03:58] That's your problem.
[03:59] So our whole progression in this 21st century
[04:02] is we don't want to spend more time.
[04:05] We're spending less time waiting.
[04:06] We're becoming more impatient.
[04:08] And while these three examples are essentially--
[04:10] because they're good things of car rides are easier.
[04:14] Our internet's faster.
[04:16] We have a lot of information we can get quicker.
[04:21] While spending our life easier, it's also
[04:22] made us more impatient.
[04:24] And there's definitely correlation
[04:25] between the easier life gets, the more impatient you become.
[04:28] I'm sure there's got to be a study on that somewhere.
[04:31] At least it feels that way.
[04:33] But for the most time, when we think of patience,
[04:38] specifically in scripture, we often
[04:40] think about being patient with others.
[04:42] I lost patience with my kids the other day.
[04:44] I have had it up to here with my boss.
[04:47] And God so helped me.
[04:48] If my spouse leaves this seat up one more time,
[04:51] I'm going to leave them.
[04:53] That's the type of patience we typically
[04:55] think of when we think of patience,
[04:56] just losing patience with somebody.
[04:58] But what we see here in James--
[05:00] and I'm not saying that patience is wrong.
[05:02] We want to have better patience with other people.
[05:04] But what we see here in James, in a lot of parts of scripture,
[05:07] is that the Christian life is all
[05:08] about having patience, endurance,
[05:11] being steadfast, and waiting.
[05:14] That's because faith and perseverance in your walk
[05:15] with Christ requires patience.
[05:18] Faith and perseverance in your walk with Christ
[05:20] requires patience.
[05:23] And the theme of James 5, 7 through 12--
[05:26] 11, so annoying-- is not only about being patient,
[05:30] but having patience and suffering.
[05:33] I'm going to read 7 through 12.
[05:36] Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.
[05:40] See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
[05:43] being patient about it until it receives
[05:45] the early and the late rains.
[05:48] You also, be patient, establish your hearts,
[05:51] for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
[05:53] Do not grumble against one another, brothers,
[05:55] so that you may not be judged.
[05:56] Behold, the judge is standing at the door.
[06:00] As an example of suffering and patience,
[06:01] brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
[06:04] Behold, we consider those blessed who remain steadfast.
[06:08] You have heard of the steadfastness of Job,
[06:10] and you have seen the purposes of the Lord,
[06:12] how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
[06:15] But above all, my brothers, do not swear,
[06:17] either by heaven or by earth, or by any oath,
[06:20] but let your yes be yes and your no be no,
[06:22] so that you may not fall under condemnation.
[06:26] So when I was at Liberty, I studied biblical studies
[06:29] a little bit.
[06:30] And while I did skip a lot of my classes
[06:33] to go fishing, play basketball, et cetera.
[06:36] Sorry, Mom and Dad.
[06:38] One thing that was hammered into me during those classes
[06:42] is that you need to pay attention to repeating words.
[06:44] That is a really big idea, and something
[06:47] that everyone could realize, because it's a way
[06:50] that the author can emphasize their point.
[06:53] And one thing that we were saying
[06:54] that James is emphasizing is patience.
[06:57] Because in these first five verses, 7 through 11,
[07:01] he used the word patient, or a synonym of patience,
[07:04] seven different times.
[07:06] So in verse 7, be patient.
[07:07] Verse 7, again, see how the farmer waits,
[07:10] being patient about it.
[07:12] Just in verse 7, he uses it three times.
[07:14] In verse 8, you also be patient.
[07:17] In verse 10, as an example of suffering and patience,
[07:21] in verse 11, blessed who remain steadfast,
[07:24] you have heard of the steadfastness of Job.
[07:27] So there's this theme here of being patient, waiting,
[07:31] being steadfast.
[07:32] So our man James is now playing around.
[07:35] He is literally just slapping us in the face.
[07:38] Patience, patience, patience, patience.
[07:41] And what he does give here, though,
[07:43] as he's talking about patience,
[07:44] is he gives us three examples of patience
[07:47] and how we should imitate them.
[07:48] He gives us three examples.
[07:50] The first being the farmer.
[07:52] The farmer, verse 7, be patient, therefore, brothers,
[07:56] until the coming of the Lord.
[07:57] See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit
[08:00] of the earth, being patient about it,
[08:02] until it receives the early and the late rains.
[08:05] So I always tell Everett if, you know,
[08:12] I became rich one day, don't know why that would happen,
[08:16] but I like to imagine someday I will be.
[08:18] If I became rich and don't need to work and make money,
[08:21] I like the idea of living on a farm
[08:23] and taking care of the cattle and the crops
[08:26] and, you know, farmer stuff.
[08:28] Well, after James gives the farmer as an example
[08:32] of someone who is patient in the midst of suffering,
[08:36] I think I changed my mind.
[08:37] I ain't built for that farm boy life.
[08:39] So James says to have patience like a farmer
[08:43] who is waiting for the harvest,
[08:45] who is waiting for the harvest.
[08:46] And yes, while you are physically waiting
[08:49] for the crops to grow as a farmer, it is more than that.
[08:52] In agricultural society,
[08:54] you live dependent on God's provision of the weather.
[08:58] And the weather is probably the most important factor
[09:01] to healthy crops.
[09:02] So yes, farmers have a huge part in growing crops,
[09:05] and we're gonna get to that later.
[09:07] But one of the biggest aspects of healthy crops,
[09:10] they can't control the weather.
[09:12] Too much rain, crop rots.
[09:14] Too little rain, well, now you have a drought, also dead.
[09:17] Frost, straight to death.
[09:19] There's so many factors that come into play
[09:22] that the farmers just can't even help.
[09:24] So talk about needing patience.
[09:27] And this illustration of a farmer reminds us
[09:29] that faith involves trusting God
[09:30] with what you cannot control.
[09:33] Faith involves trusting God with what you cannot control.
[09:36] And that is what the farmer shows us.
[09:38] The farmer cannot determine when it's gonna rain
[09:41] or when it will rain, when it will not rain,
[09:43] but he can't trust God that he is a provider.
[09:45] He takes care of the flowers of the field,
[09:47] the birds of the air, so he will take care of us.
[09:50] An example of this, and I've probably used this before,
[09:53] is that when Everett and I moved to Philadelphia,
[09:55] you know, we did the church plant.
[09:58] I had this job lined up that was supposed to start in,
[10:00] we moved in February, I supposed to start in like March
[10:02] or end of February, something like that.
[10:04] And obviously COVID happened during that time,
[10:07] and they said, "Yeah, yeah, we'll call you when it's done."
[10:10] Well, okay, well, we didn't know COVID was gonna be today,
[10:14] still, well, people think that, never mind.
[10:18] We're not, we're not getting to this, okay?
[10:20] (laughing)
[10:22] So- - Last longer.
[10:23] - Yeah, lasts a lot longer than what we originally thought.
[10:26] And I remember being like, "Bro, I just moved my family
[10:30] up here in Philly, which is a little bit more expensive
[10:33] than Andrew, North Carolina."
[10:35] And I'm like, "What are we gonna do?"
[10:38] Well, obviously, it is crazy how it just got worse.
[10:42] We were getting like funding from people unexpectedly,
[10:47] like just like, "Hey, we know you moved to Philly
[10:48] for this church, man, we just wanna support you."
[10:51] We had people do that out of the blue.
[10:52] We had people just write his checks out of the blue,
[10:54] like, you know, kind of knew them, but not really well,
[10:58] but they heard what we were doing and wrote us a check,
[11:00] little things like that.
[11:01] It's like, wow, this is crazy.
[11:02] It's just an example of God's provision of,
[11:05] I could, like me losing my job, I couldn't control,
[11:09] but I could trust that God was gonna take care
[11:12] of my family and I.
[11:13] Now, while we trust God and what we cannot control,
[11:17] there's also a flip side to this,
[11:19] in that we honor God with what we can control.
[11:22] So faith involves trusting God with what you can control,
[11:25] but we also honor God with what we can control.
[11:29] A farmer doesn't just sit on his butt all day
[11:31] playing Call of Duty, waiting for it to rain.
[11:34] That's not what he does, no.
[11:35] He's plowing the field, building fences,
[11:37] taking out animals that are trying to destroy his crops.
[11:41] I honestly don't know all that a farmer does.
[11:43] I just know, I just know it's a lot of work.
[11:46] And he's dependent on the rain,
[11:50] but he's working his tail off.
[11:52] And the same as when I lost my job in Philly,
[11:55] yeah, I lost the job or didn't start it.
[11:58] While God was providing,
[11:59] I also didn't just sit on my butt and be like,
[12:02] oh man, today's gonna be a sick day to do nothing.
[12:05] I got this dishwasher job and it was actually the,
[12:08] actually had a workshop after this.
[12:10] But it was one of the worst jobs ever.
[12:14] It was just hot and humid.
[12:15] It was like an industrial pots and pans
[12:17] and you're just on your feet, 12 hours a day,
[12:19] just scraping and scraping and washing and washing.
[12:21] I was like, well, I gotta make some money somehow.
[12:23] Yes, I know some people are sending us money,
[12:24] but it's like, I gotta do something.
[12:27] So it's this idea of like,
[12:28] yes, we trust God with what we cannot control,
[12:30] but we honor God in what we can control.
[12:33] And the farmer is a good example of that.
[12:36] And while, yes, I give the example about my job situation
[12:41] and I was trying to be patient during that time
[12:45] and what felt like suffering.
[12:47] Oh, I'm a poor dishwasher in America.
[12:50] Oh, so sad.
[12:51] What Jane is talking about here is true suffering,
[12:54] persecution and injustice.
[12:56] I mean, you talked about that from the very beginning
[12:59] of James chapter one when we saw it,
[13:00] talks about how persecution and suffering grows us
[13:05] and grows our faith.
[13:06] And this is what he's talking to these believers
[13:08] who are being persecuted in suffering.
[13:10] So he says this in verse eight,
[13:12] to be patient for the Lord's coming
[13:16] in the midst of the suffering.
[13:17] Verse eight, you also be patient,
[13:20] establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord
[13:22] is at hand.
[13:23] Some, that's the ESV, some versions,
[13:26] like I know the whole man says, strengthen your hearts.
[13:29] I just like the idea of establish and strengthen,
[13:30] just like standing firm, be ready.
[13:33] And this idea, it's not considered the word patient,
[13:35] but just to strengthen something usually also takes time.
[13:39] You know, you think about being in the gym
[13:41] or going into your dorms, it takes time to do these things.
[13:45] That's just a little side point.
[13:46] There's this be patient and strengthen your hearts
[13:48] for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
[13:50] Now, I don't know about you,
[13:53] but when I hear about the coming of the Lord
[13:55] and to be patient for it, I think, yeah, okay, buddy,
[13:58] he'll be here when I'm long gone.
[14:02] That's typically what I think, when that day happens,
[14:04] which is foolish, prideful, and arrogant thinking.
[14:09] I mean, he says multiple times,
[14:10] we do not do the day of the hour.
[14:12] And we, for some reason, we always actually,
[14:14] it's not our lifetime,
[14:15] probably not even in our kid's lifetime.
[14:18] We just think it's some far thing in the future.
[14:20] But one thing I'm learning,
[14:23] especially since becoming a father,
[14:25] is that the days are long, but the years are short.
[14:28] The days are long and the years are short.
[14:30] Some days, most days, it feels like
[14:33] I can't get the kids to bed soon enough.
[14:36] I'm like, 7.30 is the bedtime.
[14:38] Maybe tonight, it's 5.30.
[14:40] And it just feels like, holy crap, this day needs to end.
[14:45] But the next thing I know, I've been married for five years,
[14:48] I have two wonderful daughters with one already two years old,
[14:51] and I think I'm missing it.
[14:53] I'm literally missing it.
[14:54] This time is flying by me and I'm trying to hold on
[14:57] and I feel like I'm missing it.
[14:59] I can't hold on to it.
[15:00] Or worse, it feels like there's been really good moments
[15:03] in my life and I didn't even realize it
[15:06] because I'm just trying to get through it.
[15:08] Just get through it, get through the day,
[15:09] get through the season, whatever.
[15:11] And the Christian life can be, is similar in that way.
[15:15] Now I'm not saying you should cherish those sufferings.
[15:18] Well, I guess scripture kind of does rejoice
[15:21] in your sufferings, but don't just let it fly by
[15:26] and not realize what God was doing in your life.
[15:29] Don't just let the season of your life just fly by
[15:32] and not realize that God has a purpose
[15:33] and he is working in your life.
[15:35] The days are long, but the years are short
[15:38] and Christ is coming.
[15:39] Augustine of Hippo, St. Augustine.
[15:46] I don't know, Jacob, is it Augustine or Augustine?
[15:48] - He said it right.
[15:49] - Okay, okay.
[15:50] He has this example.
[15:54] So he's saying here, Jacob is telling these people,
[15:58] hey, you're in your suffering.
[15:59] Be patient, strengthen your hearts.
[16:01] The Lord is coming soon.
[16:02] You might not see it, but he's coming.
[16:05] There is a purpose.
[16:06] And Augustine has this example of us being a person
[16:11] being up against a stained glass window.
[16:14] No, your face up against it and you're just looking at like,
[16:16] what am I looking at?
[16:17] It looks like garbage, shattered mess, essentially.
[16:21] And he gives this example of like, well,
[16:22] when you back away, you see the whole picture
[16:25] and you stay in glass to be extremely beautiful
[16:28] and magnificent and wonderful to look at.
[16:31] But when you're up close and in it, it feels like,
[16:33] oh my gosh, this is the worst thing
[16:34] I've ever seen in my entire life.
[16:36] But that's not the case.
[16:37] The Lord has the whole picture,
[16:39] so he has the whole purpose
[16:40] and everything that he is working,
[16:43] God is purposely working all things in our life,
[16:45] even if we can't see it.
[16:46] So strengthen your heart
[16:48] and be patient for the coming of the Lord.
[16:52] And I was starting to want to read also
[16:53] Revelation 21, one through five,
[16:55] because I think we lose sight of what it means
[16:58] at the coming of the Lord.
[16:59] Yes, you have, like this is the crux of it.
[17:04] It's something that we,
[17:05] when it says be patient and wait for the Lord,
[17:06] this is something we should be eagerly looking towards.
[17:08] So Revelation 21, one through five.
[17:10] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
[17:14] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away
[17:16] and the sea was no more.
[17:18] And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
[17:20] coming down out of heaven from God,
[17:22] prepares the bride and door for her husband.
[17:25] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
[17:26] "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.
[17:30] He will dwell with them.
[17:31] He will be his people.
[17:33] And God himself will be with them as their God.
[17:36] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes
[17:38] and death shall be known no more.
[17:40] Neither shall there be mourning nor crying
[17:42] nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.
[17:45] And he who has seated on the throne said,
[17:47] "Behold, I am making all things new."
[17:51] Also he said, write this down.
[17:52] The words are trustworthy and true.
[17:55] The Christian hope hinges on this return.
[17:58] It hinges on this return because in this return,
[18:01] all things will be made new and suffering is no more.
[18:03] So when he's talking about these Christians and James
[18:06] who are suffering, he's like,
[18:07] it is not gonna be forever.
[18:09] Christ is coming again and all things are gonna be made new.
[18:15] So strengthen your hearts and be patient.
[18:18] So on that day, he's gonna say,
[18:22] "My good and faithful servant, you have finished the race.
[18:25] Have you fought the fight?"
[18:27] And I wanna say, I strengthened, I was patient.
[18:30] I persevered through the suffering.
[18:32] James then continues on to this idea
[18:36] of the Lord's returning being near in verse nine.
[18:39] He says, "Do not grumble against one another brothers
[18:42] so you may not be judged.
[18:44] Behold, the judge is standing at the door."
[18:48] And this kinda goes back to the idea of honoring God
[18:52] with what you can control.
[18:54] 'Cause a lot of times, most of the time,
[18:57] you don't control the suffering that's happening in your life.
[18:59] You don't control a lot of the pain that's happening,
[19:02] but you can control how you treat others
[19:04] and how you use your tongue.
[19:05] And it kinda goes back to grumbling against one another.
[19:09] James was really hard on how, on the power of the tongue.
[19:13] Similar idea here, similar idea here.
[19:16] Do not grumble against one another.
[19:17] 'Cause yeah, in suffering, it is easy to be like,
[19:20] this guy, yada, yada, yada.
[19:22] Well, for example, I'm just gonna keep on the same train
[19:26] of, you know, when I lost my job.
[19:28] You know, lose my job.
[19:29] Me and Everett, we're on the Dave Ramsey
[19:32] Beans and Rice Special Diet.
[19:34] And we see friends maybe eating out steak every night
[19:39] and, you know, eating good food.
[19:41] And we could say, "You know what?
[19:43] They're a bunch of glans.
[19:44] Honestly, they're only able to eat that nice juicy ribeye
[19:46] because they're, you know, greedy
[19:49] and all they care about is money.
[19:50] I mean, if I had their money,
[19:52] I'd still be on the Dave Ramsey Beans and Rice Special.
[19:55] And I'd just get the rest away.
[19:56] That's what I would do.
[19:58] That's, a lot of times,
[20:00] I think when we're going through suffering,
[20:02] we look at other people's situations
[20:03] and we think they're sinning, they're wrong.
[20:06] How dare they?
[20:07] And this is really dangerous inside the church.
[20:12] So I read this book a long time ago
[20:15] and I actually want to reread it again
[20:16] 'cause it's been so long.
[20:16] But this part, I remember really sticking with me.
[20:19] So the Screwtape letters aren't familiar with it.
[20:21] Read by C.S. Lewis.
[20:23] And Screwtape is like this demon character
[20:27] writing to his nephew, Wormwood.
[20:30] And Wormwood is, so it's the point of view
[20:32] of the opposite side.
[20:34] Like God and Jesus, they're the enemy
[20:36] and they're the good guys.
[20:38] He has this patient who just became a Christian.
[20:41] And Screwtape is writing to his nephew, Wormwood,
[20:44] saying how you could get him to walk away from the enemy
[20:49] and to not follow the enemy steps.
[20:52] And he mentioned this as a way to,
[20:56] he describes the church and how to get his patient away
[20:59] from God.
[21:00] This is, so this is Screwtape writing to Wormwood.
[21:04] One of our great allies at present is the church itself.
[21:08] Do not misunderstand me.
[21:10] I do not mean the church as we see her spread out
[21:12] all throughout time and space
[21:14] and ruining eternity, terrible as an army with banners.
[21:18] First of all, I just love that first part
[21:20] how he paints the picture of like,
[21:22] hey, the church is actually,
[21:24] like the demons, they're terrified of the church.
[21:27] - The real. - Yeah, yeah.
[21:28] The real church.
[21:29] Because that I confess is a spectacle
[21:33] which makes our boldest temptors uneasy.
[21:35] But fortunately, it is quite invisible to these humans.
[21:39] All your patient sees is half finished sham Gothic erections
[21:43] on the new building estate.
[21:44] When he goes inside, he sees the local grocer
[21:47] with rather an oily expression on his face,
[21:49] bustling up to offer him one shiny little book
[21:52] containing a liturgy with neither of them understands.
[21:56] And one shabby little book containing corrupt texts
[21:58] of number of religious lyrics, mostly bad
[22:01] and in very small print.
[22:02] When he gets to his pew, he looks around him
[22:04] and sees a selection of neighbors he usually tries to avoid.
[22:07] He then goes down.
[22:09] Provided that any of those neighbors sing out of tune,
[22:11] have boots that squeak, double chins,
[22:14] find that really odd, or odd clothes,
[22:16] the patient will quite easily believe
[22:19] that their religion must therefore somehow be ridiculous.
[22:23] He continues on a little bit later.
[22:24] At the bottom, he believes he has run up
[22:27] a very favorable credit balance in the enemy's ledger
[22:31] by allowing himself to be converted.
[22:33] He thinks that he is showing great humility
[22:35] and condescension in going to church
[22:38] with these smug commonplace neighbors at all.
[22:41] Keep him in that state of mind as long as you can.
[22:44] So C.S. Lewis gives us a great example of saying,
[22:47] hey, one of the ways we're tempted
[22:49] is by focusing on others and all the other people's
[22:52] wrongdoings and talking about their double chins
[22:56] and their squeaky boots and their attitude and voices.
[22:59] And it makes us think, oh yeah, we deserve to be here.
[23:03] We did this, we climbed to the top.
[23:07] And the grumbling against one another
[23:11] happens when we're focused on everyone else
[23:13] and how imperfect they are.
[23:16] And this is natural.
[23:17] We naturally do this because we think we're awesome.
[23:20] We think we're gonna save the kingdom.
[23:22] We're gonna do it.
[23:23] Everyone here is gonna think, wow, they're awesome.
[23:26] I can't believe they're just living
[23:28] for the Lord like they do.
[23:29] That's definitely how we think.
[23:32] No, and the only way to combat this
[23:34] is to find yourself at the root of the cross
[23:37] and to remember all that we have been forgiven
[23:40] and all the ways God has been gracious to us.
[23:44] And to remember that the same grace and mercy
[23:47] that's been given to us is also to everyone else in the room.
[23:50] We are not the only ones that has been afforded this grace.
[23:54] And I don't know, a few years ago,
[23:56] might've been two, three years ago at this point now,
[23:58] I went through the Old Testament of like Genesis,
[24:01] Deuteronomy, James, Leviticus, all,
[24:04] and I say James, Joshua, Joshua.
[24:06] And one thing I love about that is,
[24:12] they have the Passover and different feasts
[24:14] or even in Moses' last speech.
[24:15] A huge central theme is remember.
[24:18] Remember the goodness of God.
[24:21] Remember the grace He has shown you.
[24:22] Remember His mercy.
[24:23] Remember, remember, remember.
[24:26] And we put ourselves at the foot of the cross
[24:28] and we remember God's goodness.
[24:30] It helps us to take our eyes off of other people's faults
[24:35] and onto our own and remember that,
[24:38] God is the one who has done this.
[24:40] When we remember God's mercy and grace towards us,
[24:43] our self-righteousness shrinks.
[24:45] And it reminds me, maybe there's correlations here.
[24:51] I don't know.
[24:52] It reminds me of this idea of Jesus' parable of the guy
[24:56] who had many deaths, who was forgiven many deaths.
[25:00] He goes to, Jesus gives this parable of a guy who has,
[25:04] I think, it says a million, millions worth of deaths.
[25:08] And he goes to the king.
[25:09] The king's gonna put him in jail until he pays off.
[25:11] And he begs the king and says,
[25:13] "Please, please, please, just forgive me, forgive me."
[25:16] And the king lets him go.
[25:17] He's not.
[25:18] And the guy asks for forgiveness.
[25:19] He goes, "Okay, you'll be free.
[25:20] "Your debts are forgiven."
[25:22] As soon as this guy leaves,
[25:24] he goes to the guy who only owes him $1,000 worth of debts
[25:27] and says, "Oh, pay me right now.
[25:29] "I want my money right now."
[25:30] The guy does the same thing, says, "Please, forgive me.
[25:32] "I can't pay it back right now, maybe later."
[25:35] And he has no mercy on him and throws him right to jail.
[25:38] And then it goes on and he's punished for it.
[25:42] But don't be the guy who has been forgiven of so much
[25:47] and then look at everyone else at the church and think,
[25:50] "Hey, you're doing it wrong," and all this other stuff.
[25:52] Now, it doesn't mean we don't call out sin,
[25:55] but don't be begrudging one another.
[25:58] Remember how much you have been forgiven
[26:00] and the grace that you have been shown.
[26:02] So he's given us three examples of patience.
[26:06] Farmer, trusting God with what you cannot control.
[26:09] And then a second example of patience he gives us
[26:12] is in verse 10, the prophets.
[26:15] As an example of suffering and patience, brothers,
[26:17] take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
[26:20] So we are to be patient like a prophet.
[26:24] And just like the farmer,
[26:25] we are reminded that patience does not mean inactivity.
[26:28] Patience does not mean inactivity.
[26:30] The prophet's job was to speak boldly the truth of God.
[26:34] And prophets are used as an example because most of the time,
[26:38] if not all the time, they were at risk of death
[26:40] anytime they spoke the word of God.
[26:42] When they went and spoke the word of God,
[26:43] good chance they were gonna get killed.
[26:44] And a lot of them did get killed
[26:46] for speaking the word of God.
[26:48] So they were an example of having suffering,
[26:50] being patient within the suffering.
[26:52] So in the midst of persecution and suffering,
[26:54] prophets spoke boldly the words of God.
[26:56] And this goes for us as well.
[26:58] In the middle of hardship,
[27:00] we are to speak about the goodness, the greatness,
[27:02] the wonder, the judgment, and the mercy of God.
[27:05] In the beginning of James, as I've already said,
[27:10] we have talked how suffering grows us and stretches us.
[27:15] Well, in times of suffering are oftentimes,
[27:17] if not the most golden opportunity
[27:19] to speak a word for the glory of God.
[27:21] When you're in the midst of suffering,
[27:23] it is a great opportunity to speak to the glory of God.
[27:27] 'Cause people see this.
[27:28] An example of this is when my grandma
[27:32] on my mom's side had cancer, when she was going through chemo,
[27:35] I remember she always said,
[27:38] "I wanna give the joy of the Lord."
[27:41] So she never complained.
[27:42] And she had stage four ovarian cancer, I think.
[27:47] So she had painful chemo,
[27:50] but she wanted to be an example of God's goodness and grace.
[27:53] So she was, and the nurses would come out on it,
[27:56] like never complained, sharing the gospel,
[27:59] just joyful in all of her suffering.
[28:02] And even on her deathbed,
[28:03] and maybe I'm getting the timeframe wrong,
[28:05] 'cause one thing I'm learning about myself
[28:07] is I block out all bad memories,
[28:08] is that, so on her deathbed, it was either days or weeks.
[28:15] I remember we were seeing her for like the last time,
[28:19] and not all of my family is saved on my mom's side
[28:21] or my dad's side.
[28:22] And my cousin on my mom's side was seeing her afterwards
[28:27] and only weeks or so to live.
[28:30] And her main goal was to tell her how much she loved him,
[28:33] but also to say how much Christ loved him.
[28:35] And even on her deathbed, doesn't have many words to say,
[28:40] she is on her deathbed saying,
[28:42] "The love of Christ is still for you."
[28:45] In the midst of suffering,
[28:46] she is speaking to the glory of God.
[28:49] And that is one way in what James is saying,
[28:53] to have patient and speaking truth in the midst of suffering.
[28:58] She wasn't focused on me and like,
[28:59] "I know I'm only gonna be here for a week,"
[29:01] and blah, blah, blah.
[29:02] No, her focus was to tell of the glory of God
[29:05] in the midst of the suffering.
[29:06] So we're to be patient like a farmer by trusting God
[29:09] in what we cannot control.
[29:10] Be patient like a prophet by speaking truth amidst suffering,
[29:14] and we are to have patience, as James says,
[29:17] like Job by hoping in God's purposes.
[29:20] So verse 11, "Behold, we consider those blessed
[29:24] who remain steadfast.
[29:26] You have heard of the steadfastness of Job.
[29:28] You have seen the purpose of the Lord,
[29:30] how the Lord is compassionate and merciful."
[29:33] So James is saying, "Job, Job, you know Job, right?
[29:38] Take him as your example of encouragement."
[29:41] Really, Job, a book of encouragement, you say.
[29:46] Not sure I've heard that one.
[29:48] So I don't know.
[29:50] I'm assuming a lot of people here know the story of Job.
[29:52] But if you don't, basically saying goes to God.
[29:56] God is saying, "Hey, look at my servant, Job.
[29:59] He worships me, he's faithful."
[30:01] And Satan says, "Yeah, 'cause look at all this stuff.
[30:05] He's super rich, he's got lots of kids,
[30:07] he's living high in the hard guy.
[30:10] Let me take all this stuff away from him
[30:12] and he'll curse you."
[30:14] So the Lord says, "Yes, you could take his stuff away
[30:17] from him, but don't kill him or his health."
[30:21] So God says, "Okay."
[30:23] So in the time of, I don't know,
[30:25] it's either days or hours, Job loses everything.
[30:29] He loses his house, his wealth.
[30:32] All seven, I think of his, I think it's seven kids,
[30:34] all die, all of them.
[30:36] He literally loses everything except his wife.
[30:39] And we're gonna see later on.
[30:41] Not a good thing.
[30:42] Surprised I was about to say, but we'll talk about later.
[30:46] So he loses all this stuff.
[30:48] And after he goes to the worst suffering
[30:51] anyone's ever experienced, he says,
[30:53] "Naked I've come from my mother's womb.
[30:55] Naked I will return.
[30:57] The Lord gives and the Lord taketh away.
[31:00] Blessed be the name of the Lord."
[31:02] I mean, just that itself is just insane.
[31:05] Scene switches, it goes back to God.
[31:10] And he goes back to Satan talking.
[31:14] And God's like, "Look at, he's still praising me, bro."
[31:18] And Satan goes, "Yeah, it's 'cause he has his health.
[31:21] Take away his health and surely he will curse you."
[31:25] And God says, "All right, take away his health,
[31:28] but don't kill him."
[31:30] Side note here, I love this story also.
[31:32] That just shows that Satan is just a dog on a leash.
[31:36] He has to, he's always going, "Can I do this?
[31:40] Can I do that?"
[31:42] And God grants permission.
[31:43] Even when he grants permission, it's with parameters.
[31:46] He sets the stage.
[31:48] This is how it's gonna go down.
[31:49] We typically think it's like these great cosmic powers.
[31:53] There's one cosmic power.
[31:54] And he rules all.
[31:55] And he's telling, saying what he can and cannot do.
[31:58] So he does it.
[32:00] He goes down to Job and he, he's suffering.
[32:04] He says he has boils from the top of his head
[32:07] to the bottom of his feet.
[32:08] And as he's scraping the boils off of his body, basically,
[32:13] his wife goes, "You still gonna be a man of integrity?
[32:17] How would you just curse God and die?"
[32:20] Thanks, hun, for the encouragement.
[32:24] I really appreciate it.
[32:25] There's a good wife you got there, Job.
[32:30] So the question is, why is this encouraging to believers,
[32:34] to the believers that James is talking to?
[32:37] Because they know the ending.
[32:39] They know the last five chapters.
[32:41] They see God meeting Job in his brokenness,
[32:44] in his suffering, with his terrible friends,
[32:47] with his terrible wife, and he heals Job,
[32:50] restores Job to all that he had tenfold, tenfold.
[32:55] And Job is the ultimate example,
[32:57] 'cause no one has suffered like Job.
[33:00] I mean, I know a lot of people in this room
[33:01] have went through tremendous suffering,
[33:04] but no one has lost other kids and have been homeless
[33:07] while dying from a deadly disease, all at the same time.
[33:11] He has the ultimate trump card of suffering,
[33:14] and that's why James uses him here.
[33:17] And James is saying, "Your suffering is not the end
[33:22] of the story.
[33:23] You have seen the purposes of the Lord
[33:25] and how he is compassionate and he is merciful.
[33:28] He is compassionate and he is merciful."
[33:30] So hang in there, be patient, hoping in God's purposes,
[33:34] and know that he is good.
[33:37] So we're gonna be patient like the farmer
[33:40] by trusting God with what we cannot control.
[33:42] Be patient like a prophet,
[33:44] and by speaking truth and suffering,
[33:46] we are to have patience like Job
[33:47] by hoping in God's purposes.
[33:50] Now verse 12 looks like he takes a hard left turn,
[33:56] and he's referring back to the power of our tongues.
[33:59] And he says, "Do not swear either by heaven or by earth
[34:03] or by any other oath,
[34:04] but let your yes be yes and your no be no,
[34:06] and so that you may not fall under condemnation."
[34:09] Now I'm not really gonna spend any time here,
[34:11] 'cause I really want the idea of being patient
[34:14] in our suffering to be a theme of today.
[34:16] But the passage is essentially saying here in verse 12,
[34:20] or the verse is saying here in verse 12,
[34:22] that faith that perseveres is trustworthy speech.
[34:26] Faith that perseveres is trustworthy speech.
[34:27] The words from our mouth should be consistent,
[34:29] dependable, and reliable.
[34:32] Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.
[34:34] In other words, be a person of honor and integrity.
[34:38] Don't let people doubt what you have to say.
[34:40] When your yes is yes and your no is no,
[34:42] people aren't left wondering.
[34:43] So that's all I'm gonna say about verse 12.
[34:47] And what I really just want us to remember
[34:48] is to be patient like the farmer,
[34:50] trusting God in what we cannot control.
[34:51] Be patient like a prophet,
[34:52] by speaking truth and suffering,
[34:55] and have patience like Job and hoping in God's purposes.
[34:59] All three know and trust in the Lord.
[35:03] So I just pray that you, or all of us,
[35:05] will know and trust the Lord and that he is good.
[35:08] There's a hymn, I think it's a hymn.
[35:13] I don't know what's a hymn and not a hymn anymore,
[35:15] that's hard to tell.
[35:17] But he will hold me fast, is that a hymn?
[35:21] He will hold me fast?
[35:22] Sounds like a hymn.
[35:24] It's a bad thing, it sounds like a hymn.
[35:26] And it just talks about like,
[35:28] in the midst of it all, he holds us fast.
[35:30] He is there with us through it all.
[35:32] So hopefully that will be our prayer
[35:34] that we will be reminded that he will hold us fast
[35:37] and that he is good.
[35:38] So I'm gonna pray and then we will close out in our song.
[35:42] Dear Heavenly Father,
[35:50] man, this is another week of, at least for me,
[35:55] seeing how I fall short and how I'm impatient
[36:00] and how I don't wanna wait,
[36:04] especially in the midst of suffering.
[36:07] I usually want it to be over and I'm usually praying
[36:09] for it to be over as soon as possible.
[36:12] My Lord, I just pray that in the midst of our suffering
[36:15] that we would know that your purposes are true
[36:18] and good and faithful, that we would trust you
[36:22] even though we do not understand what is going on.
[36:25] And in the midst of our suffering,
[36:27] I pray that we would not bash others around us,
[36:32] bash our situation,
[36:34] but still speak truth in all that you are
[36:38] and what you are doing.
[36:39] Lord, I'm thankful for examples like Job,
[36:45] men who have suffered more than literally,
[36:49] I can't even imagine.
[36:50] I would be absolutely crushed under the weight
[36:53] of his suffering.
[36:53] And yet he was still able to praise you.
[36:58] And he had hope in the promises that you had.
[37:01] What a great example that is.
[37:04] And he was able to have the hope
[37:05] because he knew who you were.
[37:07] Lord, I pray that we would know who you are,
[37:11] that we would know of your goodness
[37:13] and faithfulness and mercy.
[37:16] You are a wonderful, almighty God.
[37:18] And I pray that we would remember that
[37:22] and not think of you as someone who is just small
[37:26] and not a daily part,
[37:28] but you are part of it all in every part of our life.
[37:32] We love you.
[37:34] We pray all this in your name, amen.