James 5:13-20
Intro:
James ends his EPISTLE with – PRAYER
He begins with a series of QUESTIONS, all dealing with PRAYER…
1st of all, James asks:
James 5:13
13a Is anyone among you suffering?
The Word for suffering here is actually the word ‘AFFLICTION’
“To suffer evil affliction; or, to be AFFLICTED by evil”
Back in JAMES 5:10, James talked about –
The prophets SUFFERING AFFLICTION
“Suffering AFFLICTION is often the direct result of following Christ”
The Apostle Paul also spoke of SUFFERING from AFFLICTION:
2 Timothy 2:8-13
Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.
2 Timothy 1:8
“…do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me – in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,
We are to ENDURE———to SUSTAIN AFFLICTION
2 Timothy 2:3-4
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Paul in his FINAL WORDS to TIMOTHY exhorted him in –
2 Timothy 4:5
… be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
How often we feel like GIVING UP in the midst of AFFLICTION?!
But James says:
If you are suffering from AFFLICTION…what are we to do???
13b Let him pray.
How do we ATTAIN VICTORY in the MIDST of SUFFERING?
Go out to EAT?
Go to a MOVIE/ entertainment?
Get DRUNK or take DRUGS?
Go on VACATION?
Call a FRIEND?!
WORRY?!
GOD has a BUILT IN key to VICTORY in our SUFFERINGS — IT’S CALLED PRAYER!!!!
What is OFTEN times the LAST thing we do WHEN we are suffering? ——— Pray!!!! Right?!!!
Why WORRY when we can PRAY? Yet we often think:
Why PRAY when I can WORRY?!
WORRY is SO PRODUCTIVE isn’t it?!
Which of you by worrying can change a single thing?!
Most often what we do is TRY EVERYTHING else 1ST!
THEN, if none of our other remedies work, we say…
“I Might as well PRAY, everything else FAILED”
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints–
The TOOL over all AFFLICTION is ALWAYS the – POWER OF PRAYER!!!!!!
Are you suffering AFFLICTION this morning?
What should you do?
PRAY……WITHOUT…..CEASING…….
The next QUESTION JAMES asks is:
13c Is anyone cheerful?
Or HAPPY?!
Somebody once said:
“We’re either in a trial, coming out of a trial, or getting ready to go into trial.”
Maybe you’re NOT SUFFERING this morning?
Maybe you’re HAPPY?!
That’s a GOOD THING, RIGHT?!
What’s the CONTINUED REMEDY for JOY?
13d Let him sing psalms.
SINGING the PSALMS!
There is something about SINGING GODS Word!
Other music can be enjoyable, but PRAISE N WORSHIP in times of joy!!!!
Singing God’s Precious PROMISES back to HIM!
PRAISE and WORSHIPPING the LORD!!!
Music has TREMENDOUS POWER to MOVE us!!!!
When we SING God’s Word, we are making a DECLARATION of FAITH!
“Lord, this is what I believe!”
When we are in times of JOY………SING PRAISES!!!
Somebody once pointed out that 2 of the GREATEST GIFTS ignored in the CHURCH today are:
PRAYER and PRAISE!!!!
SO OFTEN…
When we’re HURTING, we DON’T pray like we should…
And when we’re JOY filled, we don’t PRAISE the LORD like we should!!!!
How OFTEN God answers our PRAYERS and yet in our JOY we FORGET our need to PRAISE HIM?!
I think of the 10 LEPERS Jesus healed and only ONE returned to PRAISE Him! Jesus said, we’re not there 10 of you? What happened to the other 9?
Sometimes the hardest time to seek the LORD is when times are GOOD; and I think that God often has allow the trials to get us back to PRAYER?!
But OH HOW GOOD IT is to be a PRAYING CHRISTIAN…..BEFORE the trials set in?!
If we want to live in CONSTANT VICTORY then we need to be on our KNEES in PRAYER; or on our TIP TOES in PRAISE!!!!!
RIGHT?!
When you’re HURTING;
* The way back to the KINGDOM is through PRAYER
When we are JOY FILLED;
* The way to WALK in VICTORY is through constant PRAISE!!!!
I would even recommend that PRAISING GOD through PRAYER will soften your SUFFERING
“I’m HURTING, but I’m going to COME TO GOD with a heart of THANKSGIVING and PRAISE!”
“Well, I don’t FEEL like PRAISING God…”
“Well then what you need to do is PRAISE GOD until you are filled with JOY!”
Hebrews 13:15
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
The reason GOD calls it a ‘SACRIFICE of PRAISE’ is because it COSTS us something!
It’s HARD to PRAISE GOD when we are:
Depressed - Discouraged – Despairing
But the KEY TO VICTORY over DEPRESSION; DISCOURAGEMENT and DESPAIR is to——–
Simply begin to THANK GOD———–PRAISE HIM!
Now we’re NOT PRAISING God because we LOVE our CIRCUMSTANCES, but we are PRAISING Him because we TRUST Him and He tells us in His word to PRAISE HIM!
To PRAISE the LORD in a time of DESPAIR is an ACT OF FAITH!!!!
Do you want to DEMONSTRATE your FAITH through a TRIAL?
Then PRAISE GOD! When the ENEMY is EXPECTING us to DESPAIR and be DISCOURAGED, PRAISE God and watch your life TURN AROUND!
When we DON’T FEEL like praising God through a trial, and yet we do; eventually our TRIALS TURN AROUND and our hearts are FILLED with JOY!
The only thing worse than most of our TRIALS, are the FEELINGS of:
* Despair; Discouragement and Desperation we often feel!
BUT! We must remember that our EMOTIONS are just EMOTIONS
We cannot base TRUTH on our FEELINGS!
LET ME ASK YOU:
Is God any less in control when we are DEPRESSED than when we are CHEERFUL? Not hardly!
The key here is to realize that God has already provided the NECESSARY ingredients for VICTORY…
NO MATTER WHAT we are facing—
* GOOD times and HARD times—
* God is always there!
Maybe today you’re NOT SUFFERING or CHEERFUL;
* Maybe your HEALTH isn’t WELL?
14a Is anyone among you sick?
‘SICK’ : “Without strength; powerless; sick. to be weak, spiritually as in faith”
14b 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.
What does the Bible tell us to do if there are any sick among us?
*STRESSED out?
Be filled with FEAR?
Be ANXIOUS?
I love it that that BIBLE gives us HOPE, even in our SICKNESS!!!
NOTICE here what James says:
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE to call for the ELDERS?———The SICK person, right?!
Too often we’ve had sick people in the hospital get back to church and they are all offended that nobody came to see them or pray over them…
BUT, if you’re sick and you DON’T TELL anyone, nobody will know.
There is a 2 PART relationship here:
#1. The SICK must call the ELDERS
#2. The ELDERS must PRAY and ANOINT the sick with OIL
#3. In that, God assumes the ANSWER to HEAL or not to HEAL
Sadly many MINISTRIES today do not believe in HEALING;
* They feel that the gift of HEALING went out with the Apostles
* And so they DON’T PRAY for their sick
They say that this refers to SPIRITUAL SICKNESS….I’m going to say YES! I think “sick” ALSO include the SPIRITUALLY SICK…anoint/ pray for them too!
I BELIEVE in the GIFT of HEALING and in the POWER of God!
I believe that GOD STILL HEALS and still does MIRACLES!
God healed me: encephalitis!!!!! (Lady at Church) lump in breast; Many others!!!!
Not that everyone we PRAY for and ANOINT with OIL will be healed;
But if we BY FAITH obey the WORD of God, He’ll do the REST!
Matthew 8:1-3
1 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.
2 And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
SOME GOD HEALS, and SOME God DOESN’T heal – and ONLY GOD knows why
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Many people say that these verses are a GUARANTEE that if you FOLLOW this ‘FORMULA’ that you are GUARANTEED to be healed; and if you don’t get healed, then:
You LACK FAITH
Or you have SIN in your life
But they fail to understand the GRACE of God
We must simply do what God has called us to do:
#1. If you are SICK – call the Elders
#2. Elders pray and anoint w/ oil
#3. Trust God for His SOVEREIGN answer
15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.
SICK here is different from V13:
“to be weary from constant work, causing physical, spiritual and emotional sickness.
“Weary of mind, which can hider physical recovery.”
The EFFECTUAL – FERVENT PRAYER of a righteous man ACCOMPLISHES MUCH!
It’s our PART to PRAY – and it’s GOD’S PART to RAISE him up
We CAN’T do the work of the LORD, ONLY God can heal – We PRAY and GOD does the WORK
15b And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
Now there are some sicknesses that are directly attributable to sin
There are certain venereal diseases that are usually contracted through fornication or illicit sexual relationships, and thus there is a direct tie between the sin and the healing.
I think of that man in Mark 2:1-12
There was a man brought to Jesus by his friends, who had palsy
This palsy usually was the result of a syphilis infection
And it was, as the brain was deteriorating, the body began to shake, uncontrollably.
The person sort of began to lose, in the final stages, much of the motor function capacities of the body.
This man was in sort of that final state, the palsy resulting from the infection and his friends brought him to Jesus for healing
And not being able to get into the house, you remember, because of the crowd, they went on the roof. They lifted some tiles and let the man down in his bed with ropes before Jesus.
And Jesus, looking at the man, said, your sins are forgiven
I imagine his buddies on the roof were upset! Lord, we didn’t tear the roof up so you could forgive his sin. We want our buddy to party with us again. We want him healed.
The Pharisees who were there had a very negative reaction. They said who does this man think he is, saying your sins are forgiven? Only God can forgive sin? And they were correct in their assessment. Only God can forgive sins.
And so Jesus was just proving that He was God. He said, what’s easier to say, your sins are forgiven or to rise, take up your bed and walk? Naturally, it’s easier to say, your sins are forgiven.
You know, you could go over to the mall and meet some kook, wild eyed, wearing a robe, going around and saying, your sins are forgiven! That’s easy to say. But you can’t prove it. You can’t show it. You can’t demonstrate it.
So it’s an easy thing to say. But if you say, rise, take up your cot and walk, if the fellow just lies there, you say, no, that guy’s a fraud! But if the guy rises, takes his cot and walks, then you say, oh wait a minute! What’s going on here? There’s power in that man’s word!
So Jesus said, what’s easier to say, your sins are forgiven? Or rise, take up your bed and walk? But that you might know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sin or that you might know that I am God! He then said to the man with the palsy, rise, take up your bed and walk. Now, as far as this man was concerned, who had the palsy, to hear the words, your sins are forgiven. I imagine it caused his heart to leap for joy! Because don’t you know that if you had committed, say the sin of fornication, or you gone to a prostitute, you had contacted syphilis, and you were in the final stages. Of course they didn’t have penicillin and other drugs to treat it in those days, and it went its course until you went insane and died. Don’t you know that as this disease was progressing in his body, that he was tormented and tortured by that experience that he’d had with the prostitute, where he became infected? As he would lie there, day after day, deteriorating, don’t you know that just plagued his mind? Why? How could I have it? That’s was so stupid! Why? Why? Why? It would have just absolutely plagued him. And for Jesus to say, your sin’s are forgiven. This heavy load of guilt, the shame, the disgrace, lifted!
And as David said, oh how happy is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sins have been covered!
And so oftentimes in the Scripture, there was a relationship between the sickness and sin.
But that isn’t always so and it is absolutely wrong and ludicrous to make that assumption when a person is sick, that they are suffering as a result of some sin. That it’s some punishment of God for sin in their life.
God help us! If that were so, none of us would be here this morning– We’d all be home sick!!!
16a Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
But be careful who you confess them to.
Illustration:
Three pastors had gone on a retreat.
As they were rooming together, they decided, here in James:
1) Confess your faults one to another
2) Pray for one another that you might be healed
The first pastor confessed to a problem with alcohol. And how that he kept a bottle even stashed in his desk at the church. And the real problem that he had with it. The second pastor confessed to a problem that he had with women. He was having an affair. They turned to the third and they said, what about you brother? He said, well, I have a real problem with gossip and I can’t wait to get out of here!
So be careful who you confess to!
And then this glorious promise! This glorious promise—
16b The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Effective, fervent prayer: “HEART felt PRAYER; The inspired prayer or the prayer of a righteous man wrought by the operation of the Holy Spirit”
The prayer that often rises out of desperation, out of tremendous need. I think, quite often, we’re rather cavalier in our prayer. But it’s the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man, avails much!
IT’S living a righteous life and PRAYING through our REQUESTS.
Keep on on asking, seeking, knocking !!!!
AVAILS MUCH: Has GREAT EFFECT. Capable of producing GREAT RESULTS!!!
AFFLICTED? pray!!! The Effectual fervent prayer accomplishes MUCH!!! THERE IS POWER IN prayer wrought by the HOLY SPIRIT!
And now to illustrate this—he talks to us about Elijah
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
Elijah was just a PLAIN, ORDINARY person just like us! He wasn’t anything special. He was just an ordinary person with like PASSIONS that we have. That’s what James is telling us here.
Yet he PRAYED EARNESTLY (effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man) that it would not rain
And God withheld the RAIN for 3.5 years!!!
Talk about the POWER of PRAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We’re tempted to WRITE it OFF as being ELIJAH;
BUT HE wasn’t anything special!
He had a NATURE just like OURS!!!
Can you begin to see how IMPORTANT & POWERFUL prayer is?!!!
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
What was the KEY? PRAYER!The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much…right?!!!
James closes his letter by saying,
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,
You GO to them; You TALK to them
You PRAY with them; You POINT out where they are going wrong
You TURN them from their ERROR
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Daniel wrote, he that wins souls is wise and shall shine as the stars forever and ever.
James tells you that if you lead a person out of error, one who has strayed from the truth. And another converts him, you’ll save the soul from death, from damnation, and God will wipe away their sins. You cover a multitude of sins.
The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son,
Cleanses a man from all sins
It covers a multitude of sins.
There is power in prayer and it begins with the prayer of confession and salvation and then followed out by a life lived by faith and daily prayer.
“Drawing Away” (Daily Devotions 2.22.11)
by Pastor Pete • on 6:58 PM • in 320, Job Commentary Notes
S – Scripture
Mark 1:35-38 (NASB)
In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. 36 Simon and his companions searched for Him; 37 they found Him, and said* to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” 38 He said* to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.”
O – Observation
Jesus was no man pleaser. Even though He came with the specific mission to die on the cross of Calvary for the souls of men, His goal was never to ‘live to fulfill the will of His followers.’ When the disciples got up one morning, Jesus was gone – no note, no explanation, He had simply left them to seek strength from His Heavenly Father in prayer. Prayer is the key to personal power and the ability to stay focused on ‘God’s calling’. Even Jesus who was fully God, needed that daily intimate time of prayer. When the disciples found Christ, they said “everyone is looking for You.” Sort of sounds like a guilt trip by the disciples and a vain effort to get Christ to worry about what man thinks – “You need to be more concerned about being there for people than wasting your time in prayer and doing the will of Him who sent You.” Very much the same priority that Martha had verses her sister Mary – Working for God is more important that your personal walk with Him. Jesus didn’t answer them. Jesus wasn’t in the least bit concerned about what they or anyone thought of Him. His objective was not to impress them so that they’d follow Him. His goal wasn’t popularity, it was simply to focus on the task that His Father had given Him. Jesus also needed to take care of His own spiritual walk and relation with His Father. Nothing in life was more important to Him than His relationship with His Father. Jesus did not surrender to the fear of man, He simply told His disciples “let’s go somewhere else”. He left the people who were wanting His time and attention and He just moved on – that’s what ultimately led to His ability to say ”It is finished” while hanging on the cross of Calvary. He didn’t come to ‘do everything’, He just came to fulfill the will of His Father upon His life. That was success. His job was not to impress or even meet the needs of man, it was to glorify His Father.
A – Application
Jesus today, You are my mentor! I want to be more like You and walk in the fear of God alone. My biggest struggle as a pastor is to daily wrestle over the fear and personal goals of man. I must be given exclusively to what God has called me to do. Man has not called me to preach, it is not man who I live for, and it will not be a man (any church member) who I will one day stand before at the Bema Seat and give an account of my life to. My goal and my objective today is to be fully given to a love relationship with my Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ my Lord. My focus today must not be upon the demands of men or what people think that I should be doing with my limited time as a Pastor. My calling is to be given to prayer and the Word of God, and then ‘let the chips fall where they may.” If people are offended by my unavailability, so be it – even Jesus wasn’t always available. I must focus on being available to God and doing the work of the ministry that Christ has set me apart to.
P – Prayer
Jesus, make me more like You. Help me to see today what priorities that You have given me. Thank You that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. Thank You that You have not called me to produce fruit, but simply to abide in the vine. And as I abide in You, I will think with Your mind, seek to accomplish Your plans and dwell in Your peace. Today I pray that I would be given to prayer and to the ministry of Your Word. Guard my mind from the fear of man, and the modern form of what America has made the church: programs, business meetings and committee meetings. Set my heart upon the work that You alone have given me. May the work of the ministry never come between me and my walk with You and may it always be a joy to serve You. I pray that You will always be #1 in my life, not ministry, not people, not anything but just You Lord. Teach me to walk and live in the fear of the Lord, and then I will not become fearful of the words of man. Thank You for my calling as a Pastor, may I glorify You today in all that I do as I live for You. Amen.