The Hope Of The Second Coming (James 5:7-12)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.240 James Five versus seven through twelve. This will be our text this evening. 2 00:00:10.710 --> 00:00:15.189 says. Be Patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. 3 00:00:16.589 --> 00:00:19.670 See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being 4 00:00:19.789 --> 00:00:25.739 patient about it, until it receives the early and the late reigns. You 5 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:29.699 also be patients. Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at 6 00:00:29.780 --> 00:00:33.859 hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may 7 00:00:33.899 --> 00:00:40.689 not be judged. Behold, the judge is standing at the door. As 8 00:00:40.770 --> 00:00:45.009 an example of suffering and patience. Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in 9 00:00:45.130 --> 00:00:49.369 the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed. Who remains 10 00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:55.159 steadfast? You have heard of the steadfastness of job. You have seen the 11 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:59.759 purpose of the Lord, how the Lord Is Compassionate and Merciful. But, 12 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:03.759 above all, my brothers, do not swear either by heaven or by Earth 13 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:07.150 or by any other oath. But let your yes be yes and your no 14 00:01:07.390 --> 00:01:11.230 be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. This is the 15 00:01:11.310 --> 00:01:17.269 word of God. Please be seated. Well, it is good to be 16 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:21.939 back with the saints of Covenant. Old PC has been awhile. I think 17 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:25.219 I haven't been it's been a year since I've been over here, so I've 18 00:01:25.260 --> 00:01:26.859 missed you. It's good to be back. Thank you for inviting me. 19 00:01:29.700 --> 00:01:34.609 You know our text this evening. It comes near the the end of this 20 00:01:34.730 --> 00:01:40.849 very practical book of James. Much like the rest of James Letter. It's 21 00:01:40.890 --> 00:01:46.930 important. James has some important things to say to us about practical wisdom. 22 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:51.680 He says to us in these verses. He talks to us about patience and 23 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:57.799 steadfastness and about reckoning with the future when making decisions in the presence. So 24 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:02.349 let me pray for God's help in understanding this important passage tonight. Let's pray. 25 00:02:05.709 --> 00:02:08.830 O Lord, we asked that you would help us to not only understand 26 00:02:08.870 --> 00:02:15.740 your word, but to believe your word and then to do your word, 27 00:02:16.099 --> 00:02:21.060 being transformed by the spirit, that the law might be written on our hearts. 28 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:27.259 These things we ask in Jesus name. I'm in as some of you 29 00:02:27.300 --> 00:02:31.689 may know, I I spent a large part of my adult life in the 30 00:02:31.689 --> 00:02:38.810 United States army and a lot of that time was teaching in the army school 31 00:02:38.810 --> 00:02:46.719 system. have any of you ever heard of the army way of teaching and 32 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:53.039 know some of the folks from Rencon Mountain. I told him about this last 33 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:59.189 week. So here's the army way of teaching. It's basically this. You 34 00:02:59.229 --> 00:03:04.349 tell him what you're going to tell him, then you tell him, then 35 00:03:04.389 --> 00:03:09.030 you tell them what you just told them and then finally you review. You 36 00:03:09.110 --> 00:03:13.460 tell him what you're going to tell him, then you tell him, then 37 00:03:13.539 --> 00:03:15.060 you tell him what you just told them and then you refuge. Well, 38 00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:22.099 James Basically does the same thing here. In these verses. He commands be 39 00:03:22.219 --> 00:03:28.530 patient, then he gives us an illustration of the patient farmer and then he 40 00:03:28.689 --> 00:03:32.650 repeats the command be patient. Then he goes on to give two more illustrations 41 00:03:32.729 --> 00:03:38.569 of patient endurance or steadfastness. He talks about the prophets and he gives the 42 00:03:38.650 --> 00:03:42.439 example of job. You know, it's a good way to teach. It 43 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:46.800 gets through to most people. I think it gets through to army people and 44 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:52.599 I'm sure it gets through the good presbyterians too. So we'll just have to 45 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:59.349 wait and see if it's a good way tonight. Now the key terminology of 46 00:03:59.430 --> 00:04:03.750 this passage are forms of two different word groups, meaning patients three times in 47 00:04:03.909 --> 00:04:11.620 versus seven and eight once in verse ten, and steadfastness twice in Verse Eleven. 48 00:04:13.099 --> 00:04:17.939 Now, in these verses, patients is the self restraint that does not 49 00:04:18.180 --> 00:04:27.889 hastily retaliate against the wrong. Patience is the self restraint that doesn't hastily retaliate 50 00:04:28.730 --> 00:04:36.569 whenever you're wrong, and steadfastness is the temper that does not easily succumb under 51 00:04:36.649 --> 00:04:42.959 suffering. It's the temper that doesn't easily succumb under suffering. So they're very 52 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:49.199 closely related terms. I think it's interesting that they describe a distinctly Christian virtue 53 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:53.949 which is not a virtue. Was Not a virtue at all to the Greeks, 54 00:04:55.589 --> 00:04:58.910 you know, for the Greeks that was a virtue not to tolerate any 55 00:04:59.069 --> 00:05:05.509 insult or injury without taking vengeance. Reminds me of what many Americans do today. 56 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:11.939 You know, I think one of our cultural characteristics is that we demand 57 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:15.259 our rights, you know, we stand up for them. Don't tread on 58 00:05:15.459 --> 00:05:23.209 me that sort of thing. But James says here that for Christians the virtue 59 00:05:23.209 --> 00:05:29.930 of patience and steadfastness is to be able to take revenge but to refuse to 60 00:05:30.050 --> 00:05:34.800 do so. I think it's also important to note here that throughout this short 61 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:44.160 passage the fundamental motivation for such patience and steadfastness is the coming of the Lord, 62 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:51.550 both in Salvation And in judgment. You know Mark Lauderback, our assistant 63 00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:59.110 pastor at Rencon Mountain. He preached a wonderful sermon on our Eastern Sunrise Service 64 00:05:59.189 --> 00:06:05.180 entitled the hope of the Resurrection is Tex was First Corinthians fifty eight. Therefore, 65 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:12.860 my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work 66 00:06:12.939 --> 00:06:15.819 of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your Labor is not in vain. 67 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:19.490 So the work of the Lord that that Paul focused on in First Corinthians 68 00:06:19.610 --> 00:06:26.889 fifteen is the Christians hope of Christ's resurrection. Now the work of the Lord 69 00:06:27.009 --> 00:06:31.449 that James Focuses on here in our passage this evening, as the Christians Hope, 70 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:38.519 is the last great event in redemptive history. It's the second coming of 71 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:43.519 Christ. So keep your bibles open. There to James Five, and let's 72 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:47.069 take a look at these verses, versus seven through twelve. I think you 73 00:06:47.149 --> 00:06:53.029 will have noticed how many times James says brothers in this passage. I count 74 00:06:53.149 --> 00:06:57.750 four times, and we know that when he says brothers he means brothers and 75 00:06:57.870 --> 00:07:04.620 sisters. So he's talking to us. James is talking to Christians, two 76 00:07:04.660 --> 00:07:12.060 believers, who are enduring trials, and he's concerned to set before us the 77 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:15.970 proper attitude, the proper frame of mind that we have to have if we're 78 00:07:15.970 --> 00:07:20.129 going to persevere to the end. He's concerned that we have the right focus 79 00:07:20.529 --> 00:07:26.490 in our lives if we're going to be able to respond to the trials of 80 00:07:27.009 --> 00:07:30.439 life and an appropriate and Christian way. And so we see James advised to 81 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:34.120 us in these verses is too old, very simple. First he says be 82 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:41.199 patient when you suffer. Then second he says remains steadfast when you suffer. 83 00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:48.269 Now, in the first six verses of Chapter Five, James Talks about rich 84 00:07:48.389 --> 00:07:55.509 people who oppressed the poor and he gives them a strong warning not to do 85 00:07:55.709 --> 00:08:00.899 that. He says don't do that, because God sees, God hears all 86 00:08:01.019 --> 00:08:05.819 this. And having said that to the rich, he then turns his attention 87 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:13.769 in verse seven to those the rich were taking advantage of. He told the 88 00:08:13.810 --> 00:08:18.930 rich not to oppress the poort. But since I think he assumes that in 89 00:08:18.089 --> 00:08:22.449 most cases they won't stop this, then what are the poor to do? 90 00:08:24.410 --> 00:08:30.319 How are they to act in the face of this? So James tells them 91 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:33.159 here in the first place to be patient. I want you to notice that. 92 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:37.840 He's not telling them to be patient because there's nothing else that they can 93 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:41.750 do. He's not telling them that. He's not telling them to be patient 94 00:08:41.909 --> 00:08:46.110 because maybe the rich will then treat them a little better. That's not what 95 00:08:46.190 --> 00:08:50.309 he says here. He says, brothers and sisters, be patient, remembering 96 00:08:50.429 --> 00:08:56.820 the kind of Lord you serve. When you remember that, you remember that 97 00:08:56.940 --> 00:09:01.779 the God you serve is a just God, that the Lord, Jesus Christ, 98 00:09:01.940 --> 00:09:07.220 his son, is coming again in judgment. The time is coming when 99 00:09:07.299 --> 00:09:15.049 the injustices that are now being inflicted will all be made right. You knows, 100 00:09:15.090 --> 00:09:18.090 I'm thirty seven. I think is a marvelous song of encouragement to righteous 101 00:09:18.129 --> 00:09:24.679 people. Let me just read a couple of verses from Psalm thirty seven. 102 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:31.720 Let me read verses one through nine of this wonderful psalm. It talks about 103 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:37.360 this. David says, Fret not yourself because of evil doers. Be Not 104 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:43.990 envious of wrong doers, for they will soon fade like the grass, whether 105 00:09:45.149 --> 00:09:50.629 like the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in 106 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:54.059 the Land and befriend faithfulness, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give 107 00:09:54.100 --> 00:10:01.340 you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust 108 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:07.889 in him and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the 109 00:10:07.929 --> 00:10:15.649 light and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait 110 00:10:15.809 --> 00:10:20.129 patiently for him. Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, 111 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:28.799 over the man who carries out evil devices. Refrain from anger, forsake 112 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:35.639 wrath. Fret Not Yourself. It tends only to evil, for the evil 113 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:41.149 doers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit 114 00:10:41.870 --> 00:10:46.950 the land. You know, God saints are described in that wonderful psalm as 115 00:10:46.950 --> 00:10:50.980 they're poor and they're needy. There are suffering persecution at the hands of wicked 116 00:10:52.059 --> 00:10:56.539 people, and they're tempted to be envious of the prosperity the wellbeing of the 117 00:10:56.620 --> 00:11:01.580 wicked and, I think, even paradoxically, to be impatient for the wicked 118 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:07.570 to receive judgment. But in that situation, and we've all been there, 119 00:11:09.169 --> 00:11:13.570 the psalmist encourages the right it's to be still before the Lord and to wait 120 00:11:13.649 --> 00:11:20.279 patiently for him. Not to get angry, because God will certainly vindicate the 121 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:26.440 Righteous and destroy the wicked. Well, James says the same thing here. 122 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:33.509 He's writing to believers who are suffering, people who believe in a future world 123 00:11:33.629 --> 00:11:37.509 beyond this one. They believe in a sovereign Lord. They believe in justice, 124 00:11:39.110 --> 00:11:43.990 because God is a just God. James says to them, if you're 125 00:11:45.029 --> 00:11:52.139 oppressed, then be patient, because when Jesus comes back, justice will be 126 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:58.539 done. So he wants them to focus in on that day of the coming 127 00:11:58.580 --> 00:12:03.889 of the Lord Jesus. They need to live their lives in light of that 128 00:12:03.129 --> 00:12:07.889 specific focal point. You know, it's the coming of Christ for which we're 129 00:12:07.889 --> 00:12:13.450 all waiting. All of life is to be lived in light of that event, 130 00:12:15.210 --> 00:12:20.039 which is the next grade and also the last great event in redemptive history, 131 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:24.840 and it's in that sense it's coming soon. James says so here. 132 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:31.950 So James is saying to us that the Christian life is not a sprint. 133 00:12:33.669 --> 00:12:39.389 The Christian life is a marathon and the finish line is the second coming, 134 00:12:39.429 --> 00:12:45.299 and it's not anything less than that. I think he's saying that we need 135 00:12:45.419 --> 00:12:52.059 to cultivate a mindset for the long haul. We need to patiently wait for 136 00:12:52.139 --> 00:12:56.259 that next great event and redemptive history, the coming of Christ. The Christian 137 00:12:56.299 --> 00:13:01.370 life is then, as one author, Eugene Peterson, I think it was 138 00:13:01.090 --> 00:13:05.049 he, called it. He called it a long obedience in the same direction. 139 00:13:07.289 --> 00:13:11.289 Now the direction, the goal, the purpose, the aim is the 140 00:13:11.409 --> 00:13:16.440 coming of Christ. To get here, James Cells us were to be faithful 141 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:22.120 and patient as we wait for that day, and James Uses as an example 142 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:30.350 here that of a far armor who has to patiently wait for the earth to 143 00:13:30.470 --> 00:13:37.950 produce his crops. Tad You can confirm this. He plants the seed at 144 00:13:37.070 --> 00:13:41.820 the time of the early autumn, October rains, that he has to wait 145 00:13:41.940 --> 00:13:48.299 for the necessary late spring rains which caused the grain to mature for the harvest. 146 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:56.610 You know, there's a story told about an ungodly farmer who lived in 147 00:13:56.649 --> 00:14:03.450 a predominantly Christian community. All the other farmers observed the Lord's Day and they 148 00:14:03.490 --> 00:14:07.570 went to church on Sunday. This man's farm was right across the road from 149 00:14:07.610 --> 00:14:13.320 the Church and so, to demonstrate his independence from God, he made it 150 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:18.840 a point to plow his feels on Sunday mornings. Every Sunday he did that. 151 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:26.230 The summer went by, harvest came and after the harvest this man wrote 152 00:14:26.269 --> 00:14:33.429 a letter to the local newspaper explaining his position. He said, all summer 153 00:14:33.509 --> 00:14:39.299 long, when others went to church, I've been working my fields. God 154 00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:43.779 hasn't punished me for my action. In fact, not only have my crops 155 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:50.379 succeeded, but I've even been able to raise more crops than those who rested 156 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:54.450 one day of the week. What do you say to that? Well, 157 00:14:54.529 --> 00:14:58.769 the editor of the paper, who was a Christian. He printed the letter 158 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:03.210 in full, but down at the bottom, under this man's article, he 159 00:15:03.289 --> 00:15:11.000 added this. He said God doesn't settle his accounts in October. This is 160 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:18.159 what James says here. We may undergo persecution in this life, we may 161 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:22.990 endure trouble, we may see the wicked prospering while we're suffering, but that's 162 00:15:24.029 --> 00:15:28.110 not the end of the matter. God will eventually, when he comes back, 163 00:15:30.110 --> 00:15:35.899 maybe tomorrow, he will eventually settle his accounts. You see, it's 164 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:41.460 only the October of our lives. In the meantime we have to wait patiently 165 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:46.460 for the spring, rings wait patiently for Christ to come back. Then he 166 00:15:46.620 --> 00:15:52.769 will set things right. Some of you know how much I love to read. 167 00:15:54.690 --> 00:16:04.360 I particularly military history and biographies of Great Military Leaders. I recently read 168 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:10.639 an account of the Duke of Wellington and his great battle against Napoleon at the 169 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:15.399 battle of Waterloo. Some of you may know that Wellington's army was basically in 170 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:21.110 experience. To it was full. He had nothing but raw recruits. It's 171 00:16:21.149 --> 00:16:25.470 all he had. They weren't battle hardened. He didn't have many very veterans. 172 00:16:25.509 --> 00:16:32.230 He was short of noncommissioned officers. Didn't have many commissioned officers. So 173 00:16:32.429 --> 00:16:37.940 this was his simple strategy against Napoleon and the French army. His battle plan 174 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:47.929 was basically this. Get pounded all day and wait for the Prussians. Get 175 00:16:48.009 --> 00:16:52.889 pounded all day and wait for the Prussians. That was it. He couldn't 176 00:16:52.929 --> 00:16:57.809 attack. The only thing he could do was to stand there and wait until 177 00:16:57.889 --> 00:17:03.000 his ally, the Prussians, got there, to hold on and tell the 178 00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:07.640 Prussians arrived and could then amount an attack against Napoleon. And that's what he 179 00:17:07.720 --> 00:17:11.920 did at Waterloo. He got pounded all day, but he held on. 180 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:19.269 The PRUSSIANS arrived and the battle of Waterloo was one. You See, the 181 00:17:19.349 --> 00:17:26.190 point while Wellington had to focus on was the arrival of the Prussians. If 182 00:17:26.190 --> 00:17:32.980 they didn't arrive, game over, but when they arrived, victory was at 183 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:37.740 hand, and I think in a very real sense, you know, that's 184 00:17:37.779 --> 00:17:44.410 the way the Christian life is. We may be getting pounded all day, 185 00:17:45.089 --> 00:17:52.609 but we need to patiently endure until Christ comes again and victory is at hand. 186 00:17:55.250 --> 00:17:57.450 Well, James goes on here in verse and I and he he also 187 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:04.240 warns Christians not to be grumblers while we patiently wait. I think we can 188 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:08.920 understand why James puts this in here, can't we? Now? Isn't this 189 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:18.869 grumbling one of the temptations that almost always accompanies the presence of difficult circumstances like 190 00:18:18.990 --> 00:18:23.710 these that James Describes here? It is, I think, blaming others. 191 00:18:25.390 --> 00:18:32.099 It's a form of impatience. Typically, we vent our frustration on those who 192 00:18:32.099 --> 00:18:36.660 are near us, the members are our family, the members of our spiritual 193 00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:41.099 community. You know, I've said this to many people. I think men 194 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:45.410 often come home after a tough day and what do you do? What do 195 00:18:45.490 --> 00:18:48.130 they often do? Well, we kick the dog with you out the wife. 196 00:18:48.970 --> 00:18:53.609 You know, I think the thought here. It's akin to what we 197 00:18:53.730 --> 00:18:59.839 find in proverbs twenty, verse twenty two. Do not say I will repay 198 00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:06.079 evil. Wait for the Lord and he will deliver you. You know, 199 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:08.839 so many of our hard words, whether or not we admit it to ourselves, 200 00:19:11.430 --> 00:19:15.549 they're they're an expression of our own impatience, you know, our sense 201 00:19:15.630 --> 00:19:21.509 of having been wronged and the Lord not doing anything about it. So what 202 00:19:21.630 --> 00:19:25.980 do we do? We often take matters into our own hands, and that 203 00:19:26.140 --> 00:19:30.700 almost never turns out to be good. I think we need to watch our 204 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:34.380 words because, as James says here, the coming of the Lord is at 205 00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:42.289 hand. He says, the judge is standing at the door. You know, 206 00:19:42.410 --> 00:19:47.690 one of my favorite hymns is for all the saints, was written in 207 00:19:47.809 --> 00:19:51.130 one thousand nine hundred and six by Ralph Vaughan Williams. You know what? 208 00:19:51.250 --> 00:19:53.720 We sang it often at funerals. It's going to be our closing him this 209 00:19:53.839 --> 00:20:02.519 evening. The premise of that wonderful hymn for all the saints. It's it. 210 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:07.000 Basically it's a prayer of Thanksgiving to God for the way he caused his 211 00:20:07.150 --> 00:20:11.390 people to persevere to the end, that God was their hope, their one 212 00:20:11.549 --> 00:20:15.789 true light during some of their dark days. You know, in the last 213 00:20:15.789 --> 00:20:22.339 two stands has William is, he speaking of our resurrection when Christ comes again 214 00:20:22.380 --> 00:20:26.099 in the last day. And this is what he says. These are the 215 00:20:26.140 --> 00:20:32.579 last two standsas of that him, he says. But low there breaks a 216 00:20:32.619 --> 00:20:40.250 yet more Glorious Day. The saints triumphant rise and Bright Array. The King 217 00:20:40.369 --> 00:20:48.930 of glory passes on his way, Allelujah, Allelujah, from Earth's wide bounds, 218 00:20:48.049 --> 00:20:53.279 from oceans farthest coast, through gates of Pearl Streams in the countless host 219 00:20:55.319 --> 00:21:02.480 saying to father, son and Holy Ghost, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. You know, 220 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:07.990 that's the point, isn't it? That's what we're working for, isn't 221 00:21:07.029 --> 00:21:14.470 it? That's quite that's why Christians do what they do. That's our hope, 222 00:21:14.630 --> 00:21:19.339 isn't it? You know, true confessions, there are points in my 223 00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:26.099 life, as I know there are in yours. I get discouraged in ministry. 224 00:21:27.900 --> 00:21:33.930 No, I'm I get discouraged by my own sin, when I came 225 00:21:33.049 --> 00:21:40.730 in repeatedly to my wayward desires, my disordered desires, when I wonder why 226 00:21:40.730 --> 00:21:48.960 I'm doing this. You know all this too. Then I remind myself that 227 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:55.400 there will come a day when I will stand with all of you and we 228 00:21:55.559 --> 00:22:02.589 will see the King of glory passing on his way and we'll turn to one 229 00:22:02.630 --> 00:22:08.069 another and we'll say, this is why we did it, this is why 230 00:22:08.150 --> 00:22:11.430 we preach, this is why we witness, this is why we prayed, 231 00:22:11.670 --> 00:22:18.980 this is why we worked. This is what we were hoping for, you 232 00:22:18.099 --> 00:22:21.779 know, where we were hoping for, the day when we would see the 233 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:26.660 coming King of glory right passing on his way. And, Dear ones, 234 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:33.369 let me tell you this. We can't endure patiently anything, anything if that 235 00:22:33.529 --> 00:22:40.049 is our hope, and that's what James is telling us here. We've got 236 00:22:40.170 --> 00:22:45.200 to fix our eyes, he says, establish our hearts on the coming of 237 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:48.759 the King of glory and then, in the midst of trials, that God 238 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:55.599 will surely bring our ways, whatever they are, we will be able to 239 00:22:55.759 --> 00:23:03.509 patiently endure them. Well, James goes on, he continues. He tells 240 00:23:03.549 --> 00:23:08.630 us we're not only to be patient, but we're also to remain steadfast. 241 00:23:08.869 --> 00:23:15.019 It's a little bit different not to succumb to anger, bitterness, you know, 242 00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:19.500 under temptation, trials, frustrations. You know, I think one problem 243 00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:26.299 that that we have with patience is that it almost always appears to us to 244 00:23:26.380 --> 00:23:30.849 be passive, not doing anything. You know, you're probably like me. 245 00:23:30.970 --> 00:23:37.250 We're usually activists, like most of us are, activists. We often get 246 00:23:37.289 --> 00:23:41.599 this false idea that that for us to exercise patient we have to sit quietly, 247 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:48.599 no hold our tongue, wait and trust is someday will be vindicated by 248 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:52.000 God. Stiff upper lip, let go and let God and all that. 249 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:57.670 You know. There might be a little truth in that, but not much, 250 00:24:00.190 --> 00:24:03.670 and I think that what James is getting at here in these concluding verses 251 00:24:03.750 --> 00:24:07.829 when he says it were to be not only patient but were to remain steadfast, 252 00:24:08.150 --> 00:24:14.779 is that we're to be patient in an active way, remaining steadfast, 253 00:24:14.940 --> 00:24:18.539 standing firm. I think that suggests that we're to hold tightly to what we 254 00:24:18.660 --> 00:24:26.089 have, bearing up under opposition, praising God, but laying hold of of 255 00:24:26.210 --> 00:24:32.130 all this ammunition that God gives us. Not only laying hold of it, 256 00:24:32.250 --> 00:24:37.890 but shooting it in the right direction. Think it means giving testimony to the 257 00:24:37.049 --> 00:24:45.319 Gospel whenever that situation demands it presents itself, never repeating and never retreating from 258 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:52.400 what we know. Means that we're to endure as the ambassadors of Christ. 259 00:24:52.269 --> 00:24:56.869 You have a mission assigned to us. We're to make sure that we really 260 00:24:56.950 --> 00:25:04.029 live for him, that were we should always be about his business. You 261 00:25:04.069 --> 00:25:10.859 know, in James Time is today. Christians often respond to this. Well, 262 00:25:10.900 --> 00:25:15.019 that's easy for you to say. You're not suffering like I'm suffering. 263 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:22.289 If you were, you wouldn't say those things. And to answer the those 264 00:25:22.329 --> 00:25:29.250 objections, James is pretty wise here. He gives a couple of examples of 265 00:25:29.369 --> 00:25:33.650 the suffering of Godly men in history and he reminds people that they went through 266 00:25:33.809 --> 00:25:40.920 only what other Christians have experienced. First and versus to ten and eleven. 267 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:45.039 He directs their attention to the Prophets. Now it's interesting he doesn't name the 268 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:51.190 prophets that he has in mind here, but all of these prophets endured some 269 00:25:51.390 --> 00:25:57.069 sort of rejection, some short of abuse in their lives. Moses, Moses 270 00:25:57.109 --> 00:26:02.349 had to put up with a stiff neck, rebellious, grumbling Israelites. You 271 00:26:02.430 --> 00:26:07.180 know, the Israelites were always griping about something and they almost always blamed him 272 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:10.420 for what they were going through. And when they were blaming him, of 273 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:21.569 course they were blaming God. David was relentlessly pursued by Saul Jeremiah. He 274 00:26:21.730 --> 00:26:26.890 endured opposition throughout his ministry and it was they brought him so much sorrow that 275 00:26:26.970 --> 00:26:33.799 he became known as what as the weeping Prophet Ezekiel endured the death of his 276 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:38.519 wife during the course of his ministry. Now Daniel, he was ripped from 277 00:26:38.519 --> 00:26:41.680 his homeland as a teenager. He was they he was sixteen years old. 278 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:48.190 Later he was thrown into a den of lines because of his faithfulness to God. 279 00:26:49.390 --> 00:26:56.069 Hoseiah endured a heartbreaking marriage. Amos face lies, lies and scorn. 280 00:26:57.390 --> 00:27:02.019 In the New Testament, John the Baptist was imprisoned. He was beheaded for 281 00:27:02.140 --> 00:27:07.940 his testimony of God's truth. You know, Hebrews Lovin list this whole host 282 00:27:08.099 --> 00:27:11.740 of lesser known prophets who were it says. They're in Hebrews Eleven. They 283 00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:15.849 were jeered and flogged, they were chained and imprisoned, they were stoned, 284 00:27:17.009 --> 00:27:22.009 they were sought into they were put to death by the sword and went around 285 00:27:22.049 --> 00:27:29.650 in sheepskin and goat skins, destitute, persecuted, mistreated. You know, 286 00:27:29.730 --> 00:27:36.519 we think of Stephen. As he was being stone he reminded his executioners that 287 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:41.319 there was not a messenger that God had sent who had not been rejected in 288 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:47.109 his time. Stephen said, was there ever a prophet your father's did not 289 00:27:47.309 --> 00:27:52.069 persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the righteous one, 290 00:27:52.670 --> 00:28:00.339 and of course, the righteous one, the epitome, the culmination of God's 291 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:06.660 revelation, the Messenger who was, above all other messengers, the coming King. 292 00:28:07.539 --> 00:28:14.650 He was killed as well. Now hear what James is not saying. 293 00:28:15.089 --> 00:28:18.890 He's not he's not encouraging us here to seek out persecution, but he is 294 00:28:19.049 --> 00:28:25.849 saying that if you and dure persecution for the sake of righteousness, you need 295 00:28:25.970 --> 00:28:30.240 to also remember that it's not in common for that to happen to God's people. 296 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:36.359 We should expect it. You know, all the profits suffered for their 297 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:41.119 person for their testimony. Are we to think, then, that simply because 298 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:47.029 we live in America, we won't suffer for our profession of faith, when 299 00:28:47.109 --> 00:28:52.069 we remain steadfast, when we take a stand for God's teaching and attempt to 300 00:28:52.150 --> 00:28:56.019 live by that teaching? Do we really think that we won't pay for that? 301 00:28:56.180 --> 00:29:00.140 Of course we will. We will pay for that. But James says, 302 00:29:00.259 --> 00:29:07.019 we will be blessed if we endure, if we remain steadfast. Now, 303 00:29:07.140 --> 00:29:14.890 what we go through now is nothing, nothing compared to the glory that 304 00:29:15.009 --> 00:29:18.890 awaits us when Christ comes back to meet us in the air and take us 305 00:29:18.890 --> 00:29:26.799 to heaven. So James says here very clearly. Remember the prophets. Be 306 00:29:26.920 --> 00:29:32.640 encouraged to run your Christian race with Diligence and faithfulness to the end, because 307 00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:38.910 it's worth it. So James doesn't mention any specific profits here, but he 308 00:29:38.990 --> 00:29:45.109 does mention one individual, not a prophet so far as we know, but 309 00:29:45.309 --> 00:29:52.150 nevertheless one whose name is nearly synonymous with patient suffer ring, and that's this 310 00:29:52.309 --> 00:29:56.859 man job. You know, most of us are familiar with this incredible story 311 00:29:57.740 --> 00:30:02.420 of the endurance of job and many trials. Let me just give you a 312 00:30:02.460 --> 00:30:08.529 quick summary of it. Job was a righteous man. He certainly wasn't sinless, 313 00:30:11.009 --> 00:30:17.490 but he did live an upright life before God. And job endured unimaginable, 314 00:30:17.690 --> 00:30:23.680 unexplained suffering. You know, the fierce attacks of Satan resulted in the 315 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:30.440 loss of all these kids, lost his wealth, his health, he lost 316 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:34.119 his reputation and, I think worst of all, he lost his sense of 317 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:40.069 God's presence in his life. Now, it's true, if you've read the 318 00:30:40.069 --> 00:30:44.750 book of Job, you know that he did vocalize his misery. He bemoaned 319 00:30:44.750 --> 00:30:51.019 the terrible counsel of those misguided would be friends that he had. He cried 320 00:30:51.059 --> 00:30:56.900 out in confusion to God, why is this happening? Yet through all of 321 00:30:56.059 --> 00:31:02.299 this, even though he didn't understand why all this was happening to it happening 322 00:31:02.420 --> 00:31:07.569 to him, job knelt down and he worshiped God. Remember what he said. 323 00:31:07.569 --> 00:31:12.329 Naked, I came from my mother's womb. Naked, I shall depart. 324 00:31:14.009 --> 00:31:18.049 The Lord gave, the Lord is taken away. May the name of 325 00:31:18.130 --> 00:31:21.880 the Lord be praised. And the text says, and all of this, 326 00:31:22.839 --> 00:31:30.599 job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. And later, after all 327 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:36.549 his terrible stuff had happened to him, we find job saying triumphantly, though 328 00:31:36.630 --> 00:31:41.869 he slay me. Yet well, I hope in him. What a great 329 00:31:41.029 --> 00:31:48.380 story of patience and steadfastness. Now, what an example job is to us, 330 00:31:49.019 --> 00:31:53.579 to encourage us, when we suffer trials, to endure, to be 331 00:31:53.740 --> 00:32:01.210 patient, to stand firm, realizing that through these trials God is strengthening us, 332 00:32:01.250 --> 00:32:06.410 he's perfecting us and in the end he's going to richly bless us, 333 00:32:06.849 --> 00:32:12.730 not necessarily with physical blessings, like he did job, but assuredly with every 334 00:32:12.849 --> 00:32:20.079 spiritual blessing in the heavens. And so our passage ends in verse twelve with 335 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:27.079 this somewhat puzzling saying about oaths, which, by the way, is almost 336 00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:32.109 a direct quote from Jesus sermon on the Mountain Matthew Five. Why is that 337 00:32:32.269 --> 00:32:39.470 verse here? What do oaths have to do with trials and patience and endurance 338 00:32:39.589 --> 00:32:44.579 and suffering? Now, why, in a world with James suddenly say but 339 00:32:44.700 --> 00:32:47.220 above all, my brothers do not swear either by Heaven or by Earth? 340 00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:52.539 What is that? What does that have to do with anything? Well, 341 00:32:52.579 --> 00:32:58.809 I'm not sure, but I think there's a couple of things going on here. 342 00:33:00.450 --> 00:33:04.490 First of all, you know I think this, but above all, 343 00:33:04.730 --> 00:33:10.529 that little phrase suggest that when we're tempted to lose heart or to grumble, 344 00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:16.160 you know, the one thing we must never do is to begin using the 345 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:22.359 name, the Lord's name in vain, to use the name of the Almighty 346 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:28.710 to sort of punctuate our speech in the heat of the moment, or to 347 00:33:28.789 --> 00:33:35.190 express our unhappiness about the state of our affairs by some explosive or reverent oath. 348 00:33:36.109 --> 00:33:39.309 I think that's really part of what what James is talking about here, 349 00:33:40.190 --> 00:33:47.980 but I think even more importantly, he may be warning against a foolish response 350 00:33:49.099 --> 00:33:52.619 to the oppression of the rich described in the first six verses of this chapter. 351 00:33:54.259 --> 00:34:00.089 You know, I think it's really true that people do tend to respond 352 00:34:00.170 --> 00:34:07.170 to times of trouble and distress with unrealistic pledges to God. I think they 353 00:34:07.289 --> 00:34:09.760 tended. We tend to do that. You know, be in military and 354 00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:15.800 you know, I think if foxhole conversions, you know, when soldiers they 355 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:21.159 pledge themselves to this lifetime commitment to odd if he would just get them out 356 00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:23.909 of their present fix. Then when they get out of it they immediately forget 357 00:34:23.949 --> 00:34:29.309 what they valued. I think James could be saying here's something like that, 358 00:34:29.389 --> 00:34:35.309 that it's that it's better to be genuine, let your yes byes, let 359 00:34:35.389 --> 00:34:38.739 your no be known rather than be dramatic, better to to mean what you 360 00:34:38.860 --> 00:34:45.019 say, that they have these unfulfilled, unrealistic vowels hanging over you. If 361 00:34:45.019 --> 00:34:47.579 you make a value, you're supposed to keep it. You know, I 362 00:34:47.619 --> 00:34:52.170 think the warning against vows is therefore pot of part of James called to patience, 363 00:34:53.489 --> 00:35:00.809 part of this call to have restraint in speech as in other daily behaviors, 364 00:35:00.090 --> 00:35:05.250 behavior such as watching your tongue, which he talks about earlier in the 365 00:35:05.369 --> 00:35:10.480 book. So that's all I know about that last verse. I'm sorry, 366 00:35:10.519 --> 00:35:17.880 let me conclude this evening. I'm going to tell you a story of how 367 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:24.150 living in light of the second coming of Christ really had an impact not only 368 00:35:24.269 --> 00:35:31.630 on one man but on an entire nation. I told this story to the 369 00:35:31.670 --> 00:35:36.780 ladies group over at Rencon the other day. It's a wonderful story. It's 370 00:35:36.820 --> 00:35:39.380 a story of a man by the name of Anthony Ashley Cooper. How many 371 00:35:39.420 --> 00:35:46.780 of heard of Anthony Ashley Cooper? Anybody? Well, he was the famous 372 00:35:46.900 --> 00:35:52.289 Lord Shaft's Lury of the nineteen century England. I'll tell you a little bit 373 00:35:52.329 --> 00:35:58.449 about Lord Shaftsbury. Now the story. John Stott actually reports this story and 374 00:35:58.610 --> 00:36:02.730 his wonderful book the incomparable Christ, and I want to read just a couple 375 00:36:02.730 --> 00:36:10.039 of pages from that book about Lord Shaftsbury. So bear with me, stick 376 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:15.559 with me on this. This is really good. Born in eighteen od one 377 00:36:15.679 --> 00:36:23.030 cooper had an unhappy childhood, neglected and abused by his parents. His only 378 00:36:23.110 --> 00:36:29.349 solace was their housekeeper, Anna Maria Mills, who told him Bible Stories, 379 00:36:29.469 --> 00:36:32.380 taught him to pray and seems to have led him to personal faith in the 380 00:36:32.420 --> 00:36:39.380 Lord Jesus Christ. At the age of sixteen, while at Harrow School, 381 00:36:40.900 --> 00:36:45.699 he saw a group of drunken men drop a poor man's coffin in the street, 382 00:36:45.260 --> 00:36:51.369 cursing and laughing as they did so. He was second and disturbed by 383 00:36:51.449 --> 00:36:58.610 this incident, later calling at the origin of my public career, for then 384 00:36:58.690 --> 00:37:01.760 and there he resolved to dedicate his life to the cause of the poor and 385 00:37:01.920 --> 00:37:07.760 the weak. He entered parliament in eighteen twenty six, aged only twenty five, 386 00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:16.030 and soon began his program of humanitarian reform, seeking to remedy some of 387 00:37:16.110 --> 00:37:23.389 the worst consequences of the industrial revolution. His unremitting Labor continued for nearly sixty 388 00:37:23.469 --> 00:37:30.460 years, and the legislation for which he was largely responsible represents an astonishing achievement. 389 00:37:31.699 --> 00:37:37.139 In eighteen forty two, the coal mines act prohibited underground work in mines 390 00:37:37.300 --> 00:37:45.650 and cooleeries by women and girls and reduce the hours worked by boys. In 391 00:37:45.889 --> 00:37:52.010 eighteen forty five, the lunacy acts secured the humane treatment of the insane and 392 00:37:52.130 --> 00:37:57.250 appointed fifteen commissioners in lunacy, of which he was won for forty years. 393 00:37:58.840 --> 00:38:04.320 In eighteen forty seven, eighteen fifty and eighteen fifty nine, he palletted through 394 00:38:04.440 --> 00:38:09.639 parliament the ten hours factory act, which regulated working hours for women and children. 395 00:38:12.400 --> 00:38:17.710 He was the acknowledged leader of all this factory reform. In eighteen fifty 396 00:38:17.750 --> 00:38:24.070 one, the Common Lodging House Act sought to end the unsanitary and overcrowded conditions 397 00:38:24.550 --> 00:38:31.099 of lodging houses, laid down acceptable standards and permitted local authorities to inspect and 398 00:38:31.340 --> 00:38:38.820 supervise them. Even this list is far from complete. Ashley Cooper also founded 399 00:38:38.900 --> 00:38:45.449 the ragged school union and busied himself on behalf of boy chimney sweeps, flower 400 00:38:45.530 --> 00:38:52.889 girls, orphans, prostitutes, prisoners, handicapped people and crippled children. Although 401 00:38:52.969 --> 00:38:58.639 his parliamentary bills were several times defeated, he refused to give up. I 402 00:38:58.800 --> 00:39:07.079 must persevere. His Journal records. What motivated him? To begin with, 403 00:39:07.320 --> 00:39:12.750 he believed and he loved the Gospel. I am essentially and from deep rooted 404 00:39:12.829 --> 00:39:19.349 conviction, he wrote in his diary, and Evangelical of the evangelicals. This 405 00:39:19.550 --> 00:39:24.179 means that, in particular, he emphasized the divinity of Christ, his atoning 406 00:39:24.300 --> 00:39:30.300 sacrifice and his coming kingdom, and his good works of love and justice were 407 00:39:30.340 --> 00:39:37.579 the natural outflow of his faith. During the S, however, he became 408 00:39:37.739 --> 00:39:45.250 firmly and vitally convinced of the Second Coming of Christ. It entered into all 409 00:39:45.369 --> 00:39:50.809 his thoughts and feelings, wrote Edwin Hotter. It stimulated him in the midst 410 00:39:50.849 --> 00:39:53.840 of all his labors. It gave tone and color to all his hopes for 411 00:39:53.920 --> 00:40:00.360 the future. For there is no real remedy, he often said, for 412 00:40:00.400 --> 00:40:05.360 all this mass of misery, but in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 413 00:40:06.679 --> 00:40:09.150 Why do we not plead for it every time we hear the clock strike? 414 00:40:12.030 --> 00:40:15.309 I cannot tell you, Cooper once said, the hotter his authorized biographer, 415 00:40:16.070 --> 00:40:21.309 how it was that this subject first took hold of me. It has 416 00:40:21.349 --> 00:40:23.019 been, as far as I can remember, a subject to which I have 417 00:40:23.139 --> 00:40:29.539 always held tenaciously belief in it has been a moving principle in my life, 418 00:40:30.539 --> 00:40:35.730 for I see everything going on in the world subordinate to this one great event. 419 00:40:35.849 --> 00:40:43.090 It's not surprising, therefore, that Cooper's favorite text was the second from 420 00:40:43.090 --> 00:40:46.889 last verse in the Bible. Yes, I am coming soon. Amen, 421 00:40:47.329 --> 00:40:53.599 come, Lord Jesus. Revelation twenty two, twenty. His lifelong diary, 422 00:40:53.719 --> 00:40:59.920 to which he committed his private thoughts, is sprankled all through with the same 423 00:41:00.039 --> 00:41:05.150 expression of pent up longing. It was a model he had inscribed in Greek 424 00:41:05.869 --> 00:41:10.110 on the flaps of the envelopes he used every day. A few years before 425 00:41:10.150 --> 00:41:16.070 he died he left instructions that revelation two thousand two twenty should be one of 426 00:41:16.150 --> 00:41:22.539 the three texts engraved on his tombstone, and on his deathbed he kept muttering 427 00:41:22.699 --> 00:41:30.099 come Lord Jesus. Anthony Ashley Cooper, seventh earl of Shaftesbury, died in 428 00:41:30.139 --> 00:41:36.170 one thousand eight hundred and eighty five. So richly had he deserved the epitaph 429 00:41:36.289 --> 00:41:43.409 the poor man's earl. The tens of thousands of people from all walks of 430 00:41:43.570 --> 00:41:49.880 life lying the route taken by the cortis carrying his body from his home in 431 00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.440 Grosvenor Square to Westminster Abbey, there was a great outpouring of public grief, 432 00:41:54.559 --> 00:42:01.909 love and respect. Representatives of the homes, asylums, schools and societies that 433 00:42:02.070 --> 00:42:07.590 he had founded carried banners on which were emblazoned sentences from Matthew Twenty Five. 434 00:42:07.670 --> 00:42:14.750 I was hungry and you gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave 435 00:42:14.869 --> 00:42:20.619 me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in naked and your 436 00:42:20.659 --> 00:42:23.300 clothed me. I was sick and you visited me I was in prison and 437 00:42:24.340 --> 00:42:29.460 you came to me. Even the pouring rain could not dampen their spirits. 438 00:42:30.889 --> 00:42:35.730 My Lord's explained the Duke of Argyle and a political speech delivered soon afterward. 439 00:42:36.409 --> 00:42:40.570 The social reforms of the past century have not been due to a political party. 440 00:42:42.650 --> 00:42:45.840 They have been due to the influence, the character and the perseverance of 441 00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:52.000 one man. I prefer, of course, the Lord Shaftesbury. The Times 442 00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:58.829 newspaper also acknowledged him as a man who changed the whole social condition of England. 443 00:42:58.829 --> 00:43:07.670 And why? What had been his incentive? He tells us. Toward 444 00:43:07.710 --> 00:43:12.710 the end of his life he said, I do not think that in the 445 00:43:12.750 --> 00:43:19.420 last forty years I have lived one conscious are that was not influenced by the 446 00:43:19.539 --> 00:43:28.369 thought of our Lord's return. So this is the question. If, if 447 00:43:28.489 --> 00:43:35.210 the living prospect of the Lord's return can change an entire society for the better, 448 00:43:37.010 --> 00:43:43.000 how much will it change your life and mine to reckon with it every 449 00:43:43.039 --> 00:43:49.679 day, even every hour of the day? You know what a huge difference 450 00:43:49.880 --> 00:43:57.670 in perspective it must make to consider our circumstances at any moment in light of 451 00:43:57.789 --> 00:44:02.789 the Second Coming, when Christ will vindicate US, when he will make all 452 00:44:02.909 --> 00:44:12.699 things right, how differently we will view our problems, how much more carefully 453 00:44:12.739 --> 00:44:17.219 we will speak of others, how much more carefully we will speak to others, 454 00:44:20.139 --> 00:44:24.730 how much more patient and resolute we will be in enduring opposition and remaining 455 00:44:24.889 --> 00:44:29.849 steadfast and trial. You see, dear ones, that's this, is what 456 00:44:29.969 --> 00:44:35.449 it means to live by faith, to behave. Is anyone ought to behave? 457 00:44:35.530 --> 00:44:38.960 Who knows that the Lord is near? Who knows that the Lord is 458 00:44:39.039 --> 00:44:44.760 standing at the door? Lord, make it so in our lives. Today, 459 00:44:44.800 --> 00:44:45.760 let's bring