Scripture: James 5:13-20
Today is our 10th lesson from the book of
James, which, in a sense, summarizes the previous 9 lessons that we have
learned from the apostle. Each one has
presented us with a truth of God, as well as a lie that the world forces upon
us. They have all served to reenforce
the hope and power that will come to our lives through the relationship that we
develop with the Lord Jesus Christ.
In chapter 1 we learned that temptation is never a
Godly test of our faith – that temptation is an evil that the Devil creates in
concert with our own human and worldly desires, in the hope that it will lead
us away from our Father God. (James 1:13-15) Of
course, there is also that sage advice later in that chapter that calls us to
faithful living - “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive
yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22)
In chapter 2, we receive the word to reject those
discriminatory ways that serve no Godly purpose whatsoever! James uses the example of showing honor to a
wealthy person, while showing contempt to the poor. He says that this is judgmental and evil;
that this is a failure to “Love your neighbor as yourself”; that
instead, we should be following the teachings that Jesus Himself brought, not
those conjured up by the world! (James 2:8-11) Faith requires that we live what we know to
be true, and to match our works with all that we believe. Our outward expressions in this life are a
perfect reflection of what we truly believe – whether righteous or sinful! (James 2:20-24)
Chapter 3 gave us pause to reflect on those things that we say – James points out the issues that come from an unbridled tongue. In James 3:9-10
he writes “9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and
Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out
of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should
not be.” Reflect on
those words – do they have any relationship to your life?
In chapter 4,
James calls us to consider the difference between true Godly wisdom versus worldly
ambition. The Lord’s wisdom leads us in
true and faithful ways to honor and follow the word of God that came to us through
the life and ministry of Jesus. On the
other hand, ambition only gives us covetousness, quarreling, anger, denial,
adultery, arrogance, boasting, and personal pride. Bishop Will Willamon, in his book “Sinning
Like a Christian”, writes that pride may be the greatest sin of all, because it
leads to so many of the other sins that we lose track of what God’s true will
for our lives is all about!
In the first part of James chapter5, which we addressed last week, we are reminded of the passage from 1 Timothy 6:10, in which we read that well remembered
passage “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” James wants us to realize that true wealth
doesn’t rest in worldly gifts and resources, but in the blessings that come
from God.
Each of these lessons teach us that staying close to
the way and word of our Almighty Savior is the only eternal hope that we will
ever have. And how do we stay that
close, how do we stay completely in touch with His will for our lives? Only through prayer!
Read James 5:13-16
Notice that James gives us a good overview of what
prayer can be in our lives, and probably more than we would routinely think
about! He tells us that it is for
praise, rejoicing, freedom, relief, salvation, healing, safety, forgiveness,
and much more!
In general, prayer receives its basis, its source
and its power from the relationship that we have with our Lord Jesus
Christ. Without a connection through
faith in Jesus, how could the Father ever hear our call? We need to remember that during Jesus’ time
of ministry in His hometown of Nazareth, he was not only rejected by the people
(Luke 4:14-30), but his ability to accomplish
any miracles was severely limited, for the sole reason that the people didn’t
believe in Him (Matthew 13:53-58).
Prayer and faith are inseparable! Without prayer, the relationship that we may
desire with God will be hollow at best, for conversation strengthens the bond
between us. And without faith, prayer
has no meaning – after all, if we don’t believe in God, why should we ever
expect that He will respond to our needs?
And subtly, James makes the point that faith in
Jesus Christ establishes a relationship with other Christians, who will pray
for us, support us, encourage us, grant us accountability and example for what
faith can do in our lives. Later today,
during our service of baptism for 7 of our brothers and sisters, each of us
will be committing to that kind of relationship with them, as well as with each
other.
In Matthew 7:7-8,
Jesus tells us that “8 For
everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who
knocks, the door will be opened.” And in Mark 11:23-25, we read “24 Therefore
I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours.”
By Jesus’ own words, He has promised that prayer
through faith has a power unlike anything else we will ever know during this
lifetime.
Read James 5:17-20
For Israel, Elijah was the ultimate prophet (2 Kings 2:1-11), believing that he will be returning to
earth in human form during the Tribulation to proclaim the coming of the Risen
Christ. (Malachi 4:1-6) And James is telling us that we, too, can be
the kind of person that Elijah was!
Elijah had a relationship with his great Jehovah God that brought power
and presence to the ministry he lived until the day he was taken up to heaven
in that chariot of fire.
And while we may not receive the same gifts that
this man of God received, by faith we can receive our own needs of power,
strength and purpose in proportion to the faith that we offer back to our
Almighty God!
And James concludes our passage for today with these
words - “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over
a multitude of sins.” Throughout
these 10 lessons from James, there have been many warnings and challenges for
the Church, many of which we may have had personal experiences in. But James, who is presumed to be one of
Jesus’ brothers, never offers a word of condemnation for a single one – only
warnings that the Judgment will be here sooner than anyone expects it to
be.
But here he gives us a vision of what this life
should really be about! It isn’t that we
all should strive for perfection so the Lord will be pleased with us. It isn’t that we should be on the lookout for
Satan and his work of destruction to avoid it so that we will know eternal
life. It isn’t that we must never submit
to temptation that comes from the world so that we will receive the blessing of
heaven. The point that James is making
throughout this entire book is twofold – that our life’s
purpose is, first and foremost, to bring glory to the name and way of our
Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ, and second, that by the life we live and the
example that we offer, others will come to the realization that the life they
have been living has been taking them away from God’s presence and not toward
it.
And when they make the decision to turn their life
around and look to the Lord as their Savior, that will be the topping on the
life of righteousness that will then be ours.
Our Christian life is not for our glory, but for God’s and for
the blessing that others, who, by our example and by our prayers, will have
their eyes and ears and hearts opened to the call of Heaven.
May each of us be the kind of servant that God can
work through, and the kind of friend that will bring other people into the love
and embrace of Jesus Christ.
Amen!
