Lord, use us to bring the wandering children home!

Resurrection Wisdom in a Perishing World – Part 11

Bring the Wanderer Home

(James 5:19-20, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, May 25, 2014)

[19] My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth

It is possible for a true child of God to wander from the truth. Consider the three parables in Luke 15 that come to us from the lips of Jesus. The wandering sheep was in the flock before he was lost. The missing coin was in the woman's purse before it was suddenly gone. And the prodigal son was marked as a child of his father before he insisted on his inheritance. When he came to his senses he was not hired as a servant. He was welcomed home as a true son.

and someone brings him back,

In the church, James tells us, our heart needs to be like the heart of the good father in the parable and not like that of the angry brother. We want to do what James' brother Jude tells us in his brief letter, “Have mercy on those who doubt.” Our hope is to see the wanderer return home. We need to take that good goal and make it actionable. What steps are we taking to bring the lost back to their old wisdom—knowing that they, like we, need to call upon the Name of the Lord?

[20] let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death

James encourages us to give this matter some serious consideration. It is a life and death concern. Those who are without Christ are walking toward their death. Are they safe? Are we safe if we don't care about their condition or if we do nothing practical to call them home again?

and will cover a multitude of sins.
Consider the resurrection wisdom that we have heard preached to us from this book authored by James so long ago. We know that the Lord can grant wisdom in trials. We have heard that we need to be doers of the Word. We are ready to see the poor as our brothers and sisters and to walk with them together in faith. Do those who have wandered away still remember important truths like these?

Put the Word to Work: Those who have abandoned the love of the Lord and His church need wisdom from above and grace upon grace. We cannot leave them to a world of foolish boasting. We cannot forget our friends who seem to have forgotten Jesus and His kingdom. May the Lord hear our prayers and use each of us to reengage in ways that He might bless before it is too late.

Grant wisdom, Lord! In trial make us pure!

Help us to do all that Your Word demands.

By mercy found, now we will find the poor.

Our faith will shine in works that You command.

Teach us Your Word from lips of faithful men.

Fill out Your church with wisdom from above.

You are our King! To grace You add more grace.

You are the Lord! You lead Your church in love.

Our ears have heard Your voice. O hear our prayer.

Prayers of the just, O Lord, You won't despise.

Use us to call Your wand'ring children home.

Cover their sins! From death save us through Christ!

The Prayer of Faith

Resurrection Wisdom in a Perishing World – Part 10
God Really Does Work Powerfully through Prayer
(James 5:13-18, Preaching: Pastor Nathan Snyder, May 18, 2014)

[5:13] Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. [14] Is anyone among you sick? 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. [15] And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. [16] Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. [17] Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. [18] Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

As James comes to the end of his letter, he emphasizes the importance and power of prayer.  Whatever your circumstances, whether good or bad, pray.  Whatever your emotional state, whether sorrowful or cheerful, pray.  If all you can muster is a deep groaning, groan before the Lord (cf. Romans 8:26).  If you are up against a situation that seems insurmountable, seek God’s strength and direction.  If you are full of the joy of the Lord, don’t hold it in, sing!

Sometimes the issue we are facing is physical illness, either ours or that of someone we love.  God cares about this.  Sickness was not part of God’s original good design for us.  It will not be part of the new creation.  Jesus came bringing tastes of the coming kingdom, and this included healing many with physical illness.  Granted, he did not heal every disease in the world, and the people he healed would eventually die of something.  Sometimes God does not grant healing, though we pray fervently with great faith.  Even Paul was afflicted with something which God refused to take away, though Paul prayed fervently three times (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).  God had good purposes in Paul’s life to work out through his physical suffering.  He may do the same in our lives.  But sickness in itself is not a good thing and it is right to pray for ourselves and for one another’s healing (verse 16).  James also says the person who is particularly weak should call for the elders of the church to come pray over him or her.  He commends prayer along with anointing such a person with oil (cf. Mark 6:13).  There is nothing magical about this.  Likely the purpose is to symbolize the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the person to heal them.  God is the one who heals, and he does so in response to the faith of those praying, even if the sick person is feeling so weak he can muster little faith of his own.

James knows that sometimes God has afflicted us with sickness as discipline for sin of which we need to repent (e.g. 1 Corinthians 11:27-32).  This is not always the case, but sometimes it is.  Thus it is always a good idea when we are physically afflicted to use the experience as a time of spiritual self-reflection before God.  God loves us, and he may simply be using a physical malady to get our attention and deal with a deeper problem.  If  necessary, we may need to confess wrongs committed against others and seek reconciliation.  Then we will be in a position for the whole church to pray for our physical healing.

God works powerfully through the prayers of a righteous person.  James gives the example of Elijah.  The Jewish people looked to him as a spiritual giant.  James doesn’t emphasize this.  He says he was a man like us.  Actually, Elijah struggled with doubts and depression.  Yet God answered his fervent prayers.  Why?  Because he was righteous in God’s sight by God’s grace.  He trusted in God and wanted to see God’s will accomplished.  Thus God answered Elijah’s prayers.  And he will answer ours in the way he knows is best if we trust him.

Put the Word to Work:  Pray in all things.  Pray for one another’s physical healing.  Do not ever be ashamed to ask the elders to come pray for you.  Confess sin.  Trust God to answer prayers in the best possible way.

Warning to the Oppressor and Help for the Oppressed

Resurrection Wisdom in a Perishing World – Part 9

Hear, I-AM

(James 5:1-12, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, May 11, 2014)

[5:1] Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. [2] Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. [3] Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. [4] Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. [5] You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. [6] You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.TO OPPRESORS: Only with the eyes of faith can we see things rightly. Sin leads to confusion. Repentance brings clearer spiritual vision. Pride has its own vision. It sees what it knows from the world right now. Humble faith believes the Word of the Lord and makes a very different assessment. Pride sees present comforts. Faith knows that misery is coming upon those who oppress the poor. Pride counts up present riches and dresses in fancy garments. Faith knows that the riches of this age will not endure the judgment of God. Pride says “Peace, Peace,” when there is no peace. Faith knows that evidence is even now being gathered against those who defraud their neighbors, who live in self-indulgence, and who destroy the righteous.

[7] Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. [8] You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. [9] Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. [10] As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. [11] Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.TO THE OPPRESSED: What can the righteous do in the face of powerful oppressors? Be patient until the coming of the Lord. Sow seeds of faith and obedience and look for the early and the latter rain before you start harvesting. Establish your hearts on the truth from God's Word rather than what your eyes see or your emotions feel. The Lord is at hand. Avoid the trap of constant critique. It is only grumbling, and grumbling has never been commended by the Lord. The judge is standing at the door. Consider the prophets. See Isaiah 6:8-13, 58:6-9a. Think about what happened to the righteous man Job. See Job 42:10-17. Set your heart on Jesus, the I-AM who became man and who died on a cross. The most blessed man we know of endured the worst trial. He remained steadfast. The Lord knows how to bring great blessing out of situations of injustice and suffering. He has a good purpose. The Lord is compassionate and merciful.

[12] But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (See Matthew 5:33-37 for more context. See also Matthew 11:25-30.)

Wait for the Lord. Resist every temptation to make a religious show. Obey and pray.

Put the Word to Work: The life of faith is about hearing and being heard. The big issue for us is not how everyone else is sinning. Are we sinning? What has the Lord revealed that will help us today? We need the great I-AM to hear us and to say in the words of Isaiah 58:9, “Here I am.” Pride will not be a safe companion in spiritual battle. The Lord will hear the humble.

Our ears have heard Your voice. O hear our prayer. 

Lord Willing

Resurrection Wisdom in a Perishing World – Part 8

If the Lord wills...

(James 4:11-17, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, May 4, 2014)

[11] Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. [12] There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Man's anger does not bring about the righteousness of God. It does not lead to holiness, but anger may easily lead to evil speech. In particular, out of a tumultuous and angry heart, a man may eventually give in to the temptation to speak against someone who he should be helping as a brother in Christ.

We need to do the law of mercy. That is what the true Judge of all the earth calls us to. But when we judge our brother, we think that we know better than God. We judge God and His Law. Does that sound wise?

God is able to save and to destroy. Do we think that we should disregard His call to mercy? The Lord calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. How did we ever get so proud? Does the gospel of Jesus Christ call us to judge our neighbor? Jesus laid down His life for us.

[13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—[14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. [15] Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. [17] So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Underneath the anger is a presumptuous pride that is unbecoming of those who follow Jesus? We who judge others have a habit of placing ourselves where only the Lord should be. We will do this and that, and no one is permitted to stand in our way.

What proud boasts we make for those whose lives are a mist! How can we exist beyond our mortal days in a world of blessedness? Only if the Lord wills. How can we accomplish anything in our brief lives? If the Lord wills.

O the sinfulness of sin! Proud boasting is arrogant and foolish. We know that the Lord who died for us calls us to humble service. Ignoring His Word is not an option.

Put the Word to Work: It is time to agree with the Almighty that only God is God. What is the Lord's will? Let us do what He says. He does not call us to judge others or to boast about what we think that we will accomplish. He is leading us to do the next thing with a humble heart. This is the only way for us to glorify and enjoy the Lord.

Grant wisdom, Lord! In trial make us pure!

Help us to do all that Your Word demands.

By mercy found, now we will find the poor.

Our faith will shine in works that You command.

Teach us Your Word from lips of faithful men.

Fill out Your church with wisdom from above.

You are our King! To grace You add more grace.

You are the Lord! You lead Your church in love.