James 5:7-11

This morning we turn to James chapter 5, verses 7 to 11. Patience, patience. The Lord is coming.

Let's read together. James 5, verses 7-11.

Be patient then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too be patient and stand firm because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door.

Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, Take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance, translates the NIV, and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Patience, patience, the Lord is coming.

Life seems often to get just more and more difficult, doesn't it? Is it just my age or is it just that the problems that we seem to see in our culture just seem to continue to grow?

This year estimates are we'll kill 1.2 million babies or so, give or take a few.

Millions and millions of children will go to bed hungry tonight throughout the world, not because the world doesn't have sufficient resources, but because those who have so much give so little enough to see that those who have so little get something to help them.

Those who are evil seem to get by. We call evil good

and we're to have patience.

I'm ready for something to happen.

I have been more and more impressed about how we lack in this culture any sense of modesty. When you look at our ethics regarding sexual relationships and sex.

And I lose my patience. I want to say, don't we see as a culture what we're doing to ourselves? Like the cancer is growing and we're celebrating.

Well, James writes to folks like me and folks like you who seem to be frustrated and we do get frustrated with all that seems to be so wrong that is around us. And he says, have patience. Let me begin. He reminds us of an essential Christian concept in this passage. And the essential Christian concept is the Lord is coming.

It is an essential, uncompromisable doctrine of the Christian faith that Jesus Christ will return one day. Physically, bodily, will return. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord. who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried. The third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. The Apostles' Creed, one of the earliest statements of faith, has as an essential aspect of it Christ who sits enthroned in heaven will one day come back to judge the living and to judge the dead. It's not only James that affirms that Jesus is returning. Jesus himself affirmed it.

I'm giving you a passage of scripture there that you can see. Paul, the apostle, affirmed the second coming of Christ. John, the apostle, affirmed the second coming, as did Peter. So throughout scriptures, all of the writers affirm the second coming of Christ. When?

When? Soon? Soon. I love, as I was doing my study, I flipped to Revelation.

We're not the only ones asking how long or when. If you read Revelation 6, let me just read a few verses.

Right here, 6, 9 to 11. The scene is in heaven, and it's in the book of Revelation, when the fifth seal is opened. John says, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained, they called out in a loud voice, How long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed. An indication that as we wait for the Lord, the scene may get grimmer and grimmer as others who stand for the Lord are killed.

How long? Well, James gives us the answer. He says the return of the Lord is near. statement. And the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul affirm the same thing. The Apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 4.7 says, the end of all things is near.

And Paul in Romans 13.12 says, the night is nearly over. The day is almost here. I love that.

the night is nearly over the darkness night is nearly over the light is almost here James says not only that Jesus is near he says he's at the door verse 9 in the image there is Christ standing at the door ready at the appointed time to open it to return to judge the living and the dead. So he's near, but let's remember several things about this second coming, and I've given you a list here. No one knows the day or the hour. Jesus said only the Father knows the day or the hour, so let's be careful about trying to predict dates and so forth. No one knows the hour.

Secondly, let's remember that God's time and hours are different. We are finite creatures bound so much by time. We think ten years is a long period of time. We can't conceive of eternity. We can't conceive of eternal time.

And I think it's in that sense of timelessness that is eternity that Peter says in 2 Peter 3.8 that a day is as a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years as a day. And I think what he's trying to say there is when you start talking about eternity and timelessness, what a century is just a blip. I mean, it's nothing. So while we may sense that it has been a long time since Jesus went back to heaven and he hasn't come back yet, In internal thinking, it's been a very short time. A very, very short time.

And I think when we hear the word near in the Scriptures, it's not really trying to give us a timeline about Jesus' return. The emphasis is that the return of Christ is the next major event in redemption history. It's the next act. And so in that sense, it is near. sort of like if we go to a play and we have act one and act two and act three and act four and then we have the final act well the reality is the final act is the next act we are in the last days and have been since christ came the first time and in these final days the last act is the next act and in that sense his return is near but it's in this context of jesus coming that james calls for patience

you remember last week we talked about the rich oppressors of the poor and it's as if james is following now talking about the return of the lord and the need for patience it's as if he's saying look i know things aren't right now i know there are rich evil people who are oppressing the poor out there i know that there are many people doing the wrong thing and we want things to be set right and understand me he says one day they will be jesus is near we're near the time when all things are set right but then James tells us how we are to live until he returns and that's the main emphasis of this passage Jesus is coming we want him to we want him to come but how do we live from now until then how are we to behave what is our attitude to be and that's what he addresses here here's some essential christian qualities that we are to have as we await the lord's return the first essential quality is the quality of patience verse 7 verse 8 verse 10 this quality of patience is emphasized over and over it's interesting if you go and look at the definition of love that Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians 13. The first definition of love is love is patient. Love is kind. The very first attribute he gives to love is the essential quality of patience.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience. Oh, I need more of the Spirit.

But when we begin to think about the Christian life, this attitude of patience and this quality of patience is a critical, essential quality. If it's the first thing Paul when he talks about love when it's in the list of the fruit of the Spirit we know it's an important quality and so our spiritual antennae ought to go up for all of us who are not patient people who are impatient with other people who are impatient with circumstances we need to listen and think about patience the Greek word is makrothumia that's the the noun and makrothumia makrothumio be And when James says be patient, it is an imperative command. It is not an option. It is a command we are all to be patient. And this word patience has the notion of being able to remain tranquil even when we are provoked by other people or circumstances.

It's an idea that we can exercise self-restraint so that when others act harshly or meanly toward us or when circumstances are going against us, we can be restrained and long-suffering. That means we can put up with them or we can put up with the circumstances. And we don't retaliate. We don't strike back. We're able to be calm in the storm.

And when everybody else is frustrated, when everybody else is losing heart, when everybody else is getting hopeless, we can be those who are tranquil, who are calm, who look at circumstances of life with patience. I want that quality. I want that quality. is the second quality he mentions is perseverance this is in verse 11 when he talks about job we often talk about the patience of job but actually there's a different greek word used in verse 11 in the reference to job and it's translated i think better by the word either perseverance or endurance it's a quality that we need and it's very it goes along with patience but it's particularly the notions of being able to endure or persevere in the face of very difficult circumstances when life gets hard when things get difficult particularly when it comes to trying to live the Christian life when so many are not, when there's so many things pulling us not to live the Christian life, and in fact, when we can suffer ridicule,

persecution because of our Christian faith, we need this quality of sticking with it, of persevering, not yielding, not giving up, or hopelessness, but always, always, always, always trusting in the Lord in every circumstance. Never quitting. The third quality that is mentioned is standing firm. That's in verse 8. Verse 8 where he says, be patient and stand firm.

So this person who is patient is not somebody who is just easily walked over. or pushed aside. This is someone who is calm, who's tranquil, but who is immovable, who is firmly fixed, who will not be swayed from what he or she believes or from what he or she stands. They will stand like a stone wall against all forces. That's a difficult quality to hold.

I think both patience, yet being firmly fixed. We tend to think when we're really firmly convinced in our beliefs, we ought to be impatient and almost get angry with people who aren't holding to the truth. But we're to be that calm person, that tranquil person, yet that bedrock that people can always depend on and trust in.

And then one last quality that is mentioned is no grumbling. no grumbling. You know, when we get in difficult circumstances, when we're having to wait for the Lord's return and things are difficult, we tend, as people, to take our frustrations out on others, don't we? You get in a lot of pressure at work, things aren't going the way you want, you go home, and what happens? The first person who meets you at the door, usually gets the brunt, right?

We unload sometimes on those who are closest to us.

James is particularly concerned that we not grumble against brothers and sisters in the faith. And there's a real sense here that as we are waiting, as we are patiently waiting for the Lord, we need to be careful that with our brothers and sisters in Christ, We don't let ourselves in the midst of this difficult life begin to grumble against or complain against our brothers and sisters in Christ. We're the body. We're the family. We've got to stick together.

The sense of the word here for no grumbling, it has the sense of no sighing or groaning, and it can be either outward or inward. You know, sometimes we may not speak of an outward complaint against someone because we know we're not supposed to do that, but inwardly, boy, we're just, you know, we're just groaning. You know, you mean I've got to put up with that person again. I've got to go talk to them again. I've got to, can you believe the way they are?

You know, just the way they talk, the way they act. You know, and in our hearts and minds, we're groaning, grumbling inwardly about those that we should be most concerned and caring about. Don't let this sort of groaning inward grumbling fester. You need to be able to let it go. I know, just because I've talked to a lot of you, that there's some who may have some feelings toward others from time to time.

Certain circumstances can rub the wrong way. Somebody didn't treat somebody right in a certain circumstance. Let's be careful not to let this grow into a grumbling attitude toward one another. So patience, perseverance, let's stand firm, no grumbling as we wait for the Lord's return. James gives us either inwardly or outwardly.

I gave you Matthew 7 there. It says don't judge, that you be not judged, the idea of inwardly judging people. We need to avoid that. James gives us several examples, and he tells us, for example, that the judge is at the door. And the picture is Jesus is about to open the door to come in.

He doesn't want to catch us grumbling against one another. So let's be cautious about that.

James gives us three examples to help us to understand what it means to be patient to persevere, to stand firm and not to grumble Example number one is the farmer Verses 7 and 8

Be patient then, brothers, until the Lord's coming See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You know, in first century Palestine, farming was a difficult life. It was necessary. That's how you survive. You had to grow a lot of your own food.

And the family's very existence depended upon it. In Palestine, the crops were typically planted in early autumn, a little different from the way we would do it, an autumn rain and then it would soften the soil so you could plant and plow and then you depended on the spring rain to give the watering so the crops would grow and come to harvest and here is this first century farmer with not much equipment not much he can do to control circumstances who plants his crop and And now he has to wait. He's got children to feed. He's got a spouse to feed. And now he's having to wait for the crop.

It was not uncommon as the harvest approached that families would run out of food before the harvest or run low on food, and they would begin to ration the family. And children would be put on rations, only getting to eat so much each day until the harvest finally would come in. And you could imagine how easy it would be as a farmer waiting for that crop to come in, particularly when you have hungry family members.

But the point is here that the farmer has to learn patience. He cannot control the growth of the crop. It's beyond his control. He cannot control the rain. He's dependent on conditions like rain that are beyond his control.

He's not passive as he waits. to the crops, he's weeding and so forth but he cannot control circumstances right the same is true for us folks we don't control the circumstances of this life and as we wait for the harvest, that is for the return of the Lord we have to wait patiently even though conditions are beyond our control, we have to learn to be like the farmer waiting for the crop knowing it takes time before the harvest comes in, knowing that the rain may or may not come the way we want it to, but we have to endure through those uncertain conditions. But the promise is that for the patient farmer, the harvest will yield a valuable crop. That's what the crop is called a valuable crop in our text. Verse 7, as he waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, crop. The reality is that for Christians as we wait the second coming, the harvest is coming.

One day, one day the crop will be in and then there's joy and there's celebration in the family. We've waited patiently like the farmer. The Lord returns and then we get to celebrate just like the farmer does at the harvest. The second example that James gives us is the example of the prophets. In verse 10, he tells us, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

So the first example is the farmer. The second is the prophets. Prophets are an example to us. That word example means they are a pattern that we are to imitate. that we are to follow in our lives as we patiently wait for the return of the Lord.

Prophets like Jeremiah. Nearly every commentator as I read as I was preparing for this lesson when we talk about prophets who waited patiently and who persevered in the midst of difficulty, they mention Jeremiah. He's not mentioned explicitly by James here, but he is certainly one of the prophets who persevered in difficult circumstances. his story he was despised he stood almost alone speaking against the practices and the evil of his day and he was despised nobody wanted to hear Jeremiah nobody wanted to see him coming because his message was one of gloom and woe as far as the people were concerned they tried to kill him were unsuccessful They beat him. They put him in stocks and stretched his limbs.

And they finally threw him in a pit where he was imprisoned.

Jeremiah got so low at one point, he despaired of every having been born. Things were so hard. But he never quit teaching and preaching what God told him to teach and preach. he persevered in the midst of difficulty and is thus an example to us. Another prophet I mentioned is Isaiah, who prophesied and endured.

The story of Isaiah that is not recorded in Scripture but is likely true based on the historical record is he suffered a very difficult and painful death. According to church history, he was executed by being, anybody know? Sawn in two.

Yet, we don't know if he was sawn in two horizontally or vertically. It's almost too horrible to imagine. yet despite all he suffered he never recanted of his faith he persevered to the end and then the last example mentioned is Job good old Job his perseverance if you remember the story of Job he lost his family except for his wife he lost all of his wealth he even lost his health he had a wife who urged him to curse God and die.

Most commentators believe she was urging him not only to curse God, but then just to go ahead and commit suicide. Things were so bad, there was no reason for him to continue living. Go ahead and just kill yourself. Great encouragement to Job. His friends urged him to admit that his suffering is the result of his own sin.

that Job must be a terribly, terribly evil man to be suffering what he is. And so not only has Job lost everything, not only does he have a wife who's urging him to just curse God and kill himself, he now has friends who are accusing him of all sorts of wrongdoing that must be the result of his suffering.

Yet, we are told that Job refuses to curse God. I would not use the word patience with Job, which we sometimes do. And James uses a word that I think would better translate perseverance. Job was not patient in the sense that he didn't just sit there and never question God. He really asked God a lot of questions.

But Job did persevere. He never, ever cursed God. up trusting in God. He never would admit that God was not at work in this. In fact, he believed God was at work through all the suffering. And finally, if you read the whole book, finally, after all his suffering, after his wife urges him to commit suicide, after his friends accuse him of all this wrongdoing finally god shows up and pours out ultimately compassion and mercy on job job ends up being wealthier having a larger family greater status than he ever had before Do you hear the picture?

Suffering, pain, difficulty, then God shows up. That's the same situation for us. There may be difficulty, problems in this life, but Jesus is going to show up. And everything is going to be set right.

I want to talk about the end.

it took me a long time in my Christian life before I was anxious to think about Jesus returning

but as I look across our culture I am ready

C.S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia has a great story in the second book where Prince Caspian despairs because there's so many evil men around. And he starts to believe that God is no longer in control. But ultimately he begins to see that God is in control and that the great Aslan who is the lion in the story who represents Christ is always coming to help him throughout life. and there's the hope that one day Aslan is going to come and set all things right.

So there's a sense in this life that Jesus often helps us in this life, but for whatever reason, the Lord lets evil have its sway for a time. Maybe we need to mature in our faith. Maybe we need to go through some difficulty so we will learn to trust Him more perfectly and more closely. I can't answer all the reasons why we or you experience difficulty. but there's a purpose behind it.

But I want us to keep before us that one day, one day, the waiting will be over. The writer of Revelation tells us that one day Christ will come to set all things right. And let me just read a few passages and then we'll close. Revelation 19. I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse faithful and true with justice he judges and makes war his eyes are like blazing fire and on his head are many crowns he has a name written on on him that no one knows but he himself he is dressed in a robe dipped in blood and his name is the word of god the armies of heaven were following him riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen white and clean out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.

He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty on His robe and on His thigh. He has this name written, King of Kings, Lord of Lords. And those names mean He's going to set it right. one day there will be no more Osama bin Laden's one day there will be no more pain or suffering one day all things will be as they should be so take heart farmers be patient while the crop is coming in the harvest is approaching and like the prophets may we persevere but I like the way John ends the book of Revelation Jesus says three times in Revelation 22 the last chapter

and John at the end of the book says Amen, come on Lord Jesus let's do it that's my prayer Let's remember he's near. But let's be patient until he arrives. Let's pray.

Lord, these qualities are important as we seek to live as your people here and now. Give us patience and perseverance. Help us to stand firm. Help us not to be grumbling in spirit. Give us a real desire to have these qualities in our lives where we fall short and seeing the examples of men and women of faith who have gone before us may we be more like them willing to suffer for Christ and for our Lord to stand firm even when we stand alone against the whole world but help us to cherish and look forward to that day when our Lord will return to put things the way they should be and we will be with Him forever.

For it is in Christ's name we pray. Amen.