Sermon Transcript
If you have not yet heard, we’re still working on the problem over in the sanctuary, the flood. The bad stuff has been removed. The walls are open over there. You could actually see through each other’s bathrooms right now. So we’re gathering the information to know what the repair costs would be.
And today some of that information is going to come to the elders. We have an all-afternoon meeting, the elders do, And we’ll be looking at that and seeing if we have enough information and make a decision on what’s the next step in this process. But as I said a couple of weeks ago, basically we’re going to have before us a question of, do we repair the damage or do we remodel, or do we repair and remodel? And when I say remodel, those of you know that we have, over a year or so ago, launched what we called More to Come. And more to come included some remodel projects in the worship center, in addition to the retiring of the debt, which we, as you know, celebrated here last month.
But in terms of those more to come projects, actually, the water damage has touched every one of the projects, every one of them. So we are faced with the decision, do we just simply repair or do we actually move, Lord willing, into the remodel stage? And see what God’s going to do. So, you could continue to pray about that. And, you know, if you want to just step forward and give about $1.5 million, that would be fine.
I think we could probably move right along quickly, as a matter of fact, if, you know, if the Lord lays it on your heart to do that. You can come up after the service, and we will even give you free coffee.
Very generous, aren’t we? We have over the summer months been looking at the book of James, and we’re a couple of weeks away from finishing that up. So take out your Bibles this morning. We’re going to go back to James today. We’re in chapter 5.
Steve got us into chapter 5 last week by talking about the whole area of money. I loved working through that message as I was able to see it by way of video. And think about the application in my life. But we continue to work through the book, and so today we come to a matter I think that’s before all of us, and it just simply has to do with those hard challenges that we all face in life. I’ve titled the message, When You Hit the Wall, because we’re all going to hit the wall.
You don’t have to be a runner to hit the wall. If you’re a runner, you know, especially in a marathon, there’s a wall typically coming. I’ve read some articles that say there’s a way you can prevent hitting the wall in a marathon, In case you want to know that if you’re planning on, you know, running a marathon anytime soon. But a marathon’s 26.2 miles, and they say the wall comes somewhere around 20 miles. I say they say because I’ve never run a marathon, and I never want to run a marathon.
If I ever thought about running a marathon, I’d just turn back over and go back to sleep. So I don’t think so. But in life, we all hit the wall in different places because of circumstances. Some of us are faced with challenging circumstances this morning. It could have something to do with just challenging people, and we’ve hit the wall with challenging people, VDPs.
Some people are VIPs, others are VDPs, very draining people. Some are VNP, very needy people. Some are VUPs, very unreliable people. And those different groups of people, when they come into our lives, You know, we just want to sometimes give up on them. We say, you know, I’ve had enough of this.
Leave me alone. You know, maybe you face this on the job, or maybe the job itself is just the wall for you. It could be related to school. Kids are going to go back to school this week. I mean, it may just take a week before they’re ready to, you know, get out of school and say, I’ve had enough of this whole thing.
So it could be a number of things, your health, Right now you’re facing some health issues. It could be some depression matters. It usually is connected to a loss of hope in some way. So I think the application of James 5:7-12 is really helpful for all of us because we all run into walls. We don’t have to be runners.
We all run into walls at some point. Now, the good thing is, as we look at the Scriptures, is that this subject is addressed quite frequently. You may remember Elijah. Does that name ring a bell? Elijah was a prophet, and Elijah hit the wall even to the degree where Elijah said, you know what, Lord, why don’t you just kill me?
Okay, it would be better if you killed me and I died than if I went on living. I mean, that was a wall for Elijah. You may know about Peter and how Peter, he tried the ministry thing and it didn’t work for him, and so finally he decided, I’m just going back fishing. I’m going to do something that I know how to do. I’ve tried to do what it was that Jesus called me to do.
It didn’t work out. So I’m leaving what it is that I’ve been, you know, told to do, and I’m going to go do something that I know how to do. So I want you to hear that good people, good people hit the wall. All right? You could be an Elijah type.
You could be a Peter type and still hit the wall. And God knew that. So, in the book of James, this matter is actually addressed twice. In the opening pages of James, the opening verses of James, you may remember that James actually addresses the subject of trials. So, in James 1:2-4, he said, consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its course, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Now, most of us, when we face trials, joy isn’t the first consideration that we have, is it? Consider it all joy? I don’t think so. And yet James says, no, if you think about the benefit that trials can have, you think about the benefit of hanging in there, of persevering, on the other side of your trial is a better you.
It’s the process through which we mature and we become complete, he says, and not lacking in any way. Some of you have gone through physical therapy of some kind, and the reason why you endured the physical therapy was because the doctor or the therapist told you that if you will hang in there and endure the pain when we bend your arm or your leg this way, it’s going to actually work out better for you. And so you endured the pain. Well, essentially, that’s what James is saying here. On the other side of this pain is a better you.
When I was in seminary and I was in the midst of all kinds of trials, I still remember speaking to one of my professors about the circumstances I was in, and I still remember what he said to me. He said, Dave, God must have something very special planned for you, I can hardly wait to see what’s going to happen. He was looking at the current circumstance and how this circumstance was going to change me into a different person than I was, and it did, and it has, and continues to do so. But he was elevating my view essentially to the view that James had on trials. Well, James knew that that evidently wouldn’t be enough for the people that he was writing to.
Who was he writing to? He was writing to the 12 tribes scattered abroad. So he was writing to a group of people who were no longer living in their homeland. We read about this all the time right now, don’t we, with people scattered throughout the world because of persecution? They were scattered because of persecution.
They were perhaps just hanging on by a thread. And so James wants to encourage them. He encourages them with regard to those trials in chapter 1. But then he comes back to it again in chapter 5, which tells me that perhaps one encouragement is not enough when it comes to the challenges that we face in life. And so, in those final words at the end of the book, he addresses the subject again, and he picks up the subject of perseverance and patience again.
And this is what he says. By now, I hope you’ve found this in your Bible, James chapter 5. Verses 7 through 12, he says, 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 too be patient and stand firm because the Lord’s coming is near.
Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, 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’ve heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your yes be yes and your no, no. Or you will be condemned. Now look at that passage again if you have your Bible open there, and notice this matter of perseverance or this matter of patience because it comes up here 7 times, 7 times in word or 7 times in concept.
So verse 7, be patient. Verse 7, wait. Verse 7 again, patient. So 3 times in that verse he talks about the concept. Verse 8, you too be Patience.
Verse 10, patience in the face of suffering. Verse 11, he changes the word to perseverance. So you have persevered. And again, perseverance is used. So 7 times James talks about the need for Christ followers who are in the midst of suffering or in difficult circumstances, wall kind of producing circumstances that make you want to quit.
7 times he says, be patient. The word means to be long-fused. Long-fused, able to wait a long time before you blow your top. Long-fused, okay, patient. Perseverance is steadfast endurance.
It’s that concept Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 15:58 where he said, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58. It’s the same concept. So James wants to say to these Christ followers, and he wants to say the same thing to us who in the midst of circumstances might give up on patience and might give up on perseverance, he wants to say, you need to patiently persevere. Okay?
You need to— those 2 words, let’s just put ’em together. You need to patiently persevere. You need to be steadfast and immovable and the work that the Lord has for you. Now, this is a concept that many people have talked about. You can look back in history and think about Winston Churchill, right?
And some of the famous speeches that Winston Churchill made, like that speech where he said, never, never, never, never give up. Well, essentially, James is saying the same thing here, but the fact is, is that it’s one thing to say that to somebody, to your kids or to your spouse or to yourself, Never, never, never, never give up, but it’s another thing to actually be able to go on without giving up. And what James gives us here are 3 incentives. I look at them as incentives for not giving up, for patiently persevering. What are the incentives?
Did you see them already? Number one is found— the first incentive is found in verses 7 and 8. He says, be patient then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how valuable 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.
So what’s the first incentive? Do you see it? Tell me. It’s the Lord’s coming. The Lord is coming.
Jesus is coming. Now that can make a difference in our perspective on the tough circumstances that we face in life. I remember John Maxwell, one of these leadership gurus, talking about how in the midst of tough circumstances for him, he would often ask himself, well, what difference is this going to make in eternity? And the answer is probably not a big difference at all. And what he was doing, he was putting his perspective on God’s plan as far as the present circumstances were concerned.
And what James wants us to be thinking about here is the perspective that a farmer has. What perspective does a farmer have? Well, the farmer is looking forward to, and notice the word that’s used there, valuable, valuable, right? A farmer is awaiting a valuable crop, but you can’t get the crop without patiently persevering. You can’t get the crop without Enduring.
You have to wait for the crop to sprout. That happens after the fall rains. So somewhere around October it sprouts, and you’re not going to get this crop without it growing. And that happens after the spring rains, whether February, March, April, somewhere in there. But the point is, James is saying, it’s just necessary.
You’re going to have to wait to get the valuable crop. Now, That’s not new to us, is it? We get the waiting concept. That’s why some of us go to certain restaurants over and over again, even though we know every time we go back to this restaurant, we’re going to have to wait. Isn’t that true?
You ever been to Cheesecake Factory? I have never been to Cheesecake Factory and not had to wait. I’ve always had— they’ve always given me the vibrator. Now, maybe you go at like 3 in the afternoon or something, the early dinner or whatever it is, and so you don’t have to wait. But if You go at those normal times, yeah, waiting is what you do.
That’s usually what you do at restaurants, isn’t it? I mean, we wait 5 or 6 times. We wait to get a seat. We wait to get a menu. We wait to order.
We wait to get our food. And then we wait to get the bill.
And all of that comes to us by way of a waiter, which I think that guy’s misnamed, don’t you? I mean, we’re the waiters.
This is the person serving the waiters. Yeah. And if you get dessert in there, then you wait 6 times. You know, if you go to BJ’s, you get a Bazzooki or whatever they’re called, Pazzooki. Yeah.
Do you like getting the Pazzookies? Yeah, I love that dish. But you know what? They— when you order it, they say, oh, this is going to take a while. But you think, well, you know what?
It’s worth it. And so we’ll wait. And that’s why we go to certain restaurants and we wait, because it’s worth it. And that’s what James is saying here. You know, waiting is just a part of life.
And we are right now waiting on the Lord. Why? Because he’s worth it. And these circumstances that we find ourselves in right now, these things are all going to be eliminated. It’s all going to change when the Lord comes, but we have to live with this right now.
It’s just the way it is. Paul writing to a group of people who were hurting, they were in pain, the church at Thessalonica, they were in the midst of pain because they had lost loved ones. And Paul wrote these words, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, for the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, And the dead in Christ will rise first. And after that, we who are still alive and left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever, forever.
Therefore, encourage each other with these words. What is Paul doing? He is bringing back into focus in the midst of these trying circumstances the Lord, and the Lord is coming. And he says, and if you will think about how the Lord is coming and you will encourage each other with these words, you will find comfort. What words?
The fact that those who have died in Christ, they are not stuck in the grave forever; they are going to rise. And the fact that if you are alive when Jesus comes, you are actually going to be caught up together with those who have died in Christ. There is going to be a resurrection of those who have died in Christ, and those who are alive in Christ when He comes. And we’re going to then be, he says, with the Lord forever. Now you tell me, is that worth it?
Valuable? I mean, especially now with the circumstances in the world. I don’t know how you feel about what’s going on in the world right now with all of the events and everything that’s taking place. From my perspective, it sure seems to me like the Lord’s coming is closer now than ever before. And obviously, they were living in a time where they sensed the Lord could come at any time, but it sure looks that way right now with the birth pains that are increasing in intensity and frequency.
You familiar with that analogy? How in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus, when He was talking about what would happen prior to His coming, He said, you be watching for famines, and you be watching for martyrdom, And you be watching for earthquakes, and you be watching for worldwide wars, and all of these different perspectives that Jesus brings into play in Matthew 24. And He says, and it’s going to be— My coming will be like birth pains. Birth pains come upon you. I don’t have to tell you this, ladies.
You know this better than me, right? They come upon you, and all of a sudden, they begin to increase in intensity, and they increase in frequency, and that’s a sign that the baby is near. Well, in the same way, Jesus says, my coming is near when you begin to see these signs. Who knows, it could happen in our time. That would be fabulous.
And keeping that perspective in our minds helps us when we’re ready to give up. And some of us this morning might be ready to give up, and the thing that we need to bring to mind the most right now is this isn’t gonna go on forever. Jesus is coming. There’s a second matter, a second incentive. The first one has to do with how in this time we’re living, waiting is necessary to get what’s valuable that’s promised.
It’s going to be necessary to wait. But then he focuses on this problem that we have with each other, imperfect relationships. Anybody have any relationship— don’t raise your hand— problems? Yeah, this is just a part of life. And so, he says in these troubling times, verse 9, don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged.
The judge is standing at the door. And then he adds, and I think it’s interesting, jump down to verse 12, he adds, above all, my brothers, do not swear, nor by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your yes be yes, and your no-no, or you will be condemned. Have you ever been tempted to give up on somebody? You know, don’t look at the person right now, but have you ever been tempted to give up on somebody?
Have you ever been tempted to give somebody a piece of your mind? You know, that piece that probably you shouldn’t give to somebody? Yeah, I mean, we have all been there. We probably were there this week. You ever done any grumbling?
That’s an interesting word, grumbling. You ever grumbled about somebody? The word means heavy sighing.
Ever done that? You don’t even have to say anything. You just, I’ve had it with you! You know, that kind of expression. You ever had any smoldering resentment?
That’s also contained in this word grumbling.
I’m— I just can’t take it any longer. You know, it just begins to brew up, and then maybe it just comes out one day. You ever had to deal with somebody who was resorting to swearing in order to get you to believe them?
Say, what are you talking about? Verse 12 isn’t talking about cursing. It’s not— when it says swear, do not swear, he’s not talking about cursing. He’s talking about a person who is swearing on a stack of Bibles, this is true. I swear on my mother’s grave, I’m telling you the truth.
I swear I will be there. I know I wasn’t there the last time that I said we would meet. I know that I made a promise. That I would get the job done at such and such a time? I know that I said, well, I swear this time I’ll do it.
That’s what he’s talking about. You ever had to work with somebody who had to swear because their words could not be trusted? Because they said one thing and they did something else? There was a trust gap. A credibility gap?
That’s what he’s talking about here. He’s talking about how hard it can be in relationships where we’re working with people that just make us want to grumble, and basically we can’t believe their word because their word in the past has been untrustworthy. And James, of course, gives the answer to the person whose word is untrustworthy, The answer is you should be able to say yes and mean it, and you should be able to say no and mean it. And those that you’ve said yes or no to should be able to trust your yes, and they should be able to trust your no. And if they can’t trust your yes and your no, for you to go down the road of, I swear I’ll do it, is wrong.
And for those of us who are working with these kinds of people, what James is saying here is you need to stop your grumbling and you need to remember instead simply this: judgment is coming. Now, that’s fascinating. Instead of me grumbling against this person who doesn’t keep their word, Instead of me grumbling against the imperfect people that are a part of my life, James says I need to recall the judge is standing at the door. That’s Jesus Christ. And when Jesus comes, we all— listen, we all are going to be accountable for every word.
That’s enough to freak you out. Every word. Matthew 12:36, but I tell you that men will have to give account on that day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. Is that not scary? The judge is standing at the door.
And so James says, don’t grumble against each other, brothers. He’s talking to Christians here. Sometimes we want to, like, pull this thing out and say, oh, this is— This is only a judgment of accountability for unbelievers. Wait a minute. He says, you are going to be judged, and you are going to be judged by all the grumbling that you have done against other brothers.
So stop that. And how do we stop that? By focusing on the fact that Jesus is coming and Jesus is the ultimate judge, and it is not our place to judge, it is His place to judge. So let’s don’t stand in His place of judgment, let’s defer to Him. That’s his job description.
That’s not our job description. And what’s our job description? Our job description is to focus on serving each other and loving each other and even having forbearance in our relationships with each other because there’s going to come a day where that person who’s not reliable right now will face judgment. And they don’t need your judgment now. What they need now is your forgiveness and your forbearance and your love and your willingness to help them regardless of whatever circumstance you’re faced with.
Fascinating. When I frustrated my mother, and it’s a win, when I frustrated my mother, when I said something stupid, when I did something stupid, do you know what Mom would often say to me? When it just wouldn’t stop, she would often say to me, you know your dad’s coming home soon.
Did your parents ever say that to you?
And you know what? It made a difference. It really did, because I knew the judge was coming, and he was going to make things right. And there were many times where because she just said that, she found relational relief with her oldest son, David, just in saying, the judge is coming.
Dad’s coming.
I think sometimes we hit the wall in our relationships and we could have that happening right now in some relationships. And we are basically saying, you know what? I’m done with you. We’re not going to do this anymore. I’m giving up.
And James is saying, no, don’t go there. Leave the assignment to the Lord. Instead of grumbling against others, instead of judging others, give that to God and love others because someday they’re going to be judged and they need your help right now to not stand someday before the Lord and be judged for things that perhaps you could have help them with at this moment in time.
He doesn’t stop there. He gives a 3rd incentive for patiently persevering, and this one has to do with those hard times that include suffering. He says in James 5:10, Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, it’s the first time in these few verses here he talks about suffering. Suffering comes in other ways. But in the face of suffering, so evidently these believers scattered abroad, of course, were continuing to suffer.
But he says, 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’ve heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. What’s James saying?
You know, one of the things we could bring to mind in the midst of suffering would be the prophetics, the prophetical books, the prophets, 17 books of prophecy, a lot there to think about. But if you just think about, for instance, Jeremiah, you didn’t know about Jeremiah. Well, we know he had a tough assignment. We know things didn’t go well for Jeremiah. He was called the What prophet, do you know?
The weeping prophet. Yeah. It got so bad for him. He was beaten. He was chained up.
He was jailed. He was abandoned in a well to die. Why did all of that happen? Because he was asked to be a spokesperson for God, and he went about saying, Thus saith the Lord, I guess, in King James, or modern language, Thus says the Lord. He got the same response regardless.
They rejected him. They beat him. But he never stopped. When he hit the wall, he didn’t stop. He pressed on.
He didn’t quit. He kept on going. He patiently endured. He patiently persevered. And he even lived with hope, and he even gave hope to those he prophesied to.
You may remember this passage where in Jeremiah 29:11, Jeremiah said, I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. You say, wow, that’s an amazing passage. I guess it’s not up there, but Jeremiah 29:11, just an incredible passage that speaks about hope in the midst of an awful situation where ultimately the kingdom of Judah is going to be judged, and they were sent into exile. And yet, on the edge of going into exile in this judgment, God through Jeremiah speaks words of hope that there is going to be a future for you. Yes, there is going to be a time of pain, but there will be a future for you.
I am not giving up on you. And Jeremiah gives them that hope. You remember Job? What do we know about Job? Well, you talk about perseverance, you talk about patience.
He lost everything. He lost everything except for his nagging wife. And you got to wonder at that point because, you know, I mean, she wasn’t like giving him the best counsel. Her counsel was in the midst of all of the problems, Job, just curse God and die, okay? Kind of like, oh, I’m so glad I married you.
Thank you. And you may read the account, too, about his 4 friends and how his 4 friends came to him, and they didn’t give him the best counsel. Their counsel was essentially, you know, Job, this is all happening in your life because you probably have sin in your life, and if you would just confess your sin, then all of the problems will stop. You ever heard that kind of theology? That wasn’t the problem.
Job was the most righteous man alive, we’re told. Face of the earth at the time. So it wasn’t because personal sin was connected to his judgment. It wasn’t it at all. And so here Job’s got all this bad information that’s coming his way, but you know what he continued to do?
He continued to patiently persevere. He said, Job 23:10, he knows the way that I take, and when he’s tested me, I’ll come forth as gold. You know this passage, some of you. The word test there is the word that’s used to describe what a goldsmith would do. A goldsmith would take gold and heat the gold, and when the gold was heated, it liquefied, and the impurities in the gold then would rise to the surface in this gold that was heated.
The impurities were called dross, and that dross was then skimmed off the surface of the gold. The goldsmith knew he had pure gold when he was able to look into this liquid gold and see no impurities there in his reflection. And in essence, what James is realizing is right now God is taking me, yes, through the furnace. He is testing me, but it is necessary because it is all part of Him taking the impurities out of my life so that God might be seen in me, and we would say so that Christ might be seen. In me.
And it was in that perspective that James was able to patiently persevere. Well, question: did what James says happened actually happen to Job where it says that finally the Lord who is full of compassion and mercy demonstrated compassion and mercy to Job? You know the end of the story. Job 42:10, the Lord made him prosperous again. And he gave him twice as much as he had before.
All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and they consoled him over all the trouble— watch this— the Lord had brought upon him.
They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought upon him. Not just allowed, brought.
And each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. And the Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, 1,000 donkeys, and he also had 7 sons and 3 daughters.
Was the Lord full of compassion and mercy toward Job? Absolutely. And what James is telling us here is that Christ’s followers need to live in light of the fact that on the other side of even this trouble that the Lord brings upon us, even this testing that the Lord brings upon us, even this trouble that the world and sin brings upon us. On the other side of this hardship and suffering is blessing. And so, he says, so bring to your mind the fact that blessing is coming.
Jesus is coming. Judgment is coming. Blessing is coming, which gives us plenty of incentive for not giving up because our God is full of blessing and our God is full of compassion. Now some of us, I know, are sitting here saying, well, I don’t see it right now. Well, Job didn’t see it right away either.
Job did see it before the end of his life, but some people die— go to Hebrews chapter 11, the last part. Some people die without seeing that blessing, but that does not mean the blessing will not come. It does. It may come in death. It may come after this life.
But the point is, in knowing that there is blessing that comes, we can endure. We can patiently persevere. We know the Lord’s lovingkindnesses are new every morning, that his faithfulness is great. Jesus himself had this perspective. Familiar with Hebrews chapter 12?
And let us run with endurance, the writer of Hebrews says, Verse 1, the last part, the race that’s set before us. Verse 2, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. What was it that got Jesus through this? Well, in part, it was just the joy that was set before him. He endured the pain knowing There was something better that was yet to come.
And some of us, that’s what gets us through some of the job circumstances we find ourselves in. There’s a paycheck on the other side of this. There’s a vacation on the other side of this. There’s satisfaction on the other side of this.
Patiently persevere. You see, ultimately what he’s saying here is something we’ve heard before. Patience pays.
It pays.
Jesus is coming. That’s of inestimable value. Pays. Judgment is coming. The Lord will work out this relational stuff.
He’ll fix it. Just love people. You know, you’re not their judge. You don’t have to grumble against them. Blessing is coming.
On the other side of this life is a life with no more pain, no more tears, no more death.
Can you think of a time in your life where you persevered, you didn’t give up, you patiently endured, and you got through it, and then you said afterwards, it was worth it? It was worth it.
I’d love the opportunity to ask Heather Dordinen that question. I think she would agree. Watch this video.
You are good, you are good when there’s nothing good in me. You are love, you are love on display for all to see. You are light, you are light when the darkness closes in. You are hope, you are hope, you have covered all my sins.
You are peace, you are peace when my fear is crippling. You are true, you are true even in my wandering. You are joy, you are joy, you’re the reason that I sing. You are life, you are life, in you death is lost its sting.
I’m running to your arms, I’m running to your arms. The riches of your love will always be enough. Nothing compares to your embrace. Light of the world, forever reign.
Sing, you are more, you are more than my words will ever say.
Say you are Lord, you are Lord. All creation will proclaim you are here, you are here. In your presence I’m made whole. You are God, you are God. All else I’m letting go.
Get up, I run into your arms, I run into your arms. The You know, it may be this morning that you’ve taken a fall recently and you been thinking about just giving up. Maybe that’s why you’re here today, needed to find some encouragement. Now I think this is just so relevant to the life that God’s asked us to live. I think that’s why James didn’t give up on it, right?
He could have just talked about it in the first chapter, but he came back to it again right near the end and one more time said, do you have this?
Patiently persevere. Patience pays.
What is it that you’re about ready to give up on that if you were to hang in there, God could do something miraculous, even something unexpected? You know, I look at the Scriptures. Aren’t you glad that the Lord patiently perseveres?
2 Peter 3:9 says, the Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. God could have said, you know what? Enough of this. I’m done. But he didn’t.
To this day he has patiently persevered with us, with mankind. He patiently persevered long enough for those of us who have received the message of salvation in Christ. He patiently persevered long enough for us to receive that message. And aren’t you glad? Absolutely.
And he asks us to live the same kind of life toward others, toward those who perhaps are outside his family, and we have just said, I have just had enough. I’ve had enough of this.
Patience pays.
I don’t know if you’re still outside of God’s family, but if you are, maybe the Lord’s got you here this morning because he finally wants you to get this. He’s been unrelenting in his love for you. He has not given up. He waits even now for you to come to faith in him. All it takes is a surrender of your life to his.
It’s a surrender to say, Lord, forgive me of my sins. Change my heart. Adopt me into your family. Make me one of your children. Change me from this point on.
Give me a forever relationship with you. If that’s the desire of your heart, I’m going to give you an opportunity just in a moment to pray. And just tell God that. That’s how we tell him, just in prayer. Prayer is speaking to God.
It’s telling him, Lord, that’s what I want, and I’m glad you have waited. Maybe you know somebody who the Lord is waiting on right now, and maybe as we pray, you can pray for that person. Or perhaps there’s another matter you need to be praying about, and it just has to do with some of the hardship you’re faced with right now, or the relationship that you’re in, or some of the suffering that you’re going through. And you’ve hit the wall and you are ready to give up. And James is saying, don’t, don’t give up.
Too much is at stake. We need you in the race. Let’s finish this together. Let’s pray.
Just talk to the Lord about that as it relates to you today.
Just tell him what’s on your heart.
What’s he been saying to you? What does he want you to do about it?
If you are ready to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you’ve been waiting, wait no longer. The Lord’s been waiting for you because he loves you and he wants you to be a member of his family.
Invite him into your life through the work of the Spirit. Ask him to save you. Just in your own words, Father, I’m sorry. I’ve lived my whole life as if I was God.
Forgive me. Change me.
Be my Lord. Be my Savior.
Forgive me of my sins.
Make me the kind of person you want me to be.
Thank you for waiting.
Father, thank you for this wonderful reminder this morning. May we live in light of this passage. May we be people who live with hope.
Help us call to mind in the midst of times of hardship that Jesus is coming, that we’re not the judge, that blessing will come. May we find hope when we come up against wall after wall in our life that could so easily cause us to give up and to lose heart. And may even today there be hope for each one as we consider the application of this in the areas we’re challenged today. For we pray this in Jesus’ name. Everybody said amen.
