James returns to his opening theme of patience/perseverance

• James 1:2-4 NIV Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, (3) because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (4) Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

• He uses two words for patience

Makrothumia – long-suffering

• James 5:7-8 NIV 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. (8) You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.

• James 5:10 NIV Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Hupomone – endurance under stress

• James 5:11 NIV As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

• Perseverance is “staying put when you’d like to run away”

The combined idea is patient endurance

• Makrothumia – patience with people• Hupomone – enduring adverse situations• How can we demonstrate this patient

endurance as we await the Lord’s return? • James gives three examples

The Farmer

• James 5:7-9 NIV 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. (8) You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. (9) Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

As to farming, the impatient need not apply

• The only crop that appears overnight & without work is weeds

• No farmer has control over the weather– Too much rain can cause the crop to rot– Too much sun can burn it up– A hailstorm or an early frost can kill the crop

• Farmers are patient with the weather!

He has patience with the crop, it takes time for plants to grow

• Jewish farmers would plow & plant in our autumn months– Autumn rain would soften the soil– Spring rain would help mature the harvest

• The farmer had to wait months for his seed to produce fruit

• Why did he patiently wait so long? • Because the harvest is “valuable” – worth

waiting for (James 5:7)

The NT pictures us as “farmers” looking for a spiritual harvest

• Galatians 6:9 NIV Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

• The secret of enduring hard times: God is producing a harvest in our lives– Galatians 5:22-23 NIV But the fruit of the

Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness and self-control. …

The farmer’s patience is active, not passive

• He does not stand around doing nothing• He is constantly at work: irrigating,

fertilizing, spraying for pests & weeds• James did not tell readers to climb a hill &

wait for Jesus to return• His idea is “keep working & waiting”

Farmers don’t get into fights with their neighbors

• Farmers are willing to help one another• No time or energy for disputes with neighbors• James may have had this in mind

– James 5:9 NIV Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

• Impatience with God often leads to impatience with God’s people

• If we start using our sickles on each other, we will miss the harvest!

The Prophets

• James 5:10 NIV Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Prophets remind us that God cares for us when we suffer for His sake

• Elijah announced to King Ahab that there would be a drought in the land

• Elijah himself had to suffer in that drought• But God cared for him, and God gave him

victory over the priests of Baal• “The will of God will never lead you where

the grace of God cannot keep you”

Many of the prophets had to endure trials & sufferings

• Daniel was thrown to the lions (Daniel 6)• Elijah barely escaped with his life from

Jezebel (1 Kings 19)• Zechariah, son of Jehoida, was stoned to

death (2 Chronicles 24)• Isaiah was sawn in half (Jewish tradition)• Uriah was put to death with the sword

(Jeremiah 26:23)• Jeremiah was thrown into an abandoned well

to die (Jeremiah 38:6)

Why mention the OT prophets?

• Romans 15:4 NIV For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

• The better we know the Bible, the more God can encourage us– Like the farmer, we keep working– Like the prophets, we keep preaching– No matter how trying the circumstances

Job

• James 5:11-12 NIV As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. (12) 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.

You cannot persevere unless there is a trial in your life

• No victories without battles• No peaks without valleys• When do “blessings” come?

– Sometimes in the middle, as did the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3)

– Sometimes after we’ve endured, as Job

The Book of Job is a tedious book

• Job 1-3 is Job’s distress:– He loses wealth, family (except for his wife, and

she told him to commit suicide), and health

• Job 4-31 is Job’s defense:– Debates three men & answers their accusations

• Job 38-42 present Job’s deliverance:– First God humbles Job– Then He honors Job & restores him

Job did not know what was “behind the scenes” between God & Satan

• Job’s friends accused him of being a sinner and a hypocrite– “There’s some terrible sin in your life, or God

would never have permitted this suffering”

• Job disagreed & maintained his innocence during the entire conversation

The friends were wrong: God had no cause against Job

• Job 2:3 NIV Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."

In the end, God rebuked the friends for assuming the worst

• Job 42:7 NIV After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.

It is hard to find a better example of suffering than Job

• Satan expected Job to get impatient with God & abandon his faith, but that did not happen

• Job did question God’s will, but he never forsook his faith in the Lord– Job 13:15 NIV Though he slay me, yet will I hope in

him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.

• Argued his case, but never gave up on God• That is endurance

God promised Israel that He would bless them if they’d obey His laws

• (Deuteronomy 11)• Led to idea that rich & comfortable were blessed• Conversely, suffering & poor were cursed• Many have that same erroneous idea today• When Jesus said it was hard for the rich to enter

heaven, the disciples were shocked. “Who then can be saved?” (Matthew 19:23-26)

• They thought “The rich are especially blessed of God. If they can’t make it, nobody can!”

The Book of Job refutes that idea; because Job was a righteous man

• Neither God nor Satan found evil in him• Job’s friends couldn’t convict him• Job teaches us that God has higher

purposes in suffering than punishing sin• Job paves the way for Jesus, who

suffered, not for His own sins, but for ours

What does Job’s story mean to us today?

• Some trials come from satanic opposition• God permits Satan to try us, but He

always limits the extent of Satan’s power – Job 1:12 NIV The LORD said to Satan, "Very

well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." …

– Job 2:6 NIV The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

When you’re in the fire, remember God His hand on the thermostat!

• Job 23:10 NIV But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

• He will work out His purposes in His time and for His glory

• You are not caught in the jaws of fate• You are a child of God & part of His plan • There is a difference!

James 5:12 seems out of place

• James 5:12 NIV 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.

What does swearing have to do with the problem of suffering?

• If you have ever suffered, you know the answer

• It is easy to say things you do not mean, and even make bargains with God, when you are going through difficulties

Go back to Job for an example

• Job 1:21-22 NIV and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." (22) In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

• Job did curse the day he was born – Job 3:1 NIV After this, Job opened his mouth and

cursed the day of his birth.

• But he never swore, nor cursed God

James is reminding us of Jesus’ teaching

• Matthew 5:34-37 NIV But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; (35) or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. (36) And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. (37) Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

The Jews routinely used oaths to back up their statements

• Careful not to use the name of God• So, they’d swear by heaven, or earth, or

Jerusalem, or even by their own heads! • Jesus said it you cannot avoid God in oaths• Heaven is His throne, earth is His footstool,

and Jerusalem is the “city of the great King” • As for swearing by your head? “You cannot

make even one hair black or white”

True character requires few words

• The person who uses oaths to convince us has something wrong with his character – He bolsters his weakness by using words

• A true Christian of integrity only has to say yes or no to be believed

• According to Jesus, anything more than this is from Satan

James wanted to encourage us to be patient in times of suffering

• Like the farmer, we are waiting for a spiritual harvest, for fruit that will glorify God

• Like the prophets, we look for opportunities to share God’s word

• Like Job, we wait for God to fulfill His purpose, knowing He will never cause us to suffer needlessly

• And, like Job, we have a clearer vision of the Lord and come to know Him better for having been in the furnace of affliction

James 5:8 NIV

• You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.