“The Wisdom of Talking to God” (sermon on James 5:13-18)

I guess most Christians would say that they ought to pray more.  Now, as a guilt-inducing statement, that probably ranks up there with, “I know I should brush and floss better.”  No one has arrived in this area.  And simply saying it does just about as much good.

But as James brings his letter to a close, he doesn’t simply say, “You should pray more.”  Instead, he calls us to bring every aspect of life to the God of all wisdom, the Father of lights, the giver of all good gifts (see 1:1-5, 17).  He reminds us that there is no circumstance that is beneath God’s notice, and no circumstance in which we don’t need God-given wisdom.  He calls us to talk to God in every circumstance, to talk to God with others, and to keep talking to God, knowing that God is faithful to listen to us far beyond what we can imagine or deserve:

I.  Talk to God in every circumstance (James 5:13-15)

A.  When we’re suffering (v. 13a)

B.  When we’re happy (v. 13b)

C.  When we’re sick and weak (v. 14-15)

II.  Talk to God with others (v. 16)

III.  Talk to God, because He hears (v. 17-18).

It was a privilege to look at these truths with brothers and sisters at Bethel Baptist Church in North Vernon a few weeks ago, on Sunday night, November 22.  The sermon may be heard by clicking below, or downloaded by right-clicking here and choosing “Save As.”

 

 

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“The Wisdom of Rescuing a Brother” (sermon on James 5:19-20)

Sadly, the idea of a professing Christian walking away from the faith is far from difficult to imagine.  All of us know people who started well, who encouraged us, whom we looked up to in the faith, but who now appear to be running from Christ, and only getting farther away.  Sometimes it’s sudden—they woke up one morning and announced that they no longer believe that Jesus is Lord.  Sometimes it’s the slow drift Hebrews 2 warns about, where taking Christ for granted leads to complacency, which leads to looking to something else, which leads finally to apostasy.

James is bringing his letter to a close.  As the lead pastor/elder/bishop of the church at Jerusalem, he has been teaching us wisdom—the art of seeing and responding to the universe in light of who God is and what He has done in Christ.  He has said that wisdom trusts God in troubles and believes God in temptation (chapter 1).  It sees others in light of Christ’s kindness to us, and evaluates our faith in light of what we do about what we say we believe (2:1-26).  Biblical wisdom sees our words as a symptom of what we love most, and turns over and over again to the wise Father who gives us all we need and more (3:1-4:12).  Wisdom holds the future loosely, and awaits God’s perfect timing for justice rather than taking matters into our own hands (4:13-5:12).  And wisdom turns to Christ in every matter, whether joy or sorrow, sickness or sin (5:13-18).

And now, at the end of a letter filled with the practical outworkings of the gospel, James says that wisdom sees those who are starting to walk away from the faith and acts.  Straying from the truth brings real danger, and with that danger comes a call for those nearby to warn and remind with an eye to turn the wanderer back to safety.  James says, “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20).

I. Straying is a real danger (James 5:19a).
II. Straying will kill you (v. 20).
III. Straying does not have to be forever (v. 20b)!

This sermon was preached on Sunday, October 11, 2015, at Grace Chapel Baptist Church, Kingwood, WV.  Audio may be listened to below, or it may be downloaded by right-clicking and “Save Link As” here.

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“The Wisdom of Simple Truth” (sermon on James 5:12)

“Cross my heart and hope to die…”  “But I had my fingers crossed…”  “I swear on a stack of Bibles…”  When we were growing up, probably most of us felt the need to have some way of emphasizing that we were telling the truth—or excusing ourselves when we weren’t.  And somewhere along the line we discovered that not everyone’s word was equally trustworthy —some people could be trusted implicitly, while others had to be checked out.

James has already said a lot to his readers about how we deal with one another and the words we use.  He’s called us to reflect God’s patience and blessing in the way that we speak (3:2-12).  He’s warned us to love one another more than we love getting our way (3:13-4:12).  He’s invited us to see ourselves under God’s wise and all-knowing care so that we don’t have to guarantee our own futures and rescue ourselves when wronged (4:13-5:6).  And he’s counseled us to be patient with one another, knowing that we can trust the righteous Judge to right wrongs and reconcile brothers (5:7-11).

Now he commands us to live out godly wisdom by telling the truth, no strings attached.  Instead of taking oaths to establish our credibility, he says we are to be known as truth-tellers.  Led by the Holy Spirit, he tell us:

I.  Do not live by oaths (James 5:12a).

II.  Instead, imitate Christ by simply telling the truth, every time (v. 12b)!

This sermon was preached on Sunday, May 24, 2015, at Grace Chapel Baptist Church, Kingwood, WV.  Audio may be listened to below, or it may be downloaded by right-clicking and “Save Link As” here.

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