I am not sure if you were able to attend our Grand Opening as a church in Austin but it awesome. There was the Gigafactory opening and then North Village Church. You need to know the only reason we are able to have a place like this to have a Grand Opening for our church in Austin is because men, women, and children like yourself have committed their lives to Jesus, committed your resources to His people, committed your time and energy to His people. Praise God!
We are excited about our new space, but we don’t want to just rest in the comforts of our new space. We want the Lord’s provision to move us up and out into the world, now more than ever. Specifically, we have this display in the hallway as a visual reminder to move us up and out into the world. God’s Word calls those who are His to LOOK AROUND. He calls us to lift up our eyes and see who He has placed around us so that His blessings in our life might move into our life and through us into the life of other people.
In the hallway we have identified 5 key areas; poverty, orphaned, sex traffic, unreached, and persecuted. On each wall there is a brief description of why those areas are important. There are a few Scriptures as to why God’s Word tells us those areas are important. And the best part, there is a QR Code that we can update online with resources to move us up and out in this world. Isn’t that awesome?
A big value for our church family in Austin is to move up and out into the world. That’s why we went through our series called “What About?” in the fall. We want to be ready to engage the culture of our day. That’s why we are teaching through James because James is reminding us of the great faith we have in Jesus produces a great life in Jesus. Up and out! Hasn’t James been so good for our church family? Chapter 1 trials and temptations are going to come, but trials and temptations doesn’t mean we just get to show partiality toward people that are more comfortable (Chapter 2).
Trials and temptations don’t mean we get to be mean to one another with our words (Chapter 3). Trials and temptations doesn’t mean we can excuse quarrels and fighting (Chapter 4). And this morning we are going to finish off James where God’s Word gives us three characteristics, three closing truths to navigate the trials and temptations of our day; 1. Patient on the Lord. 2. Personal Holiness. 3. Partnered With Others. Let’s start with the first sub-point; 1. Patient on the Lord
- Patient on the Lord.
James 5:7, “7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.”
In verse 7 we see the word “therefore” because God’s Word knows we are going to go through challenges in life. God’s Word tells us there are going to be trials and temptations and at the same time our ultimate hope is not the removal of trials and temptations. Does that make sense?
Look at verse 7. Where is our ultimate hope? Our ultimate hope is in the “coming of the Lord.” Do you see that? The word “coming” in verse 7 is the word “poursia” which means “arrival” and “poursia” has a connotation of a coming king. His name is Jesus. That’s our ultimate hope.
Therefore, be patient my brethren, but it isn’t a call to be patient just to be patient. God’s Word isn’t a children song, “Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry.” No, it is to be patient on the coming of the Lord. Jesus is not only God in the flesh, Jesus not only took our sin at the cross, Jesus not only resurrected and conquered death so that we might have life in Him.
But Jesus told us that one day He would return and one day He would make all things new, so that yes there are trials and temptations of our day but the follower of Jesus is to persevere with patience. Look at verse 8 as James gives us an illustration of patience:
James 5:8, “The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.”
I am sure not many of us were involved in Future Farmers of America, but the illustration makes sense, right? The farmer doesn’t wake up one day, walk out the door and find a harvest, right? No, the farmer has to till the soil. The farmer has to plant the seed, water the seed, nurture the sapling, and 9 months later comes the harvest. Right?
In the illustration the farmer is making a choice to be patient on the greater reward. The farmer is making a choice to persevere through the trials and temptations of the day because one day his lips are going to taste the reward of buttery corn on the cob. Look at verses 8:
James 5:8, “8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.”
In the same way, might we who are followers of Jesus be like the mighty farmer! Might we focus our eyes not on the trials and temptations of our day so that we are tossed around like the surf of the sea, James 1, becoming double-minded men and women who get swept up with partiality, harsh words, quarrels and self-reliance.
But instead, might we lift our eyes to the day when Jesus will return. It is right that we should speak out against injustice because one day justice is going to roll down like a mighty river.
It’s right that we should extend compassion to all people because one day every tear will be wiped. It’s right that we speak up for sexual ethics because one day our bodies will be made whole and all things made new, so like the mighty farmer we till, and water and nurture with patience toward that day. You with me?
That’s how we just navigated this pandemic in Austin, right? We persevered with patience. We put our eyes on the day that this virus would go away. That’s how we navigated our education in school. We showed up to class, we did the work, and we put our eyes on the day we would finish.
That’s how we have navigate North Village Church. The story of our church family in Austin is not one of explosive growth. It’s a story of perseverance. It’s a story of faithful men and women depositing seeds of prayer, seeds of truth, seeds of relationships and this new place is great, but this new place isn’t our reward. It’s nice but ultimately our eyes are waiting on the day when Jesus returns to make all things new. Let’s look at our second sub-point; 2. Personal Holiness.
- Personal Holiness.
Not only do we want to be patient on the Lord’s return but throughout James we see God’s Word reminding us of the importance of personal holiness. Look at verses 13-15:
James 5:13-15, “13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.”
There is some debate if the “suffering and sickness” in verses 13-15 is physical sickness, spiritual sickness, or both. Do you see that in verse 13 and 14? Is James talking about physical sickness or spiritual sickness like habitual, sinful behavior is spiritual sickness?
Personally, I think James is speaking to both, but based on the context of the passage these verses are mostly speaking to spiritual sickness of habitual, sinful behavior.
First, throughout the letter we see James speaking to brothers and sisters in Christ who have been drifting from the Lord (Partiality, harsh words, quarreling, and self-reliance) all forms of spiritual sickness. Second, the word “restore” in verse 15 is that of salvation. It isn’t physical restoration from physical sickness but a spiritual restoration, which is why verse 15 reminds us of the forgiveness that is made available in Jesus.
Lastly, in verse 14 when James references “anointing with oil” this is a reference that is used 76 times in Scripture, and most of the time it is about people who are coming out of dark places spiritually and the anointing is to set them apart so as to be a people who are whole-heartedly committed to God.
Therefore, in my opinion James is concluding his letter and encouraging these men and women to turn from spiritual darkness and turn to Jesus and pursue the holiness they have been given by grace through faith in Jesus.
Listen to me, it isn’t a holiness we manufacture on our own. It the holiness we are given in Christ! 2 Peter tells us we have everything we need for life and godliness in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1 tells us we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Jesus. Throughout James he has been calling the follower of Jesus to not just be hearers of the word but also doers of the words, therefore, as we walk through trials and temptations lets us not forsake personal holiness.
This is especially applicable coming out of the pandemic, right? I don’t know about you but during the pandemic it was easy to turn toward partiality, harsh words, quarreling and self-reliance. I am some of us not only turned toward those areas of darkness but have wallowed in those areas of darkness and maybe even now still wallowing in those areas of darkness, therefore, God’s Word is calling out to the follower of Jesus to turn away from those dark places, turn to Jesus and we will find forgiveness.
It’s why verse 14 says, “Are any of you sick?” Yes, there is physical sickness but there is also spiritual sickness when we turn to death over and over and over and God’s Word calls us to turn to the elders of the church to pray over us in those moments.
The elders of our church are me and Dustin Rogers. We also have Jac Greene and Roberto Moctezuma going through elder in training. God’s Word is calling us to not wallow in spiritual darkness but turn to the spiritual leaders of our church so that we restore one another in a spirit of gentleness.
If we broke our leg, we wouldn’t tell ourselves, “Maybe it will just get better with time?” No, we would go to the ER. Therefore, might we do the same with our spiritual brokenness and seek help. I was talking with a pastor one time, and he said, “The biggest challenge is that as people we wait so long before we ask for help.” He said, “If people came to me at the beginning it would be so much easier but instead people wait.”
People wait till it gets worse. People wait till everything is falling apart. People wait till there is an emergency. People wait till there is a metaphorical gunshot wound to the chest and then when there are no other options they cry out for help, “Someone fix this!”
He said, “It’s great people come, and we do what we can, but I wish we would ask for help when it is just a splinter.” Does that make sense.
Let’s do that church family. Let’s build that culture in our church family. Let’s run to one another for prayer early and often so that we might spur one another on in personal holiness.
None of us are perfect. None of us have life figured out. We are all in this fight together, therefore, let us pray for one another to see darkness leads to death but in Jesus there is life, therefore is forgiveness, therefore, turn to Jesus and walk in Him.
It’s possible that some outside our church have used verse 15 as a means for spiritual abuse so I just need to touch on it quickly. Some will say when James writes “the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick” they apply it to physical sickness and then say, “If you don’t get physically healthy it’s because you didn’t have faith.” That’s horrible.
James isn’t writing about a traveling team going around the country healing people. He is writing to a church family that is getting swept up in their trials and temptations. He is writing to brothers and sisters who are struggling to get along. Therefore, the charge is to turn to Jesus by grace through faith and we will find forgiveness. Let’s look at our last sub-point; 3. Partnering With Others.
- Partnering With Others.
James 5:19-20, “19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 20 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.”
The reality is there are going to be times in our day and times in our life when we are not patient for the Lord’s return. We are going to get distracted. We are going to drift toward the comforts of this world. Right? This is why our relationships with one another are so important.
Verses 19-20 are describing a people who are fighting for one another and our faith in Jesus. This is the essence of our church family.
We’re not going to fight for politics. We’re not going to fight about viruses. We’re not going to fight about the next wave of something scarry that’s going to get us. We’re going to fight for one another to grow in Jesus and His Word.
In verse 20 when we see the phrase “will cover a multitude of sins” we are seeing a phrase that points us to Jesus. It is in Jesus that we see the One who covers our sins completely. The idea of “covering sin” refers to forgiveness of sin through the act of atonement. It means Jesus takes our sin at the cross and gives us His righteousness so that we are covered in Christ. It’s why James repeats this idea of “turning” twice because the idea of “turning” is the idea of repentance, which means to turn.
We are turning from spiritual death and darkness, and we are turning to the life we have been given in Jesus by grace through faith, therefore, verses 19-20 are teaching us that these types of conversations are what should shape our conversations with one another. The reality is as we get involved in each other’s lives as a church family we are going to see a lack of compassion toward others. We are going to see partiality. We are going to see quarrels and conflicts and self-reliance. In those moments people tend to respond in one of two extremes.
We will either respond with too much grace or too much truth. Haven’t you seen this? Those of us who are too gracious will see spiritual darkness creeping into our church family and say, “It’s not that big a deal. We’re all sinners. Jesus forgives. Let’s hug!” The other extreme is too much truth. We have friends wallowing in death and darkness and we pile it on. We tell them it’s offensive to God. We tell them we are disappointed. We tell them God’s disappointed. Neither one of those extremes are helpful.
In verses 19-20 we see God’s Word pointing us to the gospel. It’s the gospel that “covers a multitude of sins” therefore we want to remind one another of the gospel. It is in the gospel that we see that our sin does separate us from God, our sin is offensive to God, our sin is death and darkness, but Jesus has come to take our sins upon Himself at the cross and conquer our sin in the resurrection so that we who are His might walk in newness of life. That’s the gospel and we want to those types of conversations to shape our prayers for one another, our community groups with one another, and our time with one another.
It’s possible you are thinking to yourself, “That sounds awesome, but that’s not really my strength.” I don’t want to step on toes, I don’t want to say the wrong thing, I will just send them to the pastor.” You can but verse 19 says “my brethren.” It isn’t just the pastor reminding us of the gospel but the “brethren” reminding one another of the gospel. It is the brothers and sisters in Christ reminding one another of all that we have been given in Jesus. Will you do that with me?
Last week I was talking with a woman in her late 60’s and I asked her, “How do you keep a heart soft for the Lord into your 70’s.” She said two words. Perseverance and surrender, and they go together. She said, “You just keep persevering with the Lord.” These are her words. She said, “You can’t quit.” And as you persevere you “surrender yourself to Him.” You trust Him. They go together. Isn’t that good? That’s what we want to do as a church family. We want to be persevere and lock our eyes on the Lord. We want to surrender our lives to Him, obey Him and we want to remind one another of those truths over and over and over until we are face to face with Jesus.
As we close, I want to invite us all to respond to God’s Word physically by kneeling on the floor on your knees before God. Maybe there are some of us in the room who have thought about quitting. Maybe there are some of us who are just discouraged. Maybe there are some of us who think we’re fine, but I want to invite us all to respond physically by kneeling on the floor before God.
In a minute, I am going to ask everyone to close their eyes, and then as you feel led, I want us to symbolically humble ourselves before the Lord and surrender our lives to Him. I wish I could tell you that better days are ahead. I wish I could tell you the challenges of our day are over. But honestly, it might get worse. It might get worse on a global level or some of us in this room might encounter some personal challenges that are so great that we could never imagine, therefore, lets close out James by kneeling before the Lord and crying out to Him. If you have yet to trust in Jesus then you can hold off but if you know Jesus, then let’s humble ourselves before the Lord together. Let’s walk over to these men and women at the front and pray with one another. Let’s come before the Lord.