While You Wait Pt. 1
James 5:1-12
James
5:1-12 (ESV)
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries
that are coming upon you.
[2] Your riches have rotted and your garments are
moth-eaten. [3]
Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will
be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire.
You have laid up treasure in the last days.
[4] Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your
fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against
you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears
of the Lord of hosts. [5]
You have lived on the earth in luxury and in
self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of
slaughter. [6] You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous
person. He does not resist you.
[7] Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming
of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit
of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the
early and the late rains.
[8] You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for
the coming of the Lord is at hand.
[9] Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so
that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at
the door. [10] As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
[11] Behold, we consider those blessed who remained
steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and
you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is
compassionate and merciful.
[12] But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either
by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your
"yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so
that you may not fall under condemnation.
1.
Patience and Waiting (5:7)
We are told to wait patiently until the
Lord comes. This
is a great encouragement to those who are being persecuted
for their faith. It’s
a great encouragement for us today who find difficult trials
in life.
When the Lord returns, He will make
everything right.
*The Example of the Farmer-
The key to this passage is to realize
that we can no more speed up the work of God than a farmer
can speed up the growing season.
Why does James use the words precious fruit of the earth?
What makes the fruit precious is it’s
what the farmer longs to see.
It’s what he has been looking for.
Paul knew this truth and it was what
kept him going while he suffered trials (2 Tim. 4:6-8).
2.
Patience and Faith (5:8)
While we wait on the coming of the
Lord, we are to be strengthening our faith so that it
becomes immovable. It’s almost like doing preventative maintenance on our
hearts. When
the time comes and your faith is stretched will it be ready?
3.
Patience and Complaining (5:9)
James knows what the temptations are
while waiting. He
knows that if we are not careful grumbling will enter the
equation. Remember
what happened to the Hebrews in the desert? (Num. 14)
4.
Patience and Persecution (5:10-11)
*Two examples-
First)
he says, take the
prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
God gave the prophets a special
commission to speak His divine Word.
God loved them.
Even the prophets were not exempt from suffering.
Second)
he says, you have
heard of the steadfastness of Job.
We remember all that Job went through?
5.
Patience and Speech (5:12)
But
above all, my brothers, do not swear.
(James
1:19; 26; 3:5-6)
Do not swear or make an oath. Do not take the Lord’s name in vain. Keep very close watch over your speech. Rather than cursing and saying things we will want to take
back later, we must practice patience in our speech knowing
that the Lord is working out His purpose and ultimately His
purpose is meant for our good.
As we think about these points our
attention should immediately turn to the One who modeled
these words perfectly for us.
Jesus never grumbled, complained or cursed (Hebrews
12:2ff).
