Faith That Works: Patient and Steadfast

Hurry up, let’s go . . . we hate to wait!  Simply passively waiting is hard enough, but waiting is even more difficult if we are enduring a trial or a difficulty.  I was at McDonalds last week with my two daughters and when it came time to leave I noticed that I was running short on time to get to a meeting.  In order to speed up the process and make it to my meeting on time I started putting on our 3 year daughter’s shoes for her.  BAD IDEA!  She immediately and very emotionally said “no, I want to do it” which caused my impatience to grow quickly.  I knew it would take her 5 minutes to put each sock and shoe on and it would take me 30 seconds.  I was not just casually waiting on a 3 year old, I was waiting WHILE under the pressure of being on time.  I must admit, I displayed very little patience or steadfastness as I continued attempting to help her put her socks and shoes on while she screamed!

READ:  James 5:7-12

In this passage James uses two different words to express what we need to be doing while we wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In verses 7, 8, and 10 the word translated PATIENCE means to WAIT despite difficulties.  The word translated STEADFAST in verse 11 means to ENDURE despite difficulty and suffering.  What’s the difference?  Patience is passively waiting for an uncomfortable period of time to come to an end, whereas steadfastness is actively bearing through in the middle of a particular hardship. What are some ways that we can be patient and steadfast while we wait for the coming of Jesus Christ?

Be patient and steadfast by WAITING for the precious fruit of Christ’s return (vss 7-8) – I grew up in Iowa, but I am as far from a farmer as you can get.  My grandfather was a farmer and so I got to observe what a life of farming looks like.  A farmer plants in the spring and then . . . waits on something that he has no control over . . . rain.  There are years that farmers suffer through drought and deluge anxiously awaiting a crop to grow.  Farmers can’t predict or guarantee what type of crop they will produce, but they sow seed with confidence and wait knowing that rain will come and “fruit” will grow.  Waiting patiently for the “harvest” of Christ to come is an act of faith, and so we must faithfully sow our lives with confidence expecting that it WILL happen (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11).

Be patient and steadfast by SOLIDIFYING our expectation of Christ’s return (vs 8-9) – It’s okay to have doubts.  We are particularly susceptible to doubts when there are those around us who ask, “where is the promise of His coming, it’s been over 2000 years and he has still not come?”  Such questions can shake our confidence.  But there is reason to grow all the more firm in our belief that He is coming and that there is a great purpose in His “apparent” delay (2 Peter 3:1-13).  2 Peter 3:9 says, “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is PATIENT toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance”.  God is patiently waiting with us!  We dare not wish His patience to come to an end at the expense of those who have not yet repented.  Grow in assurance, the salvation of others is well worth the wait!

Be patient and steadfast by allowing God’s COMPASSION and MERCY to be seen in your life (vs 4-6) – James answers the question that Laura Story sings about in the song “Blessings” when she asks, “what if trials in this life are your mercies in disguise?”  James’ answer to Laura’s rhetorical question is, “yes”.  Just as God used the devastating experiences in Job’s life of losing his children and possessions to show His compassion and mercy, God uses the trials and sufferings in our lives to disprove Satan and put His loving compassion and mercy on display.  While we are waiting there may be seasons when we think we are experiencing God’s wrath, when in reality God is using our suffering to bring greater glory and honor to Himself!

Conclusion:

BE PATIENT (and steadfast), therefore, brothers (and sisters), until the coming of the Lord!

Faith That Works: Riches

Being rich is relative.  Ask most Americans if we would consider ourselves rich and we automatically compare ourselves to someone else who has more than us which allows us to say, “no, I’m not rich”!  We are so immersed in a culture of affluence that we don’t even recognize the extent of our prosperity.  In fact, we’ve come to expect it and believe that we have somehow earned it.  I recently found an interactive website called www.globalrichlist.com where you can enter in your annual income, press a button that says, “show me the money” and it will tell you in what percentage of the richest people you rank in compared to the rest of the world.  I’m sure that many of us are aware that a person only has to make $48,000 per year (which may sound like a lot) and still be in the TOP 1% of the world’s richest people!  I’d say that is a majority of us in America.  We sit on the opposite end of those in the bottom 1% who make $400 per year or less.  The worldwide average annual income is $5000.  These statistics reveal one very simple fact . . . we may not think that we are rich, but compared to the rest of the world . . . we are!

READ:  James 5:1-6

James has already been writing in pretty intense words and tone (James 1:6-7, 22, 2:17, 3:1, 6, 10, 4:4, 16), but I think he hits the climax of his admonition when he addresses the issue of riches.  James gives some harsh warnings to those who are rich . . .

Riches will DETERIORATE and ultimately DESTROY us (vss 2-3a) – Money is known to “burn a hole in your pocket”.  As soon as you possess it, it disappears.  And all the things that we spend it on disappear just as quickly.  All the possessions that we accumulate have a very short life span.  All the time and energy we put into possessing things will eventually rot, be eaten by moths, and corrode (Matthew 6:19-24).  A dangerous and subtle consequence is that the money and possessions that burn a hole in our pockets burn even deeper into our soul and can easily destroy our lives with pride, arrogance, jealousy, greed, and independence from God.  We can avoid the deterioration and destruction of riches by serving God and laying up treasure in heaven.

The Lord will hold us accountable for HOARDING of riches (vs 3b-4) – “What’s mine is mine” is an American attitude that lends itself to an excessive accumulation of riches (Luke 12:13-21).  Hoarding of riches and possessions is really a symptom of a lack of trust in God and a reliance on ourselves to primarily provide for our physical needs.  We busy ourselves accumulating as much as we can in order to anxiously protect ourselves from pain, discomfort, or embarrassment (Matthew 6:25-34).  Such self-protection leaves no room for God to provide for our daily needs of food, shelter, and clothes.  The greatest sin of laying up an abundance of treasure is how it detaches us from our dependence on God. 

 

Excessive riches cause us to NEGLECT and ABUSE those in greatest need(vs 4-6) – While we live in luxury and comfort, there is an entire world that is severely lacking in some of the most basic needs of food, water, clothing, and shelter.  In a sense, by selfishly over-indulging in things BEYOND our basic needs, we are stealing from those who are barely surviving around the world.  Being rich should not be a right we selfishly abuse, but a blessing and a responsibility to care for the needs of the less fortunate around the world.

Conclusion:

READ:  1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19  Practical question at this season of the year . . . would you be willing to sacrifice a Christmas gift you were going to receive in order to give some of your riches to someone in need?   I would like you all to personally consider this question and pray about whether it is something you feel God leading you to do.  Continue to pray about this as Christmas approaches and commit to doing whatever God convicts you to do!