Patient Till Christ Comes | James 5:7-11 | Pastor John Miller

I want you to follow I'm gonna read the whole text and we'll come back and break it down beginning in verse seven James says be patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the Lord that's the theme of this passage being patient so the Lord comes behold the husbandman or farmer he waits for the precious fruit of the earth he has long patience for it till he receives the early and the latter rain be ye also patient stablish your hearts because the coming of the Lord draws near don't grudge or complain one against another brethren lest you be condemned behold the judge is standing at the door take heed my brethren the prophets are take my brother's the prophets who has spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and patience verse 11 behold we count them happy or blessed which endure we have heard of the patience of job we have seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercies James is addressing Christians in verses 1 to sexy speaking to non-christians they were the wicked wealthy but it's very clear that when you come to verse 7 he says be patient therefore brethren so he's speaking to brethren in light of what he said in verses 1 to 6 thus the therefore because God is going to judge the wicked God is going to set all wrongs right God is going to vindicate you God is going to redeem you when the coming of the Lord therefore the exhortation is be patient therefore brethren so he's clearly talking to Christians about patience in light of the Lord's return now what do we mean by patience what does James mean better yet by the word patient you know just to hear this word patient I get impatient I don't like the word patience when you tell me to be patience I want to punch you in the nose it's called the laying on of hands it's in Christian love you know I just like don't tell me to be patient you know I want what I wanted I want it now we have a real difficult time with patience we want our computers to be lightning-fast we want our phone to be fast we want waiters in the waitress and waitresses to be fast you know by the way why do they call them the waiter I'm the one that's waiting I wait to get in wait to get a seat wait for my water wait for the menu wait to give my order wait for the food to show up then I wait for my check and then I wait for them to bring me back my change and you wait and wait but yet they call them the waiter who's the waiter here I'm the one that's waiting another one of my pet pieces you're in an intersection you're the first one in the intersection the light turns green and the minute it turns me on someone honked behind you like whoa I can't even get my foot off the gas on to the or off the brake under grants you want me to go I say it's so hard for me to maintain my pass toriel sanctification I want to put it in park I want to get out of my car I want to go over and out there's something wrong with your horn I heard about one guy that's stalled in an intersection people were honking behind him a guy was long that so he gets out of his car he goes back he's just look you go trying to start my car and I'll sit here and honk your horn well that's a good arrangement but you know it's dangerous to do that by the way today you could get killed doing something like that or it could be a period in the newspaper pasture beats up men and intersection I don't think that would fly well what do we mean by patience let me break it down the word patient that appears in verse seven down to verse 10 there's a different word for patience in verse 11 but the word patient here comes from two Greek words macros which means long or sometimes big or large macros and the word foo most where we get our word thermometer it means temper so means long tempered so how do we translate that word we usually translate it long-suffering long-suffering it's the quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation in the face of honking horns it's bearing insult and injury without retaliation someone says it's keeping your car and neutral when you want to grind the gears I like that you know you want to just pop the clutch and burn rubber but instead you just kind of cool your jets jerry bridges explains how this concept works out in everyday life he said the aspect of patience is the ability to suffer long a long time under mistreatment of others without growing resentful or bitter now there may be some of you here this morning that are being mistreated you've been lied about you've been dealt a a wrong hand things weren't done right maybe it's a husband maybe it's a wife maybe it's a co-worker maybe it's a boss maybe it's an employee and you feel hurt and you want to retaliate but long-suffering is that ability to suffer long and as it says in first Corinthians 13 love suffers long and is what kind same word suffers long and then is kind after I've suffered long I'm usually not very kind I'm not very patient but God wants to fill us with his spirit that fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering it's there in Galatians chapter 5 verse 22 is one of the fruit of the Spirit now how long must we be patient in our suffering and our mistreatment notice it in verse seven unto the coming of the Lord there's two reoccurring words or phrases the first is the word patient or patients and the second is the Lord is coming let me point them out in verse 7 under the coming of the Lord notice in verse 8 for the coming of the Lord draws near and then again in verse 9 the judge stands before the door that's all a reference to the coming again of Jesus Christ but here's my question what coming is he talking about you say what do you mean what coming the Lord's coming but the Bible teaches us that Jesus will come first for the church it's called the rapture now I know some people object and say all this rapture it's not even in the Bible but it most certainly is in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 Paul says that we shall be caught up the word is heart pods oh and the Latin Vulgate translation actually translates that rap tourists means to be wrapped sugar to be caught up the word heart pods OH means to be snatched up or to be caught up or taken up by force so the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ and at any time now it's what we call the imminent return of Christ nothing has to happen before Jesus comes back and the church is caught up those who are born again caught up to meet the Lord in the air I believe he could come while I'm preaching right now that's not because I'm gonna go a long time either I've always thought I'd love to get raptured in the middle of a sermon but never Co but you if you're not saved you'll be left can you imagine all the sudden boom everyone disappears and you're in the church all by yourself you'd have a lot of nice cars in the parking lot you could drive home but you'd be left behind but there's also what's called the second coming of Jesus Christ which is at least seven years after that at the end of the tribulation when Christ comes back and this time he comes to the earth in power and glory Jesus said as the Lightning that shines from the east and to the west so shall the coming of the Son of man be so this is the great appearing it's interesting that word appearing there the Lord will come again is the word perusal it means this physical bodily appearance and his presence will be with us and so Christ will come in power Christ will come in majesty Christ will come in glory and he will reign on the throne of David for a thousand years it's called the kingdom aid and then that will flow into the eternal state but that is when Jesus will come and judge the wicked and he'll write all wrongs and he will vindicate his people so my guess is we can't be sure because James doesn't say that this coming of the Lord is drawing near is a reference here to the second coming when the Lord will come and vindicate his people and judge the wicked now I know it's hard to be patient till Jesus comes so to help us James gives us three encouraging examples of patience and endurance he gives us the example of the farmer he gives us the example of the prophets and thirdly he gives us the example of the man job that Old Testament character who suffered so much now let's look at each one of them individually first he talks about the farmer as an example of patience look at it in verse 7 he says the husbandmen or look behold the husbandman now I'm reading from the King James translation and that husbandmen is a reference to a farmer and he waits for the precious fruit of the earth they have long patience for it until he received the early and the latter rain now if you are impatient and you want things quick don't go into farming right farmers have to be patient notice in verse seven the farmer waiteth and then it says long patience I'll never forget years ago my attempt to be a farmer I know my name's John so farmer John would be perfect but I'll never forget the first time I ever tried to plant a vegetable garden I will never ever do that again we have stores that sell veggies why work so hard to get him in the back I didn't know you had to prepare the soil I didn't know that when you put the seed in it would take a long time before something started to grow and I was getting hungry I'm like hey man I'm gonna eat veggies I'm gonna be healthy this is cool you know farmer John and I get my little garden going and it was like already I'm sweating it's too much work I'd rather just go buy the stuff and then I plant the thing and then I'm waiting weeks and just this little thing started to grow and this our girl and no one ever told me about Gophers and bugs the only person that ate from my garden that summer were the Gophers they devoured everything I had this cantaloupe it was just perfect and I thought I have nothing else I got one cantaloupe for one and this gopher came out before it ripened and severed the vine and it just shriveled up there's like a giant raisin like a one giant raisin out of my garden at work so I do not farm because it's hard work and it takes time and it's patience that must endure a farmer must have patience and must have faith now why are farmers willing to wait and be patient number one because the fruit is precious noticed it in verse 7 waits for the precious fruit on the way up to Monterey this weekend we drove through Central Valley California and all of the farms and all of the fields all of the fruit trees and all of the farming going on there and that's a precious thing I thank God that other people farm and I can eat the work of their labor but I don't do farming but he waits because the fruit is precious and then notice secondly because the harvest is a process notice in verse 7 he refers to the early and the latter rain now the early rain would be around October they would plant in the middle of the winter and then October the rain would come and soften the soil and then the latter rain would be April or May and then they would reap the harvest over the summer months so he had the early and the latter rain what he's trying to point out is that there's a process that takes time so the fruit is precious but the process is long so you can't be impatient and so God wants to work a harvest in our own lives we must trust God to work we must be patient for God's process our hearts or the soil and the seed is God's Word and God has the seasons of life you ever notice as you grow older that you start seeing all the seasons of life you get married you have kids and you're empty nesters and then you're taking your sons furniture for the last time to drop it off and you're praising God that it's no longer in your garage you know and you miss them and it's hard but now you're going through this season of life and then there's hard times they're difficult you lose your health you may lose some well if you you go through these phases and God is using it why because he purposes a cry I love that statement by the saint you know saintly Samuel Rutherford he said why should I tremble at the plow of my Lord that makes deep furrows in my soul he's no idle husband and he purpose as a crop how true that is when God allows sorrow God allows suffering God allows the rain to fall and he brings the sunshine and he takes you through the seasons of life he's trying to produce his fruit in your life and one aspect of that fruit is certainly long-suffering or patience it's so very important in John 15 Jesus said I am the vine and you are the branch and the father is the vine dresser and he prunes back the vine it's painful can you imagine if a grapevine could talk when it's being pruned you think what are you doing why are you cutting me and yet the vine dresser knows that that's what will bring more fruit so the process is painful but it brings a beautiful harvest God is working in your life right now to bring a harvest a spiritual fruit you need to be patient and then he wants you notice verse 8 of our text to establish your hearts that were established there suggest the mustering up of courage the strengthening of your inner being the new English Bible renders that be stout-hearted it's a firmness of faith and again he says verse 8 for the Lord is coming or the Lord is nigh and he says the Lord is even at the door now as we're growing and God's producing fruit like a farmer we're being patient he's developing character notice he says verse 9 as you're waiting stop your complaining verse 9 grudge not one against another brethren lest you be condemned or judged behold the judge stands at the door now the word grudge there and verse 9 means literally to sigh or to groan or to murmur quit griping and complaining or sighing or groaning don't blame your problems on other brothers the new English Bible again Pender's verse 9 my brother's don't blame your troubles on one another you know as we're waiting for Jesus Christ to come back let's not bite and devour one another let's not complain that's not gripe and let's not moan let's be patient let's wait let's God produce the fruit because the Lord he is coming back so the soul someone said that has no rain the soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears and so I believe God allows our hardships to produce a thing of beauty in our lives so the message of the farmer is that we should be working while we wait but there's a second picture and that's in verse 10 that's of the prophets the prophets notice that in verse 10 take my brethren the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of what suffering affliction and patience so the farmer is patient and the prophets who are suffering affliction they are patient so the farmer is working the prophets are witnessing so what do we do until the Lord comes back we work and we witness amen we believe Jesus is coming again so we're busy working and we're busy working now witnessing now James doesn't tell us which of the prophets what is it was that Isaiah was a Daniel you know Isaiah tradition says was sawn and two the Bible says that Daniel we know was thrown into the Lions Den but all of them spoke verse 10 in the name of the Lord notice that statement all had spoken in the name of the Lord and I believe anyone who speaks for God in the name of God will be persecuted if you stand up and you witness boldly and courageously and you do not compromise the truth people will oppose you and you will be persecuted the Bible said all that live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution one of my favorite prophets is the Prophet Jeremiah did you know that Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet he wrote the Book of Jeremiah and lamentations which is his lamenting and his weeping why was Jeremiah the weeping prophet because he preached to Judah during his darkest days prior to the Babylonian captivity they had turned away from God they had a pasta sighs they weren't worshipping Jehovah they were worshiping pagan gods they were sinning every man was doing what is right in his own eyes and here's the amazing thing for 40 years Jeremiah preached repentance and you know after 40 years he had not one convert forty years of preaching you think man he should turn into a farmer or something go get another profession Jeremiah was preaching God's Word Jeremiah was representing God Jeremiah was God's man God's man speaking God's message but he had no converts he was rejected he was put in stocks he was put in prison he was lowered into a muddy sister and left to die but through it all he was patient jesus said in matthew five blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you so if you're being put down for your faith and rejected for your witness you're in good company now what encouragement can we receive from these prophets and their example well write this down if you're taking notes number one they were doing God's will yet they suffered do you know that you can be smack dab in the center of God's will you can be God's messenger doing God's work you can be living a godly life and yet suffering will still come to you God's never promised that life would be smooth they would go through a difficult time notice in verse 10 it says they're an example of suffering affliction even though again verse 10 they spoke in the name of the Lord I think of a time when jesus told his disciples to get into a little boat on the Sea of Galilee it was late afternoon but beginning to get dark and he said I want you to go across the lake to the other side fair enough they get in the boat they take off on their evening boat ride and Jesus goes up on the mountain to pray and out in the middle of the Sea of Galilee they were toiling and guess what happened a storm came you ever been on a camping trip and everything going bad and wrong and it starts to rain I mean whose idea was this trip who can we blame who can we yell at whose idea was it to go 10th capping in January in South Dakota why are we here and so the storms come in the waves are crashing and they go uh whose idea was this midnight boat riding something goes it was Jesus idea okay where's Jesus he's up having a prayer meeting on the mountain he's up hanging on the mountain praying now I believe he was praying for his disciples and that he knew they would encounter the storm you know when God sends you on a mission he knows what's gonna happen he knows what you're gonna encounter God is in control of your circumstances and so at that time as they're rolling against the wind that's when Jesus came walking on the water and I believe as John Bunyan said in times of affliction we most commonly meet but the sweetest experiences of the love of God that's when they encountered the Lord and Jesus delivered them and brought them safely to shore but you can be doing the will of God they were on the boat because Jesus told them to get in the boat and still encounter a storm and I say that because a lot of times people think I must have done something wrong I must have be out of the will of God I must have married the wrong person this marriage isn't God's will it's just too difficult I I must have done something wrong or God is punishing me no you can be in God's will that's still suffering and going through hardships secondly write down God cared for them and their suffering the prophets suffered in the will of God but God helped them God cared for them I think of Elijah when he was discouraged about his ministry and he was ready to give up and he actually prayed at one point the Prophet got so discouraged you know what he prayed he said God kill me how's that for a prayer in Jesus name just just take me out right now have you ever got so bummed out you just wanted to die I think we've all I want to die just want to die now that was a prayer that he lied you could be thankful God didn't answer you know I've prayed a lot of things that I'm glad God didn't listen to me I'm glad God didn't answer that prayer you know what God told the Elijah he needed and I love this it's so cool he said you just need to take a nap seriously I took a nap for the first time in weeks the other day at all praise be to the Lord praise Jehovah it was amazing that why don't I do this more often this was awesome I just woke up refreshed and strengthened and clear-headed and it's just sometimes you just need to take a nap and then after he'd napped God sent an angel to bake him a cake you're gonna like this sermon take a nap and have some cake so the angel showed up baked him a little cake I'm sure it was angel food cake he ate the cake and then in the strength of that he ran for the Lord and then God spoke to him it wasn't in the wind or the earthquake but God spoke in a still small voice see God comes to us take a nap get something to eat and God meets us in our time of need God sent the Ravens to feed him he drank from the brook God cares for his prophets someone said the will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you that's true the will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you and then thirdly they patiently kept witnessing even though they were suffering and we should do the same even though we get laughed at or mocked or rejected or we see no evidence of people coming to Christ maybe it's a husband a wife or a co-worker a friend or a child a rebellious teenager we need to pray and keep witnessing until the Lord wit what brings them to him now there's a third example in the last example he goes from the farmer verse seven to nine to the prophets verse ten and now in verse 11 he speaks of the man job he said behold we count them happy which endure you have heard of the patience of Job and you've seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pitiful or compassionate and full of tender mercies now the patience of Job is proverbial everyone knows about job the suffering of job and how he patiently endured and he blessed the Lord and he honored God through that situation but I want to point out something in verse 11 we have a different Greek word translated patience from the word translated patience in verse seven to ten in verses 7 to 10 the word patient or patience means long-suffering with people long-suffering with people but now in verse 11 there's a little different Greek word used which means endurance or perseverance in circumstances so what were to have us both patience with people and patience with circumstances and those are the two very things that that really get to you right you know I've ever thought that it's I love humanity but as people I can't stand they they just bum me out or if I could just be alone somewhere and never had to deal with anybody I'd be happy or if everything went smooth nothing ever went wrong ever have one of those days when anything that can go wrong goes wrong it's like Murphy's Law if you drop your peanut butter sandwich and always lands peanut butter down you know everything what else going to happen today and you just get irritated and you get impatient and you get upset so we're first to be patient with people and then we're to be patient with circumstances it means that you can stay put and fast when you would like to run away maybe you want to run right now maybe God brought you here this morning and you want to run from your marriage you're actually thinking about running from your marriage you'd like to just disappear maybe you want to run from your job maybe you want to give up a responsibility maybe the pressures of the home and the family are too great you just want to drop it all and run maybe you want to be like a bird with wings that just flies away but the word patience means that God gives you perseverance God gives you endurance God gives you strength that when it comes to job job was a righteous man job was a rich and righteous man and the story has it that God was bragging about job and Satan was listening in and Satan says it's no wonder the job serves you God because you've blessed him so much look at all that he has skin for skin if you let me persecute him if you let me take away the things that you've given him Satan said to God he will curse you to your face now I want you to understand that the theme of the book of Job is not suffering the theme of the book of Job is this is God worthy to be worshipped apart from the gifts that he gives you know who was on trial in the book of Job not job God was because Satan was accusing God you are not worthy to be worshiped unless you bless people if you give him health and you give him wealth and you give all these things no wonder he goes to church no wonder he pray no wonder he reads is about no wonder he's following you look how good you've been to let me take all this away and Satan said to God he will curse you to your face let's put you to the test God let's see whether job will still love you and serve you and amazingly God says okay go for it but God put a hedge around Joby said you can take everything that job has but you can't touch his body I believe that God puts a hedge around us I believe with all my heart that biblically and experientially that nothing can happen to me what it is filtered through the love of God that God's in control every circumstance of my life God knows God is in control and so in one day job lost everything you think you've had a bad day he lost all of his livestock and his children were all gathered in one place having a party and a big wind came and hit the building and it collapsed and killed his entire family only thing job had left was his loving encouraging supportive life why are you laughing just as the patience of Job is proverbial so the impatience of mrs. job is proverbial too why don't you just curse God and die right now why don't you just give up thank you sweetheart I needed that encouragement bless you dear time like that everyone needs a wife that supports you and encourages you and Jobe finally said Lord the Lord gives and the Lord takes away blessed be the name of the Lord I came into this world naked I will go out of this world naked blessed be the name of the Lord and then all that job did not curse God and God joke did not argue with God and God restored his health God restored his wealth job was prosperous in the latter end but Joe was not perfect job though was patient job kept his faith job trusted in God this is what the Bible says so the Lord blessed the latter end of job more than the beginning for he had fourteen thousand sheep six thousand camels a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand she asses he also had seven sons and three daughters and of all of the land there was no women fair than the daughters of Job and the father gave unto him them his inheritance among the Brethren after this job lived for a hundred and forty years he saw his sons and the sons Sons to the fourth-generation so job died being old and full of days he lived for another 140 years and God blessed the latter end of job and job experience verse 11 of our text God's compassion and God's tender mercies God is very compassionate and God is full of tender mercies so jobs that I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear but now my eyes have seen thee you know if I can encourage you this morning and it's just as a bunch of a challenge for me is that this for you I don't know what you're going through I don't know what your circumstances but God's in control God's in control he's no idle husbandmen he purposes a crop don't freak out if he's plowing up the soil of your heart heart he's trying to soften it if God has put you in an adverse situation and difficulties God's trying to produce fruit in your life he's trying to give you endurance he's trying to make your heart strong the fruit is precious it's a process and like job he didn't understand why he was suffering three friends show up if you want to call him friends it okay fess up job you must have done something wrong not only do you need a loving supportive wife you need friends that will really encourage your right come on job you know you've done something wrong God's punishing you job said no I haven't done anything I don't know why I'm suffering someone said never doubt in the dark what God has spoken in the light he promised I'll never leave you and I'll never forsake you God's promises your day is so will your strength be God says the plans that I have for you are good to bless you and to prosper you and to give you and expect it in but we need to wait we need to be patient now if you take all three of these examples we see the farmer so we need to keep working and wait for the precious harvest like the prophets we need to keep witnessing and sharing the news that Christ is coming and like Joe we need to keep waiting and trusting God that he's compassionate and he's full of mercy Jesus will come and set all things right listen to me my beloved Jesus is coming again and when he comes he will set all things right we need to be patient and wait for that day amen amen [Applause]

Channel: Revival Christian Fellowship

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Id: MumJSWsxXXk

Length: 35min 13sec (2113 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 23 2018