WEBVTT 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:08.640 Hello, I'm Pastor Creighton, and thank you for tuning in to Newsun Churches Podcast. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:15.359 We're a gospel centered church in Port Perry, Ontario, proclaiming the true and life-giving word of Jesus as we love and serve our neighbors. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.399 May God bless you today through his life-giving word. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:26.719 Second reading is from James chapter 5, verses 13 to 20. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:28.960 Is anyone among you suffering? 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:30.480 Let him pray. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:32.079 Is anyone cheerful? 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:33.759 Let him sing praise. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:35.679 Is anyone among you sick? 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:42.079 Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:47.039 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:50.320 And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:55.759 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:59.840 The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:09.040 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:13.599 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:26.719 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:28.480 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:30.159 Thanks be to the Lord. 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:35.920 Heavenly Father, we now come to hear your word. 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:40.159 We now come uh come before you, Lord. 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:46.799 Um, all of us here come from different walks of life, uh, different emotions, different weeks, Lord. 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:51.359 Um Father, just take the distractions from us. 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:59.120 Uh give us uh give us the energy to hear your word, um, to listen to you, and just draw us to yourself, Father. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:02.000 Um reveal Christ more and more to us. 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:03.439 In Jesus' name. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:04.640 Amen. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:06.480 Please be seated. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.800 So we're at the last, um, we're at the end of the letter of James. 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:16.719 This is the last sermon on James. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:43.919 Um we've gone through it, and um just sort of a quick reminder this is um James is writing a letter to people who are to churches that are scattered about, to a bunch of churches that have been scattered throughout the area, and these people, um, Jewish Christians, have been persecuted, are facing um, they're all living in poverty, they're facing persecution, they're facing hardships, they're facing suffering. 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:50.800 And James is writing to them because he knows what they're going through, and he wants to speak directly to them. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:53.280 And James goes right after it. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:03:02.400 He doesn't um beat around the bush, he goes, he's very practical, it's a very short letter, and he hits all the key points that he wants to say to them. 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:04.639 And he gets practical right to the point. 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:10.000 And now he's ending his letter about prayer, which I find is very fitting. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:12.319 After he's he's told them all these things. 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:15.360 He wants to end his letter through prayer. 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:22.719 And if you're anything like me, um sometimes when I'm praying, I'm I sometimes think prayer is boring. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.919 Um I sometimes I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:38.800 Um you look at other spiritualities or bespoke spiritualities, you see um they're very visible and tangible, and they look more entertaining, more um, looks like you get more out of them compared to prayer. 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:46.639 Prayer just seems like this thing that you go off into a room, you sit by yourself, and then you talk to yourself, and you don't even know if someone's hearing you. 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:49.840 Because most of the time it feels like no one's listening. 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:51.599 So, how do we deal with that? 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:53.199 How do we come to that? 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:54.639 Why do it? 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:55.680 Why pray? 00:03:55.919 --> 00:04:00.000 Why not just do some other spirituality that gives back? 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:01.680 It feels like it gives back more. 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:02.800 So let's look at that. 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:04.639 Let's see what James has to say. 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:11.280 So, in your bulletins or in your Bibles, it's always helpful to have your Bible with you because you can see what comes before and what comes after. 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:13.439 In this case, you can just see what came before. 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:19.040 So turn to um chapter 5, James chapter 5, verses 13 to 20. 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:23.199 And we're gonna look at it in three ways. 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:29.439 And it's gonna be prayer in all seasons, communal prayer, and call to action. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:35.360 And again, prayer in all seasons, communal prayer, call to action. 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:38.800 So prayer in all seasons, verses 13 to 14. 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:41.439 Is anyone among you suffering? 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:43.199 Let him pray. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:44.879 Is anyone cheerful? 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:46.639 Let him sing praise. 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:48.639 Is anyone among you sick? 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:55.600 Let him call the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:03.600 Now, when we hear suffering, suffering, um, the word here is not just um intense suffering, it could be hardships. 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:08.480 It could be if you um this past week were out of power, you didn't have power at your house. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:11.680 That is the hardship, that is suffering that James is talking about. 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:21.279 James is also thinking about those who are facing persecution for their faith, they're being discriminated against, they're being set apart, people don't want to deal with them. 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:28.079 And so James is telling them when they're in this situation, when you are facing hardships, pray. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:30.639 Don't try to fix it on your own. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:31.519 Pray. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:36.800 Pray first, and then pray that God will give you the light to go through it. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:43.600 Because other forms of hardships could be financial, it could be family, it could be you're facing depression. 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:47.600 And that James here is talking about is anyone among you suffering? 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:49.199 Let them pray. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:52.720 Go to the Lord, because the Lord hears you. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:06:00.240 And then when he goes into, when he says, let is anyone cheerful, let them sing praise. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:03.600 You know the weeks where we feel like everything's going right for us? 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:07.040 He's James is saying, give praise to God. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:10.319 When you look in the Old Testament, you see the Israel people. 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:14.160 Whenever things start to go well for them, they start to go away from God. 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:23.120 But James knows that our hearts are like that, that our hearts are so easy to go away from God when things are going well, when we feel like we don't need them anymore. 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:28.399 So James wants his readers to know to give praise to God. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:30.240 Give praise where it's needed. 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:31.519 And then sickness. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.879 When he talks about sickness, he's talking in this situation. 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:38.560 The word here is talking about those who are very close to death. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:43.519 And then he gives the command that the elders of the church would come and anoint with oil. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:51.279 Now the oil is not something that saves, it's something that points to the one who saves, to the one who heals. 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:55.600 The oil doesn't heal, it's the one points to the one who does heal. 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:57.839 And that's what he's talking about here. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:02.000 He's not, because if you notice it says in the text, in the name of the Lord. 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:04.879 It's pointing to the Lord, it's not pointing to the oil. 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:06.639 But the oil is an act. 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:12.720 It reminds the believer who's asking for the oil, who's being anointed, that the Lord is with you. 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:14.639 The Lord will heal you. 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:18.079 I knew someone before coming here. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:22.000 Um, I met him when I was in seminary, and he was an older man. 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:24.720 And he's um he was a Greek Orthodox man. 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:26.079 I believe he's passed away now. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:33.920 We kind of lost touch, unfortunately, because he's got passed through all the passed through the health systems, and I we lost touch, I lost his number. 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:40.879 And this man had the faith that I've never I've never experienced someone who had faith the way he had it. 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:51.360 When um, so he worked for the CRA, and he was very well, he was very smart, but uh he had a brain in a brain problem that had they had to remove a part of his brain. 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:53.279 And so you forget a lot of things. 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:59.199 But he still was able to function, he still uh at the time was living on his own when I knew him. 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:01.199 And I met him in seminary when I was in school. 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:06.879 He'd just come take the courses uh just for fun, just to keep uh trying to learn, even though he would forget it. 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:12.959 And the thing is, the doctors, every time he went to the doctor, they said he should be dead. 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:14.319 He should be dead. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:18.959 And he um he lived for around 10 years going through this. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:21.120 Every time he went to the doctor, they were shocked. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:23.519 And he prayed and he was a man of prayer. 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:29.519 The thing with the Greek Orthodox Church is that they take prayer very seriously. 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:39.039 They pray and pray and pray, and um he would always attribute it that his prayer is what's keeping him going, that the Lord is keeping him going. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:52.320 Because we see in verse 15 that it says this and the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:57.759 Now, this isn't talking about you just need more faith and you'll be healed or you'll be saved. 00:08:57.919 --> 00:08:59.600 That's not what it's talking about here. 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:01.600 It's not a charismatic moment. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:10.080 See, the faith that what James is talking about here is that our faith must be in a person, not in an experience. 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:12.480 And that must be in Jesus. 00:09:12.720 --> 00:09:15.039 And Jesus talks about that we need the faith. 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:20.960 Your faith could be as small as a mustard seed, but that is what it'll save you, that is what will heal you. 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:29.120 And there's times where I think about, well, Lord, I've prayed for this person, and you didn't answer. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:36.559 You didn't answer my prayer, you didn't the person didn't get healed and they passed, or you didn't answer my prayer in this situation. 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:40.559 A person once told me that God heals in three ways. 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:51.600 He can either heal through a miracle, he can either heal through um doctors, uh, through medicine, or he can heal by calling us home to himself. 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:53.840 Because that is where we're fully healed. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:10:00.559 When we stand before the Lord with no pain, no suffering, we are fully healed then. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:10.159 And James is talking about this is that when you pray in faith, that God may heal you, but he will also heal you fully when he calls you to himself. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:19.679 And there might be pushback saying, Well, I can't believe in a God who doesn't answer prayer or says no for what I pray for. 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:44.639 Well, if we reflect on the gospels and we reflect on Jesus, Jesus was in the the person, sorry, Jesus was, there was a time before he knew he was going to be betrayed, on the night he was betrayed, that he went to the garden with his disciples, and he prayed for the Lord to take the cup from him, that he would not have to go through what he was about to go through. 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:48.559 But then the Lord did not answer his prayer. 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:51.919 And then he says, Not my will, but yours. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:54.080 But how do we pray? 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:55.120 How do we do it? 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:56.000 How do we pray? 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:58.000 How do we do this prayer faith? 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:05.120 Well, if you look in your bulletin on page 16, there's the perfect example of how to do this. 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:09.759 And it's the Lord's Prayer. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:11.600 We say it every Sunday. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:13.600 Say it every Sunday together. 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:21.440 And if you look how it goes, it says, Our Father, who art in heaven, it acknowledges right away the Father, Father God. 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:25.039 And then it says, hallowed be thy name. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:33.440 That is giving him the place of authority, the place of kingship, the all-holy, hallowed name of God. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:39.600 And then it says, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:43.519 That is putting our wills to the side and putting God's will first. 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:45.919 The same thing that Jesus did in the garden. 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:47.600 That is what it's talking about here. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:49.200 That is how we pray first. 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:54.559 We say, God, these things are on my mind, but your will be done, not my will. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:12:00.320 And then it's give us our daily bread, forgive us our sins, provide for us, Lord. 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:06.000 Lord, forgive me of my sins as I try to forgive those who sin against me. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:11.279 And Lord, protect me from temptation, but deliver me from evil. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:12.799 That is how we pray. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:15.360 That is the perfect roadmap of how to pray. 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:20.240 And we can we can take it and we can move off of it and we can pray in different ways. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:26.159 If you're suffering, say, Lord, heal me, but your will be done. 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:41.039 James is talking about this to people who are scattered about, who are facing all of these situations, and he wants them to pray because he knows that if they just don't, if they don't pray, they'll be pulled away from the faith. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:44.080 Prayer is an act of humbleness. 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:49.679 It is an act of coming to God before him and saying, I can't do this on my own. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:53.440 I need, I need you, Lord, to do this for me. 00:12:53.679 --> 00:13:07.200 And it's very Canadian, I haven't said this in a while, it's very Canadian to ask for to not ask for help, to want to do everything on our own, to be our own gods in a sense, to be our own ones in charge. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:09.440 But that's not the calling of the Christian life. 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:18.240 The Christian life is a calling of that where we come before God and we ask him to take our life and to do it as he wills. 00:13:18.720 --> 00:13:28.399 As we suffer, as we go through suffering, we can, as James says in chapter 1, verse 2, count it all a joy as you go through hardships. 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:37.600 Now we can look at what James says next when we look at um point two, communal prayer, verses uh 16 to 18. 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:46.159 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.559 The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:56.799 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain. 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:00.799 And for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:06.320 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:11.759 See now James moves into this, into a section where it's confession and prayer. 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:20.720 And we see here that confession is not just you go to a minister and confess, that we confess to one another, because we are a family. 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:23.759 And that is why we give, say, a family prayer every Sunday. 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:25.200 We pray as a family. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:37.759 We do prayers of the people, we pray for our youngest brothers and sisters, and then we come together to people that we hold dear and we confess what we're struggling with to each other, because there's great power in that. 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:43.440 Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:47.200 The prayer of a righteous person has great power at its working. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:51.279 Now he uses Elijah as an illustration here. 00:14:51.440 --> 00:15:01.039 And if you're familiar with Elijah, um, his story takes place in 1 Kings, and what he's referring to here is 1 Kings chapter 17 to 19. 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:04.399 Elijah was a prophet, a great prophet. 00:15:05.360 --> 00:15:06.960 God used him mightily. 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:15.279 And he there's these um accounts in these chapters of 1 Kings that Elijah is doing, um God is using him mightily. 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:21.679 He comes before um false prophets, and he um almost has a showdown of them. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:26.320 Um, and he proves that the God they follow is a dead God. 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:27.600 He's no such thing. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:33.279 But the God he follows is a living God and rains down fire to show his power. 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:39.919 And then he goes, um, he prays for it not to rain, and it doesn't rain for three years, as James says. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:46.960 He does all these mighty things, and then he faces persecution and he runs from it. 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:55.679 After doing after God uses him in doing these mighty things, and he prays for God to take his life because he fears the person who's persecuting him. 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:58.000 Can you relate to that? 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:12.159 There's moments of life where we feel like we're maybe we can't relate the fire coming down, but you can relate where it feels like life is going so well, that you're so strong in the faith, and that something happens, then it pushes you away. 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:18.720 As you see here in verse 17, it says Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:22.320 He wasn't some other man, some other being. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:24.879 He was human, like us, like you and me. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:31.600 So we can have this, we can have the faith that God will do these great things in our lives. 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:38.080 Because it feels like at times when we pray, that nothing's gonna happen. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:39.200 Why do it? 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:39.919 Why pray? 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:41.440 Nothing's gonna happen. 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:50.799 But James points us to an example that a man, a simple man, that God used mightily, God can use us mightily as well in situations. 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:57.679 And most of the time when we pray, we think it doesn't happen. 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:00.080 See, we need to reflect on these stories. 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:04.799 We need to reflect and talk to other Christians about the way God has answered prayers. 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:09.359 And normally God answers prayers in the ways that we don't actually pray for a God to answer them. 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:10.799 He does it in other ways. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:18.480 With all this in our minds, we can now approach the last section, the call to action, verses 19 to 20. 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:19.359 Let's look. 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:34.799 My brothers and sisters, if anyone is among anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:41.759 See, we're called to pursue those who leave the church, or who those who have fallen into sin. 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:43.359 We're called to pursue them. 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:50.400 In my Christian walk, I be I came to faith when I was 18, and I was very involved in the church. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:53.440 And then I actually ended up leaving the church for many years. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:54.720 I left for many years. 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:58.640 I felt like I was living a great life outside of the church. 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:05.519 I um had a good job, I was uh I had a lot of spare time to do my hobbies, the things I wanted to do. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:09.440 I was really into rock climbing at the time, and uh I was doing it all the time. 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:11.359 I felt like life was great. 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:15.359 And interestingly, I I thought I would never go back to church. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:16.880 I didn't need it anymore. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:19.519 Um that I was done with God. 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:24.240 But the thing is, um I had a random conversation with somebody. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:30.559 They didn't, they didn't preach at me, they didn't try to convert me, they didn't try to say, like, oh, you need the gospel. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:35.279 They just told me about their faith and their Christian walk and that they went to church. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:39.680 And that stirred something within me, and I wrestled with it for a year. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:46.000 But because of that one conversation, God used it, and he called me back to himself. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:51.039 See, we are called to go after those who may not know the Lord. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:58.799 We're called to go after those who have walked away from the church, not just keep them to almost um write them off and say, like, oh, they're done. 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:00.960 We are called to be in their lives. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:04.319 We don't, this isn't a calling where we need to go and preach at them. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:12.720 It's a calling that we need to be in relationship with them and then just open with them and not um just be open about our faith with them. 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:19.599 Because it's the Lord that works, it's the Lord that saves, it's the Lord that calls back people who have wandered from the faith. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:20.720 It's not us. 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:31.680 See, we are to pray relentlessly for people for them, those who have walked away, those who, it seems so hopeless that they'll never come back. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:35.680 But we are called to pray for them. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:43.839 See, James here in his book, he goes through all the key moments of our Christian walk through his letter here. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:45.599 And he ends with prayer. 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:50.240 He ends with them, it's a lot in a lot of Bibles, it says the prayer of faith. 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:56.559 He ends it with this: that we need to pray in all situations of our life, all seasons of our lives. 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:04.880 We need to pray for those who are struggling, we need to pray for those who are dying, we need to pray for those who are sick, we need to pray with those who are cheerful. 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:09.519 See, in James' letter, he talks about we need to test our faith. 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:11.440 We need to always be reflecting on it. 00:20:11.599 --> 00:20:13.119 We need to be doers of the word. 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:18.079 We need to watch out for being showing partiality towards people. 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:23.680 We need to have faith that works, faith that actually produces fruit. 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:25.920 We need to tame our tongues. 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:30.079 We need to find our wisdom from God, not from this world. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:41.519 We um we cannot conform to this world, and we need patience and suffering, and we need to watch out for um for riches and how it can control our hearts. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:45.359 But the thing is, the title of this sermon is Gospel-driven prayer. 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:54.319 And the way we see the gospel-driven prayers, we see that as um we talked about Jesus in the garden, not my will but yours. 00:20:54.640 --> 00:21:07.519 See, as we come in prayer, as we um look at James' letter and we see all these things that he is calling the um the Christians to do, to reflect on, we can't do it on our own. 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.319 There's no way that it can be done on our own. 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:25.119 It is only done as we come before the Lord and we reflect on the cross of Christ and what Jesus has done for us that we cannot do um for ourselves, that we are able to pray, not my will, but yours, Lord. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:32.480 What Jesus did on the cross brings us to our knees, either figuratively or realistically. 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:34.480 We need to pray in all seasons. 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:41.200 We need to pray in community, and we need to not write anyone off, that they are too far from being saved. 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:43.440 That is the prayer faith. 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:50.079 And that is the culmination of James' letter, is that we need to pray in all seasons. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:51.920 And let's pray right now. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:22:08.079 Um, Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise that you are a God who listens, you are a God who answers prayers, um, sometimes, uh actually most of the time, uh, in better ways than we can ever ask for. 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:11.119 Father, we thank you for Jesus and his work on the cross. 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:16.720 We thank you that you are the one who saves, that we don't save ourselves, because we can never do it. 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:35.839 And Lord, as we um continue on in worship and through this week, and as we come back next week to begin Holy Week, Lord, we just pray for um an ever-pouring out of your spirit, that we would um be in tune with your spirit, that you would draw us to yourselves more and more. 00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:37.279 In Jesus' name. 00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:38.240 Amen. 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:43.039 We hope that you've been blessed by God's Word today. 00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:48.640 If you live in the Port Perry area, we hope that you'll come and worship with us in person on Sunday at 10 a.m. 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:52.319 If you'd like to learn more about Newsong Church, we'd love to connect with you. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:57.359 Please find our contact information at newsongportperry.ca and reach out to us. 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:02.799 Newsong's ministry is entirely funded by the generous giving of those who worship and journey with us. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:11.119 If you feel called to support our ministry with a financial gift, please go to newsongportperry.ca slash giving to make your contribution. 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:14.000 Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.