Stand Up And Praise

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I don't want y'all to get too comfortable with serve by stand up. There you go. Stand up. You can do this. Now I want you to imagine for a moment you're watching your favorite football team and they just scored. What are you going to do? All right. What you're going to do is you're going to say, hey, the the refs said that was a touchdown and they did this. So I'm going to do it too. Let me see if you can do that. Everybody, raise your hand. Oh, you got coffee in hand. Put your coffee down. We're so glad you have your coffee. We're so glad you have your coffee. All right, raise your hands. Ready? Repeat after me. Heavenly Father, we praise you. All glory and honor be yours. Hosanna in the highest. You and you alone are worthy to be praised. It is your word that is truth. May I hear it today and may I be different. In Jesus' name, our King and our Savior. Amen. Have a seat. Okay. Well, that's just to start it out. See, because here's

Theme: Prayer In James

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the deal. Today is all about prayer. You know what you just did? You just prayed. You lifted up your hands in praise and you praise God for who He is. And you told him, look, you alone are worthy of all praise, the glory, and honor, because that's a fact. That's reality. Now we've been in the book of James and we're going to finish it up today. And you're going to find out if you ever doubted whether or not James, the half-brother of Jesus, was a prayer warrior, you're going to find out today he was a prayer warrior. In fact, the great ancient historian Eusebius wrote about James and said that he was such a righteous man and so enthralled with prayer that daily he would go into the temple and he would pray for his believing brethren and for the unbelieving people of the nation of Israel. And he would pray so often and so long on his knees that his knees became disformed. And they looked like camels' knees. And that became his nickname, Old Camel Knees. We find out as we study that he is a prayer warrior from the very beginning. In the very first chapter, he says, Hey, if you need wisdom, pray. Ask God, and he will provide. He's gracious and glorious. And he always answers our prayers when we pray to him in reality and in truth. Later on, he says, uh, you have not because you ask not. You're not praying. What's the deal? Do you not understand who I am and what I offer you? And yet you're not taking at all advantage of your opportunity to pray. And I don't know about you, but I I find that I have a tendency to think, well, I don't really have time. You know, I've got things to do, place to go, people to meet. I got schedule after schedule after schedule. There was a survey done of the average American who finds out that the average American spends 40 minutes a day talking on the phone. That means teenagers are not average. That's what that means. Four hours and 37 minutes a day staring at the screen of their phones. Three hours a day watching TV on average. Now, when they survey Christians, they want to know, okay, how about prayer? Where are you in prayer? The average Christian less than 15 minutes a day in prayer. When Billy Graham was coming very close to his moment to meet the Lord, he was interviewed, and the interviewer asked, Is there anything that you would change? He said, I would have traveled less and spoken less and prayed more. And in my lifetime, I don't know of anyone who has shared the gospel more and more effectively than Billy Graham throughout the globe. And yet he said, if I

Our Time Vs. Time In Prayer

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could change things, I'd speak less and I'd pray more. We have this glorious opportunity to pray. Now, we've been talking about the fact that this letter was written by James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem. Most of the church has disappeared from Jerusalem except for the apostles and James, and they've gone out into the Roman Empire scattered as refugees because of the martyrdom of Stephen that began, and then the religious, the unbelieving religious Jews were persecuting the Christians. And you remember that the vast majority of early Christians were Jewish, related by blood to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And now they're scattered throughout the Roman Empire, and they're in a bad way. They're suffering, they're struggling. They're short on groceries, they're short on clothes, they're short on patience, they're long on selfishness, they're long on claiming the name of Christ for all the wrong reasons. And so he's going to tell them listen, don't you understand what you've been gifted with? And you can call on God at any moment and he wants to hear your prayer? The answer to pressure is prayer. And as we go through this passage today, verses 13 to the end of the chapter 20, we're going to find out that James lays it out that we should be praying at all seasons, but particularly when we're under pressure. And he's going to highlight to us that when we're suffering, we should pray. When we're cheerful, we should praise God. When we're weary, we should call for prayer. When we're struggling spiritually, we should be praying for one another. And when we see a brother or sister in Christ straying away from the truth, oh my friends, we should be praying. And he highlights that. Now we're gonna, I'm gonna just read through these few verses, verses 13 through 20, and then we'll we'll jump in. And there's a one section here, verses 15 and 16, that uh people often get confused and don't understand what's going on. And so we'll break that down a bit here. Verse 13 and following. Is anyone among you suffering?

Scattered Church Under Pressure

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Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He used to sing praises. 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, 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. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit. My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 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. A story is told of a widow who was on hard times and she moved to a very inexpensive apartment complex, and but she was a faithful prayer warrior, and she believed in praying out loud. And so she had needs, and in the morning she'd get up and she'd step outside her door and she'd pray out loud for her needs. Next door to her was another widow. But this woman was an atheist, and she detested hearing these prayers. And every time in the morning she'd get out to go to work, and that believer would stand out there and pray to God out loud, and she'd say, What kind of fool are you? There's nobody there. What are you doing? And day after day she would tweak her as she walked by. One day the woman had real needs. She literally needed groceries, and she stood out that morning and she prayed, God, you know my need. I need you to meet my need today. I have nothing in the cupboard.

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And her neighbor heard it. And this time she didn't say anything, but she thought, Oh, this is perfect. I'll get her.

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And the atheist goes to the grocery store and buys a full bag of groceries. And that night she put it outside the door of the believer. And when the believer came out in the morning and just started praising God, God, I knew you'd answer my prayer. I knew you'd answer my prayer. And the atheist came out and said, You foolish little woman, I'm the one who gave those to you. And the Christian just started

Pray In Every Season

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praising God. She said, What are you praising him for? She said, I knew, I knew God would provide for my need, but I had no idea he'd have the devil pay for it. Sometimes God answers our prayers in ways that we never expected to be answered, and yet he answers those prayers. The scripture says he hears when we cry out to him. He hears. He literally, the scripture says, he bends low. The idea is he's high and lifted up, and he bends low to hear. It's like a dad hearing his little toddler, kind of mumbling and one and oh, and getting down on one knee. And go ahead, talk to me. Let me hear you. So our Heavenly Father bends low to hear our prayer. And yet we don't even take advantage of the opportunity. James is going to highlight how we should certainly take advantage of the opportunity to pray. Are you suffering? Pray. That's what verse 13 says. Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. This word translates suffering is literally experiencing evils, hardship, trouble. In fact, the New Century Version translates it this way: Anyone who is having troubles should pray. Of course, throughout both the Old and the New Testament, we're told to pray when we're struggling and we have troubles coming about us. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46, 1. Psalm 50, verse 15, call upon me, says the Lord, in the day of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will honor me. Psalm 120. In my trouble I cried to the Lord, and he answered me. We have troubles,

Reading James 5:13–20

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and we start trying to figure out our own solutions. We might even, you know, look to abundance of counsel. And sure, if it's godly counsel, but where is the best place to get godly counsel? It's from God. God, I need you to hear my prayer. God, I'm I'm I'm in trouble. Real trouble. And you tell me in your word that I'm to call upon you in those moments of trouble, and I I obey your word. I call upon you to meet my need. Chuck Swindah says this prayer doesn't express faith in God to deliver us from trouble, but through our troubles.

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God, I don't pray for a lighter load.

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I'm praying for a stronger back. Lord, you don't waste anything. And if you're allowing me to go through this, you've got something for me to learn about you. That you will provide the strength. In fact, we know that's what Peter would tell us to do. Because he says, when we serve, we serve in the strength that God provides. Sometimes we have to get to the end of our own strength. To finally we say, No, uh, I'm not gonna be able to solve this one. You're gonna have to carry me through this. God rejoices when we do that. He actually says, I'll answer you and you will honor me. Why will we honor him? Because we'll have the answer. And we'll realize you really do hear me, even as your word tells me that you hear me.

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Pray. You're suffering.

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Pray. And we can talk about it. It's better if we do it. I know in the sound of my voice that there are people who are in trouble. You're having a real struggle. And we're gonna pray. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, I'm certain I have brothers and sisters in the sound of my voice we're living in a troubled moment. Father, we pray. We ask that you would answer their prayer. We ask first and foremost that they would choose to look to you and tell you their trouble.

God Hears And Bends Low

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Father, we ask that as a church body, we would be ready and willing to hear of the struggles of our brothers and sisters that we might be used of you to meet a need. That you'd be glorified in this. Father, we don't ask that you instigate the devil to answer. We ask that you would instigate us to answer the prayers of your people, for that is why you've brought us together. Father, use us for your kingdom purposes in one another's lives, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. He also goes on, he says, Are you cheerful? Praise God. In verse uh 13. Is anyone cheerful? He used to sing praises. Now, this is again throughout both the Old and New Testament. 1 Thessalonians, rejoice always. Romans 12, rejoice with those who rejoice. Philippians 4, rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice. You know, uh every Sunday at the end of the service, we have a prayer team here and a prayer team here, and we say, look, if you have prayer needs, we want you to come up. We believe in prayer. We want to pray for you. Just share that with the prayer team and they'll pray for you. But we also say, perhaps you have a praise to share. I saw God work in my life. I saw God answer a prayer. I want you to know God answers prayer. I want to give him the glory and the honor he deserves. I don't want to be one that sings a new song, as a psalmist often highlights. As he put a new song in your heart. Share that song. We need to hear it. Your brothers and sisters, we need to hear about how God is answering your prayers and give him the praise along with you. I'll not hold back in the great congregation, the psalm says, of singing your praises, speaking of your mighty deeds. What mighty deeds has he accomplished in your life? Share it. We need to hear it together. We're encouraged when we see God moving in your life, all the more knowing that he'll move in our lives as well. Colossians 3.16 says this: Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. I have a friend who uh who doesn't like to raise his hands,

Suffering Means Pray First

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even while we're singing praises. And he once told me, he said, you know, I always bring a cup of coffee in my hand. So that when I'm not raising my hand, everybody will think, well, it's because he's got that cup of coffee in his hand, right? And then I'm just imagining, I don't know how many of you have watched a couple of football games this weekend, but I've just noticed that everybody in the stand is raising hands and yelling at the top of their lungs. Because somebody carried a piece of a piece of leather a hundred yards. That's what they're yelling about. And we're so fearful that we're gonna be charismatic. Way to go. Yay! That's not what's happening. Perhaps here, perhaps here we can loosen up a bit. We can raise our hands. We can tell him how worthy he is. That he should hear our voices, sing his praises, declare his glory. He is worthy. Are you suffering? Pray. Are you cheerful? Praise God. That's how it ought to be read, don't you think? Are you cheerful? Praise God. People just start walking out of here if I keep that up. Next he says, Are you weary? Call for prayer. And these next two verses are often radically misunderstood. It often is translated in your English text, and probably the one that you're looking at on your tablet or your phone, is anyone sick? That word is better translated, weak without strength. Then he must call for the elders of the church, and they ought to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. This is a different word that literally means weary. Weak, weary. And the Lord will raise him up, and if he's committed sins, there will be forgiven him. Now I want you to notice it says, and the Lord will, not Mike, will raise him up. Now you need to understand that I believe that God does healings today. I've been the recipient both of medical healing as well as divine healing. I've received prayer for a specific issue and literally had the divine answer to that prayer without a doctor. I've also been in a hospital for 14 days, and I'm glad there were doctors and surgeons there. Thank you very much. But the scripture does not guarantee in this day that prayer for the sick, bodily sick, will necessarily be answered into full healing. He may, he may not. There are certain sicknesses or illnesses or ailments that are due to sin. Not all ailments or sicknesses are due to sin. In fact, in John chapter 9, we find Jesus walking through Jerusalem. And as he's walking through Jerusalem with his disciples, they come across a man who was born blind. And they assume that either he or his parents have sinned. But since he was born blind, what does it mean? And so they asked Jesus the question.

Don’t Waste Troubles; Seek Strength

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As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth, and his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents? That he would be born blind. Jesus answered, It was neither that this man sinned nor his parents, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. In other words, right now, Heavenly Father has orchestrated this because I'm about to give this man his sight that he has never had, and you're gonna know that you know, that you know that I am the Messiah, the one promised from ages gone by, the Savior of the world. But we find out this ailment wasn't caused by sin. We find out in 1 Corinthians 11, there are ailments that are caused by sin. In fact, the apostle Paul is teaching about communion, and he says, if you participate in the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner, you may find yourself feeling ill, weak, sick. If you really desecrated terribly, he might even take you home early. What we're gonna find out as we continue to read 1 Corinthians is some of the believers, true blue believers, saved by faith alone, in Christ alone, part of God's forever family through simple faith, are going to their guilds and they're participating in their labor unions of the day, if you will, and they're participating in demonic sacrifices. And they're running from that little meeting to make it back to church to get involved in communion. And he's saying, You can't do that. You can't one second be worshiping a demon, and the next seven second acting like you have a clear conscience when you come before the Lord, participating in the table of remembrance. And he says, For this reason, Corinthians, some among you, among who? Among you believers in Corinth. He says, for this reason, 1 Corinthians 11 30. Many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. Now when he says this word sleep, it's a euphemism for having died. In fact, the New English Translation translates it that way. That is why many of you are weak and sick, and quite a few are dead. God's taking you home early. So we find out that not all sickness is caused by sin, but some sickness is caused by sin. God can, and upon his desire, he can heal when we pray over someone who is ill. But we're not guaranteed in this day, in this time, that that's necessarily so. And yet, in this passage, he says, and he will, the Lord will raise him up. So what is it talking about? Have you ever been under trial for so long that you're just weary to the bone? You're spiritually weary. You can't even gen up a prayer. You're just worn out from the circumstance you're in. You've been praying and yet you're still riding under the heavy

Praise When Cheerful

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weight. Well, he says, when that happens, call the elders. Call the elders and tell them to come pray over you. That your faith is waning. He's faithful even when we're not. Call the elders when your faith is waning, due to the trial that you're in, and they will lay hands on you and pray for you. Now, he talks about anointing them with oil. Now, there's two ways that oil is used, both in the Old and New Testament. One way is to demonstrate the sovereignty of God in what's taking place. When David, when Samuel comes and anoints him with oil, it represents the very sovereignty of God. I'm anointing you king. That day is coming. I am sovereign. It doesn't look like it, it doesn't feel like it. Saul is after you and he's trying to kill you, and you'll be running for a long time. But mark the day you will be king. And then there are other times that they're using oil for medical purposes. We find this when we have the Good Samaritan, that poor beaten and battered Jewish man. The Good Samaritan comes and he takes him, he binds up his wounds, and he rubs him with oil. Say, look, if if it's a medical issue, engage the medical people. Or it may be they just need someone to come and encourage them. That's why the famous Greek scholar Kenneth Weiss, here's how he translates this passage. Let him, those who are weary, call at once the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, having massaged him with oil in the name of the Lord.

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Sometimes we need some physical encouragement.

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Sometimes we need somebody to come put some hands on our shoulders and you tell him, Hey, I'll give you a half hour to stop that, right? Sometimes we need a hug. Sometimes we need someone who we trust is walking well with the Lord to come and lay hands on us and say, I'm here with you, brother. I'm here with you, sister. You're not alone. And God will raise you up. He goes on. It says, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Sometimes in our weariness, we start acting out. Sometimes we need to go and say, you know what, I'm slipping into my whole life. Sometimes we need to call the elders and say, Listen, you know me, you know I belong to the Lord, but I'm slipping into my whole life. And I need you. We have this thing that we we call the quarter three strands that we encourage everyone to participate in, a quarter three strands, and it comes from Ecclesiastes 4.12. And if one can overpower a man who is alone, two can resist him, a quarter three strands is not quickly torn apart. The idea is hey, we want to encourage you if you're an adult or a teenager, that you find two other adults or two other teenagers, that you meet with a regular basis and pray for one another. If you're a guy, find two guys. If you're a gal, find two gals. If you're married, obviously pray for another one. Pray with your spouse, but that's not all. Go find two other people, some accountability partners that on some regular

Weary? Call The Elders

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basis you can share what's really gone on in your life, and there's some real confidentiality there, and and they'll pray for you, and you'll pray for them. God's desire is that we would be engaged in each other's lives. In this case, he's saying, Hey, call the elders. Let them pray over you. Especially if you're struggling in this matter. So are you weary? Call for prayer. Are you cheerful? Praise God. Are you suffering? Pray. Are you struggling? Pray for one another. Look what it says here in verse 16. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. Healed of what? Healed of your discouragement. Healed of your falling into besetting sin. Listen, I don't know if you any of you know anybody involved in AA or Narcotics Anonymous. You know what the strength of the program is? That fellow strugglers are being open and honest with each other and can call each other at a moment's notice and say, hey, I'm being tempted right now. Would you pray for me? Would you watch over me? Would you help me through this moment? How much more should the Church of the Living God be lifting one another up and be able to call one another and say, I'm I'm hurting, I'm struggling. This sin keeps getting the best of me. It's not something that you tell the whole church, but it's something you could tell an accountability partner. Would you lift me up? Here's what Psalm 32 says. David rehearsing his own moment. When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was drained away. And with the fever heat of summer, I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you, Lord, forgave the guilt of my sin. Proverbs 28, 13 says this He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. You need a little compassion? First and foremost, go straight to God. But if it keeps getting the better of you, call your quarter three strats. I need your help. I'm struggling. Would you pray with me? Would you pray for me? Listen, we, you know, our desire as a church is not to just be Sunday morning. I don't know if you know that or not. If you're new, maybe you don't know it. But we're not just about Sunday morning. We're about being engaged in one another's lives. If you're not in a life group, you need to get in a life group. If you're having trouble finding a life group, you go ahead and and you you email me funny name. No, don't write funny name. Write Barkef B-A-R-K-E F at copellbible.org and I will get you in touch with all the right people. Don't don't walk alone. You're not designed to walk alone. If you're having trouble finding a quarter three strands, again, email me. I'll help you get connected. I'll find the right people that will help you get connected. We need each other. Finally says, is anyone straying? Pray for the strays. Look what it says in verse 19

Oil, Healing, And Meaning

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and 20. My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, you know what that says? It says a real true believer, a part of God's forever family through simple faith, can stray from the truth and walk and look like they've never known him. That's what it says. My brethren, speaking to believe if any among you, brethren, believers, strays from the truth and turns him back, and one turns him back, 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. Listen, you see somebody who's straying from the truth, pray for him. God's desire is that he not have to take them home early. They not be under the heavy hand of judgment of God.

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The discipline, he disciplines his own.

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He gives an illustration of the effective prayer of a righteous man, and here's what it says the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly. That would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit. It's interesting that in 1 Kings 17 and 18, there's a couple of miracles that take place. And here's a miracle he does not highlight. Elijah literally raised up a child who had died, laid across that child three times and prayed for that child, and that child's life came back to the child. James doesn't bring that up. We're not guaranteed that kind of healing. God may do it, but we're not guaranteed that. But what does he bring up? He brings up Elijah is praying for a straying nation. He says, Lord, they need to wake up. So here's what I'm gonna pray, Lord. I want them to go bankrupt. I want them to go hungry. So they wake up and realize that you're the giver of every good gift. The very God who created the stars and the sky, everything good comes from you. You know somebody who's Australian? Besides personally talking to them, you know what you want to pray? God, I pray you bankrupt them. God, I pray they end up in the hospital. God, I pray every friendship they have that's leading them in the wrong direction is cut off. Father, I pray you dry up their blessings until they wake up to the reality that you are the one who showers with all blessing. That's illustration.

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Pray for the stress.