WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:01.439 James chapter 5. 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:04.959 I'll be speaking in Mark chapter 3 this evening. 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:10.240 And uh you're welcome to come and be a part of those Bible studies, but I'm sure grateful that you're here. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:14.640 And uh we are just a few installments left here in the book of James. 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:22.800 If you have a book study that you would just be ecstatic about starting, I would be open to your suggestions. 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:29.679 I had a thought this morning, uh a book I'd like to study, but if there's one, don't come to me with Ezekiel, okay? 00:00:29.760 --> 00:00:31.120 I need to be able to sleep at night. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:42.079 But if no, seriously, if you have um if you have something uh of interest, uh it helps us to to be in a study, um, but there might be something you'd like to research and study. 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:50.159 And I'm actually preaching two series in Revelation this year, uh the church series and then uh preaching a prophecy series later in the year. 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:51.759 And um, I don't know. 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:55.119 The way things are happening in the world today, I better hurry up on those prophecy sermons. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:56.479 They're about to become history. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:57.280 Amen. 00:00:58.719 --> 00:00:59.359 Amen. 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:02.719 Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come, amen. 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:07.519 And uh that's the theme of this passage this morning, the coming of the Lord. 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:14.480 I hope that you'll notice, notice that emphasis as I read verses 7 through verse 11 this morning. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:17.840 Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:27.599 Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it until he received the latter the early and latter rain. 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:34.480 Be ye also patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:39.200 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned. 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:42.000 Behold, the judge standeth before the door. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:48.000 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:51.120 Revelation 4 1, behold, a door was opened. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:53.760 The judge standeth at the door, doesn't he? 00:01:54.079 --> 00:02:01.280 Take my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering, affliction, and of patience. 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:04.799 Behold, we count them happy, which endure. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:17.039 Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:22.240 Look in verse seven, be patient unto the coming of the Lord. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:23.439 Verse eight. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:29.439 Be also patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:30.000 Verse nine. 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:32.719 The judge standeth at the door. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:38.159 And then verse eleven, you have seen the end of the Lord. 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:44.639 Now the coming of the Lord provides the greatest context for our lives. 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:51.439 He came, he is coming, he is here. 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:56.479 Van Savner used to say, people say God is nowhere. 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:59.439 He said they ought to rearrange those letters. 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:01.680 God is now here. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:03.599 He is here. 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:08.000 He came as a sacrifice to atone for our sins. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:12.879 He is coming as a restorer to reclaim all that was lost by sin. 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:18.479 He is here, providing solace and hope to all that call on Jesus. 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:20.879 Jesus Christ is near. 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:24.479 Jesus Christ is here. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:28.560 So there's two emphasis that James makes in these verses together. 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:36.479 The first emphasis is his coming is near, and the second emphasis he makes is that his presence is here. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:39.680 Years ago, I tried to do the impossible thing. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.439 I tried to sit in a room and think through eternity. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:49.840 Well, you have to turn the lights off and get really quiet. 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:51.919 You start thinking about eternity. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:04:02.800 And I my my head hurt worse and worse as I continued thinking about how long eternity is and how long eternity has been. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:05.039 We think linear in history. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:07.840 We ought to think in a circular way. 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:22.240 But I never got to the beginning and ending of how long eternity was, but I did come up with this, and I've said it often, that I shall live forever in eternity future, as God has existed in eternity past. 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:31.040 Now the fact is, if I talk about eternity, I can't use the word past, and I can't use future, because eternity has no beginning or no ending. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:35.120 I shall live as God has lived. 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:38.879 And because I live, Jesus said, ye shall what? 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:40.480 Ye shall live also. 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:43.040 So let's talk about the coming of the Lord. 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:44.959 His coming is near. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:49.279 Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.439 Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth. 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:55.439 Verse 8, be also patient. 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:59.680 Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:05.360 There are lots of movements in the world today seeking to press the prerogative of God. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:18.560 You know the Sunni Muslims, the Sunnis in Iran, waiting for the 12th Imam, who think they can, through violence and terrorism, summon the coming of the Mahdi. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:21.199 Well, no man knows the day or the hour. 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:23.439 This is the prerogative of God when he comes. 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:27.519 When he comes, he'll come of his own free will, but he is coming. 00:05:27.839 --> 00:05:32.079 And because of that, we're to be patient unto the coming of Christ. 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:35.920 And there's two things I want you to notice about this soon coming. 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:37.279 First of all, there's waiting. 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:39.279 How many of you like to wait? 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:41.360 Anyone like to wait? 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:47.839 I saw a dear fellow waiting on his wife the other day, and I said to him, Did you ever think that waiting on Mrs. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.879 Wright would involve so much waiting for Mrs. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:51.759 Wright? 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:53.040 Waiting. 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:54.240 Just waiting. 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:56.959 The coming of the Lord requires waiting. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:05:58.399 We are to wait on God. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:05:59.839 We are to be patient. 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:02.560 And he said, first of all, we're waiting for the fruit. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:03.680 He uses this analogy. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:05.839 Behold the husbandman, the gardener. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:09.759 He waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:10.800 Precious fruit. 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:13.519 In this case, it's souls we're waiting for. 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:15.040 Proverbs 11, verse 30. 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:20.319 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise. 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:24.000 One day that last soul will make up the body of Christ. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:29.199 That one last person coming to faith in Christ, waiting for fruit. 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:30.720 He's talking about a seed. 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:35.120 You know the interesting thing about a seed, a seed is not an instant success. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:39.759 We take a dead seed, we place it in lively ground, and it germinates. 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:44.079 And even as we wait, something lively is going on out of sight. 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:46.000 We cannot see or inspect. 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:54.639 But as we wait patiently, the vine begins to grow, and then the fruit begins to come, waiting, waiting for fruit. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:57.519 And waiting for fruit involves waiting for rain. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:06:59.839 That's what he says here in verse 7. 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:05.839 The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth and hath long patience for it. 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:11.360 He's long suffering until he received the early and the latter rain. 00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:17.759 The commentator said here that we are spiritual farmers, awaiting a great harvest. 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:28.319 Now the early rain came in the area of Palestine in October to November, and at that moment the rain was necessary to germinate the seed. 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:30.959 And then the wintertime would come. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:39.120 And in the wintertime, the latter rains must come in the spring in order to create a harvest. 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:43.680 So that means that the husbandman spends most of his life in the wintertime. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.480 He's in a time of waiting. 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:53.839 He awaits what God will do in the clouds, and we await what God is going to do in Christ. 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:58.240 Be patient, therefore, brethren, under the coming of the Lord. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:04.959 I've met Christians who are so busy waiting and watching, they cease to do any working. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:10.000 And so the second thing he says is there's not only waiting, there's working. 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:18.480 And he uses the illustration of a husbandman, I think, on purpose, not just for the spiritual figure he uses here, but a farmer's a busy man. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:23.600 Farmers don't have time to trifle with unnecessary things. 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:30.959 The man that I I directly worked for in California is a man by the name of uh Dr. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:32.159 John Getch. 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:32.799 And Dr. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:40.159 Getch, I've I've bragged on him in our Bible study, is probably the greatest Christian I've ever met in my life. 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:42.159 Just a great, great Christian. 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:45.279 Well, his father was a dairy farmer. 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:46.480 And Dr. 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:47.840 Getch is a machine. 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:50.799 He's 73, 74 years old. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:55.120 He rides in miles his birthday on a bicep on a bicycle. 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:58.399 He rides in miles on his bicycle every year for his birthday. 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:03.360 So if if this is his 74th birthday, he'll ride 74 miles on his birthday. 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:05.200 He teaches all week. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:06.559 He preaches on the weekends. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:08.559 He takes red eyes into LAX. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:14.000 He is in class by 7.30, does staff meeting at 9.30, and he just goes and goes and goes. 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:16.080 He is a he's a machine. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:17.840 Well, he's a farmer. 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:20.799 And uh farmers are are of that nature. 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:26.000 They don't take a lot of time off, they don't take a lot of vacations, they don't disconnect very often, they're busy. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:26.320 Why? 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:29.200 Because there's something in the field that's very precious to them. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:37.039 And so there's weeding, there's working, there's fertilizing, there's harvest time, and then preparation for next year. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:38.240 So there's working. 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:39.600 Not just waiting, but working. 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:43.840 A lot of Christians I know want a great harvest, but they're not willing to work. 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:47.039 And waiting doesn't mean waiting on God to do all the work. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:50.879 Waiting means working and waiting on God to add his blessings. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:55.600 Someone said we ought to work as if it all depended on us and pray as if it all depended on God. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:57.440 Wait on the Lord. 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:00.480 Well, just going to sit here and wait on God to do something. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:01.759 You misread the verse. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:05.200 The word wait is like a server coming to a table. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:10.080 That's where we get the New Testament word diakonos or deacon, someone who waits tables. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:11.679 They do what they know to do. 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:13.600 They're active in the service of Christ. 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:17.679 And as they're working, they're waiting on God to add his blessing. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:18.960 So there's working. 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:20.080 Notice verse number eight. 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:22.000 Be also patient. 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:25.120 That's the second time he said that. 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:27.519 Establish your hearts, strengthen your hearts. 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:31.440 For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:35.759 Now, there's a couple things I think we need to be working on that James talks to us about. 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:38.559 First of all, he says, work on your heart. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:40.320 Work on your heart. 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:42.559 Establish your hearts. 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:47.759 Now, this is an imperative verb, meaning this is what you must do. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.840 Stand firm is what he's saying here. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:58.720 Strengthen your hearts, meaning to confirm its faith through patient endurance. 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:00.559 Establish your hearts. 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:03.279 Confirm your faith through patient endurance. 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:10.879 Now we'll talk more about that even on Sunday, those Christians at Smyrna who were under intense persecution. 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:15.440 And he even says to them, You are going into the fire. 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:19.759 Many of them will give their lives as martyrs for the cause of Jesus Christ. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:23.679 They were to confirm their faith through patient endurance of the trial. 00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:29.039 Think it not strange when fiery trials are to try you as though some strange thing has happened to you. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:33.039 And the word strange in the New Testament has the idea of that which doesn't belong to you. 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:34.559 Don't think it's strange. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:40.639 Don't think it doesn't belong to you when trials come into your life. 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.039 Because God orchestrates those trials. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:45.519 All of our trials are father-filtered. 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:48.159 Strengthen your heart. 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:06.320 And then he says the only hope for a self-deceived heart is the purifying of the heart. 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:16.480 Without the heart being purified, it is prepared for a day of slaughter, he says in chapter 5, verse number 5. 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:18.080 Establish your hearts. 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:20.080 So James focuses on the heart. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:22.960 First of all, strengthen the consistency of your heart. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:25.759 Strengthen the consistency of your heart. 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:31.039 Be ye doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:34.720 Then he writes to us to strengthen the courage of our heart. 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:36.240 That's what he says in this verse. 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:41.279 Be also patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:42.879 Strengthen the courage of your heart. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:46.000 Psalm 27, verse 14, wait on the Lord. 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:50.720 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:52.480 Wait, I say, on the Lord. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:53.919 Isaiah 40, 31. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:58.960 They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:00.799 They shall mount up with wings as eagles. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:02.480 They shall run and not be weary. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.240 They shall walk and not faint. 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:05.919 You know what that verse says? 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:15.120 That verse says that there are times in your life God gives you the ability to soar above the problems of life and fly like an eagle. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:24.320 But if you can't fly, he says, they shall run and not be weary. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:29.919 And if you can't fly and you can't run, they shall walk and not faint. 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:30.960 You know what that means? 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:34.320 That means the Christian life is always advancing. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:36.960 Always advancing. 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:46.879 It was David Livingston who pioneered much of South Africa, much of Africa, and Livingston said, I'll go anywhere as long as it's forward. 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:49.440 There's no future in the past. 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:52.000 I learned that from a good friend. 00:13:52.320 --> 00:13:53.600 There's no future in the past. 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:59.840 It's forward, onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war with the cross of Jesus going on before. 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:01.600 He said, Strengthen the courage of your heart. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:04.799 Number three, strengthen the conviction of your heart. 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:07.600 Waiting on an expected end. 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:09.039 Jeremiah 29, 11. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:10.960 I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:15.279 Thoughts of good, of peace, not of evil, to give you an expected end. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:17.200 That's my favorite word here. 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:18.320 An end. 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:19.759 Look at verse 11. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.480 Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord. 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:25.440 The end. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:27.600 Now that's a great word. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:30.399 The Greek, it's telos. 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:32.080 Everybody say telos. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:33.519 Telos. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:37.440 This is the word used in John 13, 1. 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:44.320 Jesus having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:45.120 Telos. 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:47.360 He loved them to the end. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:57.919 Hebrews 13, 6, but Christ as son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:01.039 Can I give you a derivative of that term? 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:03.600 Jesus cried out on the cross. 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:11.759 To tell us, tell us it is finished, it is come to an end, it is paid in full. 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:14.639 Establish the conviction of your heart. 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:17.600 You are not heading to an uncertain destination. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:24.000 You are headed to a known destination that God has sovereignly pre-designed for our Christian lives. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:29.200 Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, he shall strengthen your heart. 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:45.679 And then it was Paul that said to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10 11, now all these things happen unto them for an example, and they are written for our admonition upon whom, here's that word again, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:48.799 Somebody said, I felt like my life was spinning out of control. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:52.159 And someone said, No, your life wasn't spinning out of control. 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:55.440 Your life was spinning in the hands of the potter. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:58.639 Isn't that good? 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:04.720 Uh we took Ethan to uh New York sometime last year, I think. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:09.519 And uh off Fifth Avenue, there's a huge statue of Atlas. 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:13.759 You know, Atlas, and he's he's got the world on his shoulders. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:16.320 He bows under the weight of the world. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:19.120 He bears it up, but he's bowed under the weight of it. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:26.320 I read a story years ago of a man who was who went to see his counselor and just overwhelmed by all the problems of his life. 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:29.759 So the counselor said, I'm gonna take you on a on a on a walk today. 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:33.600 So they they went down and saw that statue of Atlas weighed under the weight of the world. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:36.240 And then he took him down the street to the children's hospital. 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:47.279 And in the in the entryway of the children's hospital, there's a statue of Jesus holding the world in his hands. 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.240 Isn't that the God we serve this morning? 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:53.840 He's not bowed under the weight of this world's problems. 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:57.840 He has the whole world in his hands, and we can trust him. 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:00.080 Work on your heart. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:05.599 Listen, the problem of the end times is not how God's gonna sort all of this out. 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:14.160 The problem in the end times is that Christians believing that God will work it all out for good. 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:16.240 Because guess what? 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:18.640 The end is already established. 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:20.720 The end is known. 00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:23.039 We can read about it in Scripture. 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:35.759 Now, all the petty battles and all the Twitter fights and Facebook spats and White House foibles and United Nations, listen, that's all small potatoes. 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:37.279 Our God has worked. 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:49.119 If he has every hair of your head numbered and is named all the stars and called all the shots on his first coming, and will call all the shots on his second coming, we can trust that all of this come comes together. 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:52.160 It all culminates perfectly by a great God. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:53.839 Let's strengthen our hearts. 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:55.039 Strengthen our hearts. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:58.160 Well, Pastor, have you seen the gas prices? 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.000 I have seen the gas prices. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:05.759 Somebody was concerned about paying their electric bill. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:07.359 And I get that. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:08.319 That's a real thing. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.960 My first my first summer in California. 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:14.319 My first summer in California was 118 degrees outside. 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:16.640 Our first utility bill was$2,000. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:18.480 That was with solar panels. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:21.440 $2,000. 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:22.960 Think about that. 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:25.759 That guy was concerned about how he could pay his electric bill. 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:32.079 And he read in Genesis he created the greater light to rule the day and the lesser night light to rule the night. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:34.000 And he made the stars also. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:34.799 Oh. 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:39.440 Oh, by the way, he made trillions of stars. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:43.359 You know, I think the God that created all the stars is able to pay our light bill. 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:45.440 Amen. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:47.599 Strengthen your heart. 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:49.680 Strengthen your heart. 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:50.799 Work on your heart. 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:52.960 Number two, work in your own garden. 00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.400 That's verse nine. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:55.920 I love this verse. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.359 Grudge not one against another, brethren. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:01.359 Lest ye be condemned. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:05.119 Behold, the judge standeth before the door. 00:19:05.279 --> 00:19:06.880 Work in your own garden. 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:11.119 Grudge not one against another, lest ye be condemned. 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:12.960 The judge stands at the door. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:15.119 Now this is a theme that he uses. 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:16.720 Chapter 4, verse 12. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:19.440 There's one lawgiver who is able to save and destroy. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:22.079 Who art thou that judgest another? 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:23.759 Romans 2 1. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:28.640 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:32.559 For wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thyself. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:36.799 For thou that judgest doest the same things. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:38.720 Romans 14 4. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:41.920 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:44.480 To his own master he standeth or falleth. 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:49.119 Yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:50.319 And then I want to give you one more verse. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:53.039 Matter of fact, I want you to put your own eyeball on it. 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:54.400 Eyeballs on it. 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.240 First Corinthians four, five. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:19:57.759 First Corinthians four five. 00:19:57.839 --> 00:19:58.640 I want you to see this. 00:19:58.799 --> 00:20:00.720 Now he's talking about farming. 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:03.039 He's talking about gardening, right? 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.920 Twice he's told us to be patient, be patient, be patient. 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:12.559 Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:17.599 Do you know the exact nature of your brother's Christian life? 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:21.440 Do you know the end of your brother? 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:24.079 No, I don't. 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:33.599 The word grudge here means to grumble, to complain about. 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:37.519 1 Corinthians 4, 5. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:40.400 Therefore, judge, what's that, what's that next word class? 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:43.519 Judge nothing before the time. 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:45.279 Timeout. 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:49.920 We live in an idiotic generation. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:52.240 And here's what I mean. 00:20:52.400 --> 00:21:10.720 If I were to pick up this phone right now and I were to go to, I call it Twitter, they call it X now, and I were to read one little tweet about one little person and make a whole conclusion about that whole person's life, that whole person's future, we have become enemies of the moment in our society today. 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:12.799 Enemies of the moment. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:14.160 I'm a golf fan. 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:14.960 I love golf. 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:18.400 I don't play as much as I'd like to, but I love to watch it on TV. 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:23.119 And of course, when I was a teenager, Tiger Woods had just begun his career. 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:24.400 I was a huge Tiger Woods fan. 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.359 And Tiger now he'd he'd won eight or nine majors. 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:28.880 And Ron, you remember this. 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:36.079 We're already having conversations as Tiger Woods is in the middle of his career as to whether or not he's the greatest golfer who ever lived. 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.920 Judge nothing before the time. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:45.759 We too quickly make conclusions. 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:47.200 You know why it's easier? 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:50.319 Perceptions become our reality. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.799 What what ought we to do? 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:53.519 Wait. 00:21:55.279 --> 00:22:01.279 As it turned out, Tiger Woods did not have the ethical fiber to maintain an Career. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:03.519 Sad, isn't it? 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:09.119 He could have been the greatest golfer to ever live, and empirically could have proven it. 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:12.079 And we can still debate about that. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:26.880 I will say, Jack Nicholas seemingly has a great marriage and great children who love him, and at the end of the day, you can have no majors, but if your children love you and adore you, you were a grand success in your life. 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:29.359 Judge nothing before the time. 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:31.200 Until the Lord comes. 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:32.240 There it is. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:34.240 That's it. 00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:36.880 Because when the Lord comes, what happens? 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:38.960 We cease from our labors. 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:46.240 When the Lord comes, he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:50.640 Until the Lord comes, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness. 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:54.240 He will make manifest the counsels of the heart. 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:55.519 Now here's my line. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:56.240 Are you ready? 00:22:56.400 --> 00:23:00.400 I have enough weeds in my garden to not go trouncing around in yours. 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:03.359 That's what he said in verse 9. 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:07.359 I don't know if you saw that in verse 9, but that's what he said in verse number 9. 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:12.559 I have enough weeds in my garden not to go inspecting yours. 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:26.640 Grudge not one another, brethren, lest ye be condemned, because the judge stands at the door, and when the judge comes, he reveals the true nature of our work and our lives. 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:30.160 So there's three things for the gardener here. 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:32.000 Three things for the gardener of hearts. 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:35.839 Number one, there ought to be a spirit of humility that we all carry. 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:39.680 I think there ought to be a spirit of self-examination. 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:46.720 Jesus used a ludicrous illustration about a pharisaic attitude, the moat. 00:23:47.680 --> 00:23:49.359 The moat in your brother's eye. 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:50.880 Can you see this visually? 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:55.039 The moat, the sleepy, we call it just a little speck in a brother's eye. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:59.039 And a fellow over here has a two by four coming out of his eyeball. 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:06.880 And he's worried about a little imperfection, a little thing in the life of his brother. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:11.759 You know how any church could become radically better overnight? 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:14.960 We'd stop trouncing around in other people's gardens. 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:19.279 And if we see an imperfection in someone, we should just pray about that. 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:23.200 Spurgeon was criticized one time, harshly. 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:27.119 Spurgeon actually was heavily, heavily criticized in his ministry. 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:30.240 And they said to Spurgeon, Did you hear what so-and-so said about you? 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:36.720 And Spurgeon said something to the extent of, yes, but I'm so glad he doesn't know the nature of just how terrible of a person I am. 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:39.039 That's a good perspective. 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:43.039 Humility, self-examination, and a spirit of grace. 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:49.920 Now, he said already that the coming of the Lord draws nigh, and we're to wait, and we are to work. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:25:00.000 But then he turns the figure, verse 10 Take my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering, affliction, and of patience. 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:02.640 Behold, we count them happy, which endure. 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:08.000 Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:15.359 Now he's saying that the coming of the Lord is not only near, but the presence of the Lord is near. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:18.400 I'm going to quote Philippians 4. 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:20.000 I'm going to try anyway. 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:23.440 Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. 00:25:25.200 --> 00:25:27.839 Let your moderation be known unto all men. 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:29.839 Anybody know the next phrase? 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:34.160 Let your moderation be known unto all men. 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:37.279 The Lord is at hand. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:38.640 Whoa. 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:40.799 Whoa. 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:42.000 He's coming, he's coming. 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:43.359 He's going to split the eastern sky. 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:45.519 Well, he is, but that's not what Paul means. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:47.599 No, no, no. 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:55.680 Let your self-control, because he's talking about anxiety, discouragement, being overwhelmed, flooded with bad thoughts. 00:25:55.920 --> 00:26:00.400 He eventually says to them, Be careful for nothing, but take it all to God in prayer and change the channel. 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:02.960 Whatsoever things are true and honest, think on these things. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:05.039 Let your moderation be known unto all men. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:05.920 The Lord's at hand. 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:07.440 He is near. 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:10.960 He is here. 00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:17.279 Too many Christians think Jesus is coming to, and they forget. 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:19.279 He's here. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:22.960 I'm indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:24.640 I have the earnest of his spirit. 00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:26.880 My body's the temple of the Holy Ghost. 00:26:27.119 --> 00:26:28.000 He is here. 00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:31.839 What an encouragement. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:33.680 Not just an encouragement. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:35.759 Take my brethren, the prophets. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:37.759 Now, what happened to them? 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:41.599 Well, number one, they spoke in the name of the Lord. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:45.519 And everybody applauded them, had them sign their Torah scroll. 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:47.119 No. 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:50.319 They hated them. 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:52.240 They hated them. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:57.519 When you read the Old Testament, you're reading in chapters what happened in decades and centuries. 00:26:57.839 --> 00:27:00.160 They hated them for hundreds of years. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:02.799 They discarded them for hundreds of years. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:08.000 Until God finally said, you've had five centuries of preachers. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:10.319 Now it's time to turn the lights off. 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:17.680 They spoke in the name of the Lord, and when they spoke in the name of the Lord, number two, they suffered in the name of the Lord. 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:18.960 That's what he says here. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:20.720 Take my brethren, the prophets. 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:25.440 They've spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction. 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:29.680 Well, let's talk about a few. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:33.680 My favorite story here is the story of Jeremiah. 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:36.799 Jeremiah spoke in the name of the Lord, didn't he? 00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:45.680 Matter of fact, Jeremiah so spoke in the name of the Lord that when Jesus came to earth and asked his disciples, Who do people think I am? 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:51.039 One of the people they said people reported Jesus to be was Jeremiah. 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:54.160 That's how much he spoke in the name of the Lord. 00:27:54.400 --> 00:28:02.880 In chapter 20 of Jeremiah, Pasher, the son of Emmer, the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. 00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:11.680 Then Pasher smote Jeremiah, put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord. 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:14.640 And Jeremiah said he became a derision. 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:19.359 Verse 7, O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived. 00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:21.599 Thou art stronger than I and hast prevailed. 00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:23.279 I am in derision daily. 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:25.279 Everyone mocketh me. 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:31.680 Jeremiah 38, verse 6. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:43.279 Then took they Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malachih, the son of Hamelech, that was in the court of the prison, and they let down Jeremiah with cords, and in the dungeon there was no water but mire. 00:28:43.359 --> 00:28:45.440 So Jeremiah sunk in the mire. 00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:48.720 And the thing that we remember most about Jeremiah is what? 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:50.640 He was a weeper. 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:54.480 But he endured. 00:28:55.599 --> 00:29:01.359 I said, I will no longer speak any more in his name. 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:02.960 That's what Jeremiah said. 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:11.920 But his word was in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:15.519 An example of patience. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:17.839 The Lord was near. 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:22.000 Matter of fact, you know how bad Jeremiah's ministry was? 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:28.960 We cannot read into Scripture that Jeremiah had one convert, not one. 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:33.440 Gave an invitation for years. 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:35.279 No one responded. 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:40.720 Do you know Adniram Judson went to India? 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:47.519 He's now very famous, translated the Bible into 44 languages, and is revered in the world in that land today. 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:52.960 Went at least two years without a single convert, had two wives who went mentally insane. 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:55.279 He endured. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:56.880 Why? 00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:58.400 Lord is near. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:00.960 Who is he? 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:08.160 Well, 2 Chronicles 24, he was stoned by Jehoida the priest. 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:11.200 Amos was expelled from Jerusalem. 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:13.680 Micaiah was imprisoned by Jezebel. 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:16.480 What did they do? 00:30:16.960 --> 00:30:20.880 They established their hearts in the work of the Lord. 00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:22.640 They suffered affliction. 00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:29.359 They're an example of those who suffered affliction and of those who exercised patience. 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:33.200 Now we'll get to Job. 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:34.960 Go with me to Job 19. 00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:36.880 We'll be done here in just a second. 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:44.079 I want to take verses 11 and 12 as their own emphasis next we're together. 00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:50.880 I thought Job deserved more than just an asterisk at the end of the lesson, don't you think so? 00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:56.799 Ask a fella, how's your Bible reading going? 00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:00.160 He said, well, pretty good, but that guy Job, he went through a hard time. 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:02.319 Oh Job. 00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:04.880 Job did go through a hard time. 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:12.079 Now, the one that is mentioned specifically, there's really two prophets mentioned specifically here. 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:14.240 The first is Job, the second is Elijah. 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:18.400 Elijah gets a really nice, nice chunk of real estate here in this book. 00:31:18.559 --> 00:31:20.400 Wow, I love that passage. 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:23.759 But he talks about Job. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:30.079 Ye have heard, verse 11, of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord. 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:41.200 Now think of Job 3,500 years ago, defending himself to his friends, which is pointless, by the way. 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:47.920 If you explain yourself to your enemies, they won't believe you, and to your friends, and it would be unnecessary. 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:49.279 But he did. 00:31:51.200 --> 00:31:53.279 And so here he is, Job 19. 00:31:53.359 --> 00:31:54.319 Did I tell you where to go? 00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:55.759 Job 19. 00:31:56.160 --> 00:31:58.640 Just keeping you in suspense till the end. 00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:03.359 Job 19, 3,500 years ago, he prayed something. 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:11.839 And I want to tell you, to this day, he has still not seen the completion of what he prayed. 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:13.359 Think about that. 00:32:14.079 --> 00:32:16.160 It's one of my favorite Easter passages. 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:18.559 I love Job 19 on Easter. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:29.039 It's a real life story of a real guy with a lot of real death around him, but he rises from the throes of death and raises a flag of life and says, I know that my Redeemer liveth. 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:30.720 But think about it as we read this. 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:36.000 Job has yet to see the fulfillment of what he prayed 3,500 years ago. 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:38.720 Why do you persecute me as God? 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:40.160 Verse 22. 00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:42.480 Are you not satisfied with my flesh? 00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:45.920 Oh, that my oh, that my words were now written. 00:32:46.160 --> 00:32:48.559 Oh, that they were printed in a book. 00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:50.400 Isn't that funny? 00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:57.119 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever. 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:08.640 For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:21.839 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me. 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:28.079 He had hope. 00:33:28.880 --> 00:33:30.640 Didn't he have hope? 00:33:31.680 --> 00:33:39.279 He knew his Redeemer lived, but that he'll stand at the latter day upon the earth. 00:33:40.960 --> 00:33:42.480 That hasn't happened yet. 00:33:43.200 --> 00:33:44.640 Yeah, he came. 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:48.079 But Job is looking forward to the resurrection. 00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:52.319 For millennia they waited. 00:33:53.359 --> 00:33:56.000 For millennia they waited for the coming of the Lord. 00:33:56.319 --> 00:33:57.279 Guess what? 00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:00.240 But they were never left alone. 00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:16.320 The concept, the concept of a living Christ and a returning king, so enabled them to trust in the middle of terrible circumstances that it's the illustration James brings us to. 00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:24.159 It's not just the reality of the return, it's the hope of the return that brings joy into our lives. 00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:27.920 Yeah, I know he's coming, but it's not the event. 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:31.920 Let me say this and I'll be done. 00:34:32.639 --> 00:34:47.119 Too often I've heard so much preaching about prophecy, about the mechanics and the timing and the geography of the second coming of Christ. 00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:56.079 The identity of the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, Gog, Magog. 00:34:57.199 --> 00:34:58.159 All of that. 00:34:59.920 --> 00:35:02.320 The second coming of Christ. 00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:08.400 But where do we really get our hope? 00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:14.960 In the Christ of the second coming. 00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:16.960 Get that right. 00:35:17.599 --> 00:35:19.679 My pastor used to say that so often. 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:22.559 I'm not looking for the second coming of Christ. 00:35:22.880 --> 00:35:26.559 I'm looking for the Christ of the second coming. 00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:34.960 Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:40.159 Hey, that'll give you hope in the midst of great tribulation. 00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:44.159 And it did for Job, and it can for us today. 00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:48.159 We count them happy which endure. 00:35:48.639 --> 00:35:53.920 I ought to write this on a card and put it in my pocket or put it on my mirror or put it in my truck somewhere. 00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:58.480 That word there, endure. 00:35:58.719 --> 00:36:00.239 Here's what it means. 00:36:00.480 --> 00:36:08.079 A habit, a habit of considering constancy worthwhile. 00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:10.000 Wow. 00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:15.280 The habit of considering constancy worthwhile. 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:28.239 As we wait, as we work, as we witness, let us be happy to consider faithfulness worthwhile. 00:36:28.559 --> 00:36:33.679 That's exactly what James is saying to us here, and I pray it's been an encouragement to your heart this morning. 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:35.039 Let's pray we'll be dismissed. 00:36:35.199 --> 00:36:35.920 Our Father, we thank you.