WEBVTT 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:12.720 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:33.200 I was trying this week to see the brighter side of our negative temperatures, and there's always a bright side to things. 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:46.320 We were away for a day or two, and coming back cleaning out the car, I see a cup on the back seat with a syrupy drink in it. 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:50.560 And I go, oh my, it spilled. 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:54.159 It did spill, but it was frozen solid. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:56.079 I could just pick it up. 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:02.000 So that's the brighter side to negative temperatures. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:25.359 When you preach on human frailty, and God somehow always reminds you of what you are gonna preach about because there's not a day that goes by that we are not reminded that we are human and that we are frail humans. 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:31.120 In fact, this week I did some research and I found this. 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:37.920 We are one of the wealthiest economies in the world. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:42.560 And we should actually be one of the healthiest countries in the world. 00:01:42.799 --> 00:01:49.120 We spend, on average,$10,500 per person per year on health care. 00:01:49.840 --> 00:02:03.599 But according to the Institute of Economics and Peace, they rank America as one of the lowest in terms of inner peace, a sense of well-being, and personal happiness. 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:17.039 In fact, out of 163 countries, the United States ranks 122nd, followed by South Africa, 123rd. 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:22.560 So I have to include myself somewhere in between the statistics here. 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:34.639 We ought to be the land of the wealthy and home of the healthy, but have we not become the land of the sad and home of the downcast? 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:39.439 Is there something we are missing in everything? 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:51.199 All this money spent on physical and mental health, and yet we are not doing much better than a third world country like South Africa. 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:58.159 Could it be that we might not be thinking about something? 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:03.280 Or we may be barking up the wrong tree, or is there a tree that we're not barking up? 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:05.039 But I would say this. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:12.479 Have we considered the spiritual aspects of general well-being? 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:23.840 Let's consider our relationship with our Creator God as a factor, as a primary factor in general well-being. 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:30.800 Can we simply ignore the state of someone's soul? 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:40.560 And speaking of the soul, I'm speaking of the soul in a biblical sense, in the sense that the psalmist uses the word soul. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:44.319 Let me just get us started here with the. 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:47.280 Look at this psalm here. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:50.080 Psalm 42.5. 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:54.560 Why are you downcast, O my soul? 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:56.639 The soul is downcast. 00:03:56.800 --> 00:03:58.000 Another translation. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.960 Why is my soul depressed? 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:04.159 That is a more common term that we use. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:06.560 It was the late Dr. 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:11.199 Martin Lloyd Jones, a preacher and physician from England. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:23.600 He was a practicing physician and a member of the Royal College of Physicians prior to becoming a pastor, a very well-known pastor in England, and this is what he said. 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:36.560 He said, you cannot isolate the spiritual from the physical, for we are body, mind, and spirit, all separate yet a unity. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:58.560 And today I want us to take a sobering look at the realities of the human experience and turn to Scripture for a step care plan to address the spiritual side of suffering on the path of restoration and well-being. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:04.639 As we open our Bibles here, I want us to read from James chapter five. 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:06.879 James chapter five. 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.959 James chapter five, and we'll begin there in verse thirteen. 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:32.160 This will remind us about the reality of suffering. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:35.600 Is anyone among you suffering? 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:37.360 Then he must pray. 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:39.120 Is anyone cheerful? 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:41.120 He is to sing praises. 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:43.360 Is anyone among you sick? 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:47.040 Then he must call for the elders of the church. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:53.279 And they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:05:53.360 --> 00:06:00.319 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:04.639 And if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:14.399 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:25.120 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. 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:31.680 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain on the earth and produced its fruit. 00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:56.399 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 ways will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:02.879 Powerful package, a packed passage. 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:05.279 There is so much in there. 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:08.959 And I turned to Dr. 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:15.519 Martin Lloyd Jones many times and helping to understand this passage because Dr. 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:24.959 Jones was very well versed in the Bible, but he was also, as I said, a trained and qualified physician. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:35.519 And like here, James is presenting to us a stepped care approach to well-being. 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:49.040 And he wants us to consider the entire person, the whole person, including the spiritual aspects of human frailty and human existence. 00:07:50.079 --> 00:08:05.439 Critical in lifting a person out of the doldrums of despair, we must take the step care approach that James is offering here to restore joy to the soul. 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:10.160 So the idea here is the restoration of joy to the soul. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:14.800 There's three things that James wants us to look at. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:21.600 First, he wants us to acknowledge the foes of life and give an apt response to it. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:28.480 He wants us to accept the frailties of being human and seek biblical intervention. 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:37.519 And then thirdly, he wants us to acquire the facts of eternal truths and then apply them to our lives. 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:39.759 I'll walk you through these. 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:00.399 Something that Dr. 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:05.120 Martin Lloyd Jones called spiritual depression. 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:07.120 Spiritual depression. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:19.200 He spoke of this spiritual depression, which seems to be the thing that James wants to address here, as a heaviness of the soul. 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:28.480 An unhappiness that touches the deepest parts of one's soul. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:38.240 An unhappiness that touches the deepest parts of one's soul. 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:49.039 Let's think about this as we acknowledge the foes of life, the realities of the human experience. 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:50.480 Look at verse 13. 00:09:51.039 --> 00:09:53.039 Is anyone suffering? 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:59.679 My dear friend, you will not go through life, whether you're a Christian or not, without suffering. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:03.519 Being a Christian does not exempt you from suffering. 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:09.440 But being a Christian does not exempt you from cheerfulness either. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:11.360 Look at verse 13. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:15.440 It says, if any is anyone suffering, let him pray. 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:16.960 Is anyone cheerful? 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:17.759 Let him sing. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:20.159 There's your friend and there's your foe. 00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:24.799 If your soul is cheerful, sing. 00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:27.279 If your soul is suffering, pray. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:30.159 Evil is all around us, we cannot escape it. 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:33.200 We live in a wicked and sin-stricken world. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:41.440 And we are often caught in the crossfire of our enemy, firing his darts of discouragement to us. 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:47.039 But the the call here, the first line defense is pray, pray. 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:59.279 We can often escape to some extent the evil around us, but we can't escape our temperaments. 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:05.200 Our temperaments are often the source of much trouble. 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:12.159 Our temperaments may lean over to becoming discouraged. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:14.720 James 5.13. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:19.600 That word suffering is a very profound and interesting word. 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:22.000 It's a compound word. 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:28.480 It's the word trouble combined with the word passion. 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:35.519 The Greek word is koko patheo. 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:37.279 Kako patheo. 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:39.759 And that the Greek word there is pathos. 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:45.120 We get the English word sympathy or empathy from that. 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:47.919 It's a special word here. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:55.120 It speaks of troubled passions that is warring within our souls. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:01.120 James mentions Elijah here, and I go, why? 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:04.000 Why is he mentioning Elijah? 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:07.039 And he uses a very similar word there. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:13.279 He says there in verse 17, Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:19.200 And that word nature is the word homeopathos. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:26.399 Homeopathos, and we get the word homeopath, it means similar passions. 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:33.600 So he's saying, you know, you guys have these troubled passions within you. 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:38.799 Elijah, I mean, Elijah was somebody special. 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.240 He's a guy who could pray and could stop praying. 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:43.440 And you know what? 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.200 He had similar troubled passions. 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:47.600 Why? 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:53.519 Because in 1 Kings 19, verse 4, he wishes to die. 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:57.840 He is completely spiritually depressed. 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:04.159 He sat down under a broom tree and he asked God that he might die. 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:06.399 1 Kings 19, 4. 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:29.840 And so James keeps on developing this idea of sickness, but I wonder if he's not primarily referring here to a spiritual weariness, a weakness of the soul that can only be remedied by prayer and intervention of the Word of God. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:40.000 We don't need to go look for troubles and wars. 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:43.200 Trouble and wars will find us. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:44.879 It's inescapable. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:48.320 But our response is vital. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:50.799 Our response is vital. 00:13:52.080 --> 00:14:02.720 If the friend of cheerfulness comes to one's soul, we welcome him by singing praises to the God who is the giver of all good things. 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:15.039 If the foe of somberness comes to the soul, we drive it away by praying to the God who ordains both goodness and trouble, Job 2.10. 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:29.279 But when trouble comes in double doses, and it brings a weariness to the soul, James prescribes two things here. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:33.360 The first line, defense. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:38.240 For the somberness that brings darkness to the soul is prayer. 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:46.080 Prayer is mentioned here one, two, three, four, five, six times. 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:49.519 Prayer is mentioned here six times. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:53.360 Now let me tell you, they had doctors in those times. 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:56.879 You could have said, just first line, rush to the doctor. 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:58.720 Go to the doctor. 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.639 He mentions prayer six times. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:12.240 But then he brings in sin and sinning, no less than five times in the passage. 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:21.519 And so something tells me here, this passage is more speaking of a spiritual sickness than physical sickness. 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:26.159 So the first line in the step care approach here is pray. 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:29.600 Giving the right response, pray. 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:36.960 Second response is calling for help. 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:39.120 Calling for help. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:56.559 James wants the church to come to grips with the frailties of human existence and to be humble enough to seek help from the spiritual leaders in the church. 00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:58.399 Verse 14. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.279 Is anyone among you sick? 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:03.120 Then he must call? 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:05.519 For the elders of the church. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:09.360 If there's a little pause, you you complete the sentence. 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:10.159 Okay. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:16.080 Is anyone among you sick then he must call for? 00:16:17.919 --> 00:16:18.559 Good. 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:20.960 Thank you. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:31.840 We must come to accept the frailties of being human. 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:36.240 And be willing to seek help. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.759 James says, there is anyone among you sick. 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:42.240 He uses a very interesting word there. 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:44.080 Asthenos. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:46.080 Asthenos. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:50.320 Asthenia is the is a common word used by physicians. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:54.960 It speaks of a weakness, a weariness. 00:16:55.679 --> 00:17:03.120 But the question he is here is he's speaking about a spiritual weakness or a physical weakness. 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:13.519 And I would consult 1 Corinthians 11.30, that speaks of both physical and spiritual sickness. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:18.559 In 1 Corinthians 11.30, Paul uses those words side by side. 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:27.359 He says, for this reason, many of you are weak, same word as James, and sick, physically sick. 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.240 Why are you weak and why are you sick? 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:32.799 Well, there's multiple reasons for that. 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:42.559 Paul could say to you, there's unrepentant sin, there's false doctrine, there's unforgiving attitudes and bitterness, there's unbelief. 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:51.599 All these things will bring you not only sickness to the soul, but sickness to the heart and mind. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:18:02.559 Many Bible scholars and preachers do believe James is speaking here of a physical sickness. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:11.359 But there are a few respectable scholars who believe otherwise, speaking of the discouraged and the depressed. 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:15.359 Dr. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:19.119 Ronald Blue from Dallas Theological Seminary concurs. 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:28.960 He says, actually, there's no reason to consider sick, the word sick here, as referring exclusively to physical sickness. 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:43.200 It is quite possible then that the author might be referring here to those who have become excessively melancholic and disheartened because of the troubles of life. 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:44.640 Very fascinating. 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:50.799 Find it fascinating that his last name is Blue, and speaking of the blues. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:19:07.839 If we consider the frailties of being human, it will remind us of our need for a Savior, which takes us always back to prayer. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.880 There's never a time that we cannot and should not pray. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:20.480 Prayer is a declaration of our dependence on God, our need of God. 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:26.240 Prayer is a way of saying to God, God, I need you, I cannot cope. 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:39.279 But there's a place in life when we need others to pray with us to restore the soul. 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.720 Look at verse 14 there. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:47.039 He says, Is anyone among you sick? 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:58.720 Speaking of this melancholic situation, it says there he must call for the elders, and they are to what? 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:00.240 Pray over him. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:01.680 Interesting word. 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:03.279 That's it a little bit. 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:07.680 Pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:14.240 But then it says that that prayer offered by the elders in faith with that person will restore. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:20.880 And that word is a spiritual restoration, not a physical restoration. 00:20:21.039 --> 00:20:25.440 And the Lord will raise him up there again as a spiritual term. 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:34.720 And bringing in this idea of sin keeps this within the realm of the spiritual. 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:39.440 If he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:40.480 That's good news. 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:46.400 And therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:53.759 Prayer is always first line in the stepped care approach. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:58.960 Prayer is mentioned here three times, sin is mentioned here twice. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:03.519 The word restoration and raising up is mentioned here. 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:14.720 When the soul becomes wary, that should set off an alarm bell that says it's time to turn to God. 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:16.160 Call God. 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:18.559 He created us, he knows us. 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:20.400 Nobody knows you better than God. 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:25.119 Call him up, but also call the shepherds of the flock. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:27.359 Then he must call the elders. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:33.279 I'm not sure about your translation, but my translation in the American sense is he must. 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:39.920 It's not he should or he could or he might want to consider calling the elders. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.400 It says he must, but they must pray. 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:49.279 It's not like they they should pray or they could pray or they might pray. 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:53.759 They must pray and they must pray over him. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:58.079 And I want you to think about the imperatives here. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:01.359 The commands. 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:05.359 The one is a humbling command, call. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:16.240 The other one is a duty that is a daunting task, and that is to pray with the person. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:18.400 Dr. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:20.720 Lloyd Jones points out something. 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:33.279 He's in his experience as a pastor, he said this idea of a this occurrence of spiritual depression is far more widespread in the church than we think. 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:37.680 But he says there's always a rush to find the right medicine. 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:42.079 There's always a rush to find the right medicine. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:53.200 But he says people seldom rush to find the right pastor or the right elder to give medicine to the soul. 00:22:54.240 --> 00:23:07.759 I quote, he says, pastors and congregants must swim against the flow of the popular opinion which neglects the spiritual undercurrent of depression. 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:13.440 He nailed it here. 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:26.400 We are often in such a rush to get a quick fix that we forget the spiritual aspects, the undercurrent of spiritual depression. 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:30.799 Neither James, the author here, nor Dr. 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:39.519 Lloyd Jones would ever counsel against calling in a health care professional. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:46.400 None of them are saying here you should not be seeking medical intervention. 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:56.720 But what Jones and I think James is pointing out here is this neglect of spiritual care. 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:12.319 There is a need to call in spiritual people, namely the congregation and the leaders of the congregation, namely the elders slash pastors. 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:16.480 And they are called to pray. 00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:20.480 Richard Baxter was a Puritan. 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:29.039 And he lived in about 1640, that time era. 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:32.400 But he was a pastor and a lay physician. 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:43.599 And he wrote, he says, caring for the person must include spiritual care, for the care of the body requires cure of the spirit. 00:24:43.920 --> 00:24:51.279 They are indivisible, if not indistinguishable, components of the same person. 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:52.720 Profound. 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:54.000 Profound. 00:24:55.920 --> 00:25:02.319 He says people must be comforted through the prayers of the pastors and the elders. 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:05.279 Now I want you to take note of that peculiar word. 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:12.000 Why does James say the elders are to pray over the person? 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:13.599 This is like this. 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:16.240 Do you how how does this? 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:24.160 I think what James is saying there, it's not praying for the person, but with the person. 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:26.640 There's a proximity. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:30.799 Oh, time to confess, Anton. 00:25:30.960 --> 00:25:34.640 How many times have I said to people, they come and they pack off? 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:35.119 Oh. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.000 And I go, oh, that's terrible. 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:39.920 I'll pray for you. 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:44.240 And I go away doing my business. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:45.759 Horrible. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:50.319 What James is saying is they must pray with that person. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:54.480 They need to stick around for a while and pray for that person. 00:25:56.799 --> 00:25:59.279 And pray for him, meaning with him. 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:01.920 In his presence. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:05.599 Want that to sink in a little bit. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:11.839 James says there, we are to pray for one another. 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:14.400 In verse 16. 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:18.559 We are quick to say, I'm gonna pray for you. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:23.759 But how often is somebody praying with you? 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:27.119 I can tell you statistics. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:30.400 I'm becoming a buff on statistics. 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:32.240 Five percent. 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:40.960 Five percent of evangelical Christians says that somebody in the past year has prayed with them. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:44.720 But we always like, oh, I'll pray for you. 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:47.759 I'll pray for your surgery. 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:50.079 Totally forget about it. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:52.240 Guy comes back lumping. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:53.200 How are you doing? 00:26:53.359 --> 00:26:54.480 Oh, I had my surgery. 00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:57.599 Totally forgot, didn't pray with you. 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:00.559 Just the thought. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:08.160 James is calling here for the elders, particular, to pray with the person. 00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:14.960 That way they become familiar with human frailties and the frailties within the congregation. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:21.359 Praying is an elixir to the wary soul. 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:28.880 It's an expression and evidence of genuine care and concern. 00:27:31.920 --> 00:27:43.519 Praying over the downcast and praying with the spiritually depressed is a way of showing I care. 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:46.240 And Dr. 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:52.799 Blue once said, elders and congregants don't always have to have the solution and the answers to everything. 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:55.599 They simply have the hotline to God. 00:27:56.000 --> 00:28:06.960 Prayer is the hotline to the one who can provide the solution for any need, no matter how complex or impossible it may seem. 00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:10.880 Turn to God. 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:26.480 His name is Jesus Christ. 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:35.680 But here's a call here, not only to comfort the person, but also to guide the person in unconfessed sin. 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:38.880 There's several mentions here of sin. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:48.240 And it says there in verse 16, therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another. 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:49.519 And Dr. 00:28:49.759 --> 00:29:01.279 Michael Lundy, he's a board-cidified psychiatrist and practicing physician, and he cautions here, I think, well. 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:06.160 He says one should not blame everything on sin. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:12.960 But there is nothing as sickening to the soul as a denial of sin. 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:14.720 Wow. 00:29:16.799 --> 00:29:19.839 Listen to Psalm 32, verse 3. 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:29.119 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my growing, groaning all day long. 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:38.880 When I kept silent, David is very clear that he became spiritually depressed when he did not confess his sin. 00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:48.079 One should not blame everything on sin, but there is nothing as sickening to the soul as a denial of personal sin. 00:29:49.680 --> 00:30:02.640 We're having communion soon, and communion is a wonderful time to confess those unconfessed sins and go to the throne of grace where we can get forgiveness. 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:22.319 We have to come to grips with the frailties of human existence and acknowledge that we have sinned and that we are sinners and that we all have fallen short of the glory of God and for the rest of our existence that will be a repetitive factor. 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:26.720 We fall short of the glory of God. 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:32.640 If we say we have not sinned and we are not sinners, we call God a liar. 00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:33.200 Thank you. 00:30:33.359 --> 00:30:34.640 1 John 1:10. 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:47.839 Lord Jones says that a person who denies personal sin and sinning, they have never realized the truth about God and the truth about themselves. 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:51.759 We got to come to grips with the truth. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:31:00.160 We got to accept the realities of sin and the trouble that sin brings to the soul. 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:06.000 But confession is king. 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:10.720 Confess your sins to one another. 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:13.440 Confess your sins to God. 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:18.240 He is faithful and righteous to forgive. 00:31:18.400 --> 00:31:23.440 And when God forgives, he promises never to bring it up again. 00:31:24.400 --> 00:31:30.640 As far as the East is from the West, God looks not back to remind us of our sins. 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:32.079 What do we do? 00:31:32.880 --> 00:31:34.799 We ponder upon that. 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:40.319 We like, yeah, I know God has chosen not to bring this up. 00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:44.799 God has chosen to forget this, but we keep pondering over our sins. 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:58.640 When we forgive or we guide someone through the process of confession, we need to explain to them that forgiveness means that God has chosen to forget this sin. 00:31:58.799 --> 00:31:59.200 Why? 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:03.440 Because it was paid for by his son on the cross, Jesus Christ. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:15.680 Elders and pastors are here to be called in as instruments in the hands of the Redeemer to help to restore wellness to the soul. 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:19.119 Matthew 18, 12, the lost sheep. 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:21.519 Galatians 6, 1. 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:24.400 Restore the sinning brother. 00:32:24.880 --> 00:32:30.480 We think if we speak to somebody about sin, we are taking the Bible and whacking them over the head. 00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:31.920 Oh, this just broke. 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:39.599 We think it's all about whacking. 00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:42.160 No, it's about restoring that person. 00:32:42.480 --> 00:32:46.480 It's about showing the person, look, you out of sync here with God. 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:48.960 Let me let me help you confess your sin. 00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:55.680 And we both sinners, and we've got to turn to the God who chooses to forgive. 00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:11.599 Verse 14 says there, and they must pray over him, meaning with them in his proximity, and they are to anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:19.279 Honesty, I'm just gonna confess I don't know what that means. 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:22.160 Honest confession. 00:33:22.240 --> 00:33:23.599 I mean, I've read a lot. 00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:35.440 I don't think it means that the the pastors or the elders have have uh some trach up their sleeves or some magic potion in their pocket that they pour over a person. 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:46.880 But I think the idea here is that we point them to the one who is faithful and righteous to forgive, namely Jesus Christ. 00:33:48.240 --> 00:33:50.799 Elders and pastors help in the process. 00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:56.480 The congregants are to turn to the elders and call on their help. 00:33:56.720 --> 00:34:09.440 And they in turn will turn to the one whose might and power can revive, can refresh, and can restore a downcast soul. 00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:16.559 The under-shepherds turn to the chief shepherd and savior who will raise them up. 00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:22.320 It says the Lord will raise them up, not the elders, the Lord is doing the work here. 00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:33.679 The Lord will raise them up, and that person will say with joy, He anoints my head with oil and restores my soul. 00:34:34.159 --> 00:34:35.679 Psalm 23. 00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:40.159 So we have the assurance that we got God on his side. 00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:42.480 We just got a call on him. 00:34:45.760 --> 00:34:57.039 But there's always this sober reality of the problem of sin, and we must always investigate and be introspective, not obsessively introspective. 00:34:57.280 --> 00:35:00.719 But we sometimes need a second pair of eyes. 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:02.000 Right, men? 00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:08.400 We don't see our sins, and then often our wife points the situation out. 00:35:08.719 --> 00:35:11.199 And you go, yep, honey, you're right. 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:21.840 Elders and pastors, like I said, is not there to whack people over the head, but to to really help them to come to grips with the problem of sin. 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:32.239 Thirdly, I want to be careful here not to blame everything on sin. 00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:43.840 But not mentioning it is also problematic because there is nothing as sickening to the soul as the denial of personal sin. 00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:58.000 But I also don't want to blame everything on false beliefs, but not dealing with false beliefs is equally short-sighted. 00:35:59.280 --> 00:36:01.519 Oh yeah, this thing broke. 00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:05.440 Could you just advance my slide? 00:36:05.519 --> 00:36:07.840 I'm really sorry I broke your clicker ear. 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:12.719 Uh we need a clicker fund. 00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:26.079 Number three in the stepped care approach is acknowledging the facts of eternal truths and the application of that truth. 00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:36.719 You see, we as human beings, we have this danger and that we make our emotions the ultimate standard of truth. 00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:38.800 Who has done that? 00:36:39.599 --> 00:36:42.480 Well, I feel you do or don't. 00:36:42.800 --> 00:36:54.079 You feel you're you're I mean, you're you are your f is the feelings inerrant inspired? 00:36:54.960 --> 00:36:56.480 This is what Lloyd Jones says. 00:36:56.559 --> 00:37:02.639 Our danger is to submit ourselves to our feelings and pay little regard to biblical truths. 00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:08.400 Our danger is to submit ourselves to our feelings and pay little regard to biblical truths. 00:37:09.199 --> 00:37:16.400 When that spiritual darkness comes, we need to grapple with unbelief and false beliefs. 00:37:17.840 --> 00:37:22.639 Or else our feelings will dictate to us what we think is true. 00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:33.199 It will begin to govern us and master our lies and leading us ever more so downwards in a spiral of despair. 00:37:34.559 --> 00:37:38.800 Let me give you three truths here about emotions, about pathos. 00:37:40.159 --> 00:37:43.440 Our feelings are not the standard of truth. 00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:48.960 Our feelings are not to dictate to us, our feelings ought not to control our lives. 00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:50.000 Period. 00:37:52.480 --> 00:37:54.800 Our feelings are not the standard of truth. 00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:57.199 God's word is the standard of truth. 00:37:57.360 --> 00:38:01.920 Our feelings are not to dictate to us, the word of God is to dictate to us. 00:38:02.159 --> 00:38:10.800 We ought not to let our feelings control ourselves, but the Spirit of God is to control our lives through his word. 00:38:11.679 --> 00:38:17.760 The word of God is the standard of truth, it dictates to us and should control our lives. 00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:18.960 Why do I say that? 00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:21.119 Look at verse 19. 00:38:21.280 --> 00:38:23.519 If you would please advance that, thank you. 00:38:23.760 --> 00:38:34.719 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, the one who turns him back, parentheses, back to the truth. 00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:36.559 Wow. 00:38:37.039 --> 00:38:57.360 Let him know that he who turns a sinner from error, which means false beliefs, turns him from this way, this erroneous way, will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. 00:38:58.079 --> 00:39:01.360 I don't think he's speaking here about salvation. 00:39:02.880 --> 00:39:07.039 I think he's speaking here about death, or maybe premature death. 00:39:08.480 --> 00:39:14.559 And the covering of the multitude of sins, I think, is the prevention of more sins. 00:39:17.039 --> 00:39:23.519 So James 5, verses 19 and 20 is connected with the troubled emotions. 00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:30.880 False beliefs are no different than unbelief. 00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:37.519 And Martin Lloyd-Jones says unbelief is the root of all spiritual depressions. 00:39:38.719 --> 00:39:52.320 If any one of you strays from the truth, counseling and comfort must always be truthful, and in the truth, we must speak the truth in love to one another. 00:39:55.599 --> 00:40:07.920 We always turn the person away from what is true and what is trustworthy, namely the God who created you. 00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:23.199 Believing wrongly about God, doubting his character, questioning his promises, will often lead one in a downward spiral to despair. 00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:41.039 Wrong thinking about God and thinking wrong about things like the forgiveness of sins that was adequately and perfectly provided for by the death of Jesus Christ and the cross can cause injury to the soul. 00:40:42.239 --> 00:40:55.679 If we ponder upon a sin that Jesus already forgave, it will bring injury to the soul and lead us even further downwards into despair. 00:40:57.360 --> 00:41:16.320 It is therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, incumbent as frontline caregivers to not only comfort people in praying with them, but also counseling them in what is true. 00:41:17.599 --> 00:41:24.320 But also to remind ourselves to apply the truth. 00:41:26.480 --> 00:41:38.079 Martin Lloyd Jones says, how easy is it to read the scriptures and give a kind of nominal assent to the truth and never appropriate it. 00:41:39.280 --> 00:41:40.559 You can hear the truth. 00:41:40.719 --> 00:41:42.079 You and I can speak the truth. 00:41:42.239 --> 00:41:44.079 We can say, well, that's great. 00:41:44.320 --> 00:41:45.199 That's great. 00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:49.360