Patience in a World of Urgency

It was very kind of Ian to include me amongst the young preachers.

I could probably double the rage in some of them.

Thank you for giving me the privilege of sharing God's Word tonight with you this evening.

Thank you also for extending to me the courtesy of allowing me to sit to speak.

Unfortunately, I have back trouble and that prevents me from standing for very long.

So it would be a very short sermon if I did.

That might be an option you wish you had taken later.

Just a quick prayer.

Father, as we turn to your Word, may your Holy Spirit take it and comfort us where we need to be comforted.

Encourage us where we need to be encouraged.

And challenge us where we need to be challenged.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Can I ask you to take your Bibles please and open them at James chapter 5 as we continue our series in that book.

James 5 · chapter mention

Reading verses 7 to 12.

So that's James chapter 5, verses 7 to 12.

James 5:7–12

This is the Word of God.

Be patient then, brothers, until the Lord's coming.

See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop.

How patient he is in the autumn and spring rains.

Brothers, you too, be patient and stand firm.

Because the Lord's coming is near.

Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged.

The judge is standing at the door.

Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering.

Take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.

You've heard of Job's perseverance.

And have seen what the Lord finally brought about.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or by earth or by anything else.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

Or you will be condemned.

Amen.

When I was a lad, and that wasn't yesterday,

the only phone we had in the house was in the hall.

And it was attached by a cord to the wall, to a box in the wall.

It sat on a telephone table, especially because...

And it had a seat as a part of its construction.

Where you sat and made your calls.

If the person you were calling was not in, or was engaged in another call,

you simply called them back later.

It was a major step forward in technology when we got an answering machine.

The nearest thing to a mobile phone was the call box at the end of most streets.

Today, the majority of us probably carry one of these.

With it, we can call, message, and send emails all over the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you're anything like me, then when, for example, I send a WhatsApp message,

and the message has been...

There's a marker there that shows that the message has been delivered.

And then it changes colour when the person, the recipient, has read it.

Impatience then builds as I wait for the person to respond.

The patience levels of our society have plummeted,

and we live in a world demanding instant responses.

During this period of lockdown, forcing many of us to work from home,

one of the partners in the firm I work for found it necessary to send out an instruction to all staff

saying that we were no longer allowed to use ASAP, i.e. as soon as possible,

on any of our emails or Teams messages,

and we had to start showing an increased level of patience.

So as we study this passage in James chapter 5,

James 5 · chapter mention

God calls us, especially those within his church,

to a life of patience in that world of urgency.

Our key verse is found at verse 7,

when it says,

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming.

So I'd like us to consider this passage under three headings.

First, faithful patience.

Secondly, obedient patience.

Thirdly, fulfilled patience.

That's faithful patience.

Obedient patience.

Fulfilled patience.

So faithful patience.

In verse 7, we are given the example of the farmer.

He will have lovingly prepared the soil,

ploughing it, removing all possible stones and weeds

to ensure it gives the best environment possible for the seed to flourish.

He will then have planted the best seed available to him,

but, and that's a big but,

he is powerless in making that seed germinate and produce a crop.

For that, he looks upwards in faith to his heavenly Father

to bring the rains, and hopefully the sunshine,

to allow that seed to grow and mature.

Is that a blind faith?

No.

As a farmer in New Testament times,

he will have known the Old Testament promises of God,

including those in Isaiah 55 that talk about God bringing the rains.

Like most farmers of his day,

he will be totally reliant on that crop

to provide for his family for the coming year,

and therefore his faith is absolute in God

as he waits in expectation for what will happen later that year.

We are then in verses 10 to 12,

given the examples of Job and a number of the Old Testament prophets.

The patience of Job is an expression that's used in our world today.

If you Google it,

the dictionary definition is

the ability to remain patient

and do what you think you should do

despite having many problems.

Unfortunately, the dictionary has totally missed the point.

As we've been discovering in our Sunday morning series,

Job's patience and perseverance

is rooted not in a self-reliance

or the stiff upper lip

to keep going through adversity,

but has its foundations

built on that rock that is God.

It's his faith and knowledge

and the promise that God would never forsake him

that sees him through this period of trial and tribulation.

Job may have voiced complaints about his circumstances,

but he did not stop trusting and putting his faith in God.

Job 1.21, for example, says,

Naked I have come from my mother's womb,

and naked I will depart.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

May the name of the Lord be praised.

The farmer Job and the other prophets referred to

took God at his word

and found him to be faithful.

We have God's word

in the form of our Bibles

and that is full of his promises

and that we can cling to

and put our faith in

as we live our lives.

In some senses,

we have it relatively easy

in this country

compared to the difficulties

many of our brothers and sisters

around the world face.

Increasingly, however,

there are battles to face

and thankfully the Lord

has blessed the Christian community

in this country recently

with some significant victories.

There's a case of the advertising

for the Festival of Hope Christian event

in Lancashire

where Franklin Graham,

son of Billy Graham,

was to be the headline speaker.

As a result of his views

on biblical marriage,

the local council banned

the adverts for the event

from their buses.

Recently, a court

found that the Christian organizers

of the event

had been unfairly discriminated against

and ordered the council

to pay over £100,000 in damages.

Similarly, the case of the elder

in Stirling Free Church

who is the chief executive officer

of the Robertson Trust

was sacked after nine years at the helm.

An industrial tribunal found

that he had been unlawfully

discriminated against

and again because of his

Christian views on marriage.

Job and the prophets

such as Elijah and Daniel

stood firm in the face of testing.

And in verse 8,

we are called to do likewise

when it says,

you too be patient

and stand firm

because the Lord's coming

is near.

Are there situations

we are going through at work

or in our personal lives

that we are tempted

to throw in the towel?

We're encouraged here

to look to our Heavenly Father

in faith,

in the knowledge

that he's always there

and he will carry us through

the trial we're going through

just as he did with Job

and the other prophets.

So secondly,

we have obedient patience.

Verse 7 says,

be patient.

This is not a request

or an optional extra.

This is a command,

firstly for us

as a body of believers,

but subsequently for us

to be a shining example

to our communities

outside these four walls.

The world we live in

has increasingly become

a place that seeks

instant gratification.

This can be quite innocently

things like instant coffee

or that instant meal

we zap in the microwave.

However,

I doubt that many

would say that

an instant coffee

trumps the freshly brewed

version

or a ready meal

tastes as good

as one lovingly prepared

from scratch

by a talented cook or chef.

As the world

turns its back

on its creator,

it tries to short circuit

God's plans

and aims to scratch

where it itches.

There's a desire

for sex

without patiently

waiting for the

God-given relationship

of marriage,

the rise in casual

relationships

and the increased

availability and use

of pornography

bringing with it

a big impact

on our society.

There's the desire

to have the latest

and the best

right now

even if we can't

afford it.

This has given rise

to a huge debt problem

and people

attempt to keep up

with the Joneses.

But many have turned

to serious gambling

in this respect

to satisfy their

discontentment

with their present

position.

Our TV screens

are full of adverts

attempting to

reel vulnerable

people in.

God would say to us

to be content

with what we have

and patiently work

with what we'd like

to achieve.

However,

in our passages,

we as God's people

are given two

very specific areas

to live out

obedient patience.

In verse 9

it says,

don't grumble

against each other

brothers

or you will be judged.

The judge

is standing

at the door.

Why would there

be grumbling

amongst us?

I would suggest

it arises

when we lose

patience with one

another.

It leads us

to putting ourselves

on that pedestal

rising us up there

as we look down

on our brothers

or sister.

It can be very

easy to point

the finger

at somebody

at someone's

perceived shortcomings

but we do not

always know

the full story

of what they're

going through.

I read an

interesting article

recently that

highlighted the fact

that if you

physically point

the finger

at somebody

then three fingers

of your same hand

are pointing

right back at you.

Think about it.

Try it.

The second half

of verse 9

warns us

that if we go

about judging

one another

then we face

a judgment

from God.

Our command

is not to grumble

but I believe

that that

should be evident

in the way

that we do

the opposite

and treat each

other with

compassion

and mercy

just so

as God

treats each

one of us.

Secondly

in verse 12

there's a command

about our speech.

Above all

my brothers

do not swear

by heaven

or by earth

or by anything

else.

Let your yes

be yes

and your no

no

or you will

be condemned.

What we say

and how we say

it

has been a

common thread

through the book

of James

so far.

This parallels

with Jesus'

words in Matthew

5

34 to 37

and I encourage

you to check

these verses

out at your

leisure.

oaths in

this context

were often

used to

sound impressive

to puff

somebody up

and give

the impression

of truth.

However

the honesty

of these oaths

was often

questionable.

James is

therefore telling

us that we

should have

no part

in that

practice.

We are to

be people

of integrity

and what we

say should

be honest

and trustworthy.

As part

of God's

family

is our

word

our bond.

Are we

totally honest

in all our

dealings

when around

us

others

venture

into those

grey areas

of truth?

An added

dimension is

often found

that when

we have

lost our

patience

with someone

or in some

situation

we become

exasperated

and we lose

self-control.

This is

evident to

those

around us

when we

come out

with some

form of

expletive.

Consistent

with the rest

of scripture

God is

calling us

to exercise

self-control

and bring

the situation

that's causing

us stress

to him

in prayer

and let him

deal with it.

So we've

got faithful

patience

patience

and got

obedient

patience

and thirdly

fulfilled

patience.

For the

farmer

fulfilled

patience

is seen

in a crop

to be

harvested

and provide

for his

family

over the

coming year.

For Job

it was an

end to

that period

of testing

and a

restoration

of God's

blessing.

For many

going through

suffering

the fulfillment

of their

patience

may not

be seen

in these

earthly

lives

but when

they are

called

home

by God.

For me

personally

I can

honestly say

that I

had a real

sense of

joy

at both

the funerals

of my

dad

and the

more recently

my mum.

Yes for me

there was a

deep

grieving

and a real

sense of

loss

but I

realised

for them

for both

of them

that they

had been

released

from the

suffering

that they

had

increasingly

been

experiencing

as their

earthly

bodies

deteriorated

and now

we're in

the presence

of their

Lord and

Saviour

which was

better by

far.

I'm sure

many here

can echo

that experience.

Verse 7

commands us

to be

patient

until the

Lord's

coming

which means

there is a

finite point

in time

when God

is going to

make all

things right

it will be

a total

game changer

but the

Lord has

already been

and when

he came

the first

time he

was the

greatest

fulfilment

of patience

this world

has ever

seen.

Looking back

at our

studies in

the book

of Leviticus

earlier this

year we

learnt that

the ordained

access into

God's

presence was

once a

year by

one man

the high

priest and

on the

appointed

day he

went behind

the curtain

into the

temple with

the blood

of a

sacrificed

animal and

offered it

as a

sin offering

on behalf

of the

people.

On that

first Good

Friday when

Jesus was

crucified on

that cross

at Calvary

and exclaimed

it is

finished

the curtain

in the

temple was

torn from

top to

bottom

giving

access

into

God's

presence

to all

who are

willing to

repent

and believe.

The access

is not there

just once a

year but

every hour

of every

day wherever

we are.

When Jesus

returns as

described in

verse 7

it won't be

as a baby

in a manger

but it will

be in all

his glory

and majesty

it will be

both a

fearful day

and a

day of

great joy

fearful

because it

will be a

day of

judgment

and

accountability

joyful

for those

who are

in Christ

that they

will go

and spend

eternity

in the

presence of

God.

We live

today in

a period

of God's

patience

between the

first coming

of Jesus

and his

return.

for all

of us

today

that has

critical

significance.

For the

believer

who has

already

come in

repentance

and put

our trust

in Jesus

the Savior

and Lord

we are

firstly

commanded to

live our

lives with

evident

patience.

Borrowing a

phrase from a

preacher I

heard recently

we are to

follow the

compass and

not the

clock.

Follow the

compass and

not the

clock.

In other

words live

faithfully in

accordance with

the direction

of God's

word whilst

leaving the

timing of

our circumstances

in God's

hands.

Following on

from that we

have been

given the

privilege of

sharing the

good news of

the gospel to

the world

outside these

walls that

desperately needs

to hear it.

Like the

farmer we

can prepare the

soil in our

friends and

relatives and

help them to

remove some

of the weeds

and stones of

issues that

may be a

hindrance.

We can plant

the seed by

introducing them

to Jesus but

just as the

farmer had to

look to his

heavenly father

to provide the

weather to make

the seed germinate

and grow, we

too are totally

reliant on God

through the Holy

Spirit to work a

miracle in the

lives of those

we are seeking

to reach out

to.

We wait

patiently for

the Lord.

Our time on

this earth is

short and

temporary and

it's not our

forever home so

let's not get

too comfortable.

if you may be

here today or

tonight and

you've not yet

put your trust

in Jesus as

your Saviour

and Lord

then this passage

comes with a

warning.

God has an

appointed time

when his son

the Lord Jesus

will return in

all his glory

and as I said

earlier it will

be a day of

judgment and

accountability.

None of us

know when that

will happen.

It could be

tomorrow or it

might be a

considerable time

yet.

The important

point is until

that happens

there is still

an opportunity

to respond and

accept the

gift of a

restored relationship

with God

through what

Jesus accomplished

in his death

and resurrection.

If you're in

that position

tonight then

can I please

urge you to

take time out

to consider the

gift of eternal

life that Jesus

offers you.

Don't put it

in the back

burner of your

life.

If you want to

talk further

then please

come speak to

me or speak

to one of the

leaders of this

church or the

person that's

brought you

along tonight.

Let's pray.

Father I just

thank you for

this passage

from scripture.

I thank you for

what you've been

saying to us

and may Lord

by your Holy

Spirit cement in

our hearts

what's the

application of it

to our lives.

We pray in

Jesus name.

Amen.

Thank you.