A Patient Strength (James 5:7-12)

So last. Week we talked.

About letting go of our hoarding and being open to letting God.

Use whatever we. Have our time.

Our money, our. Resources for his Kingdom.

What we've been given in this life, we want to use it for

something greater than just our own selves than.

Just our own. Lives and everything we do with

this mindset will push the Kingdom forward, right?

And this should give us a more hopeful outlook on life.

The Kingdom is coming, God is in control.

We are being redeemed and changed more and more.

Every day that's. Good news and life is good.

But I think. There are moments that we hit in

this world where life does not. Feel that way?

It almost. Feels like the.

King, the message. Of God's Kingdom is out of touch

with reality. It's.

Too idealistic. It's too hopeful in a world that

can get. Really dark and.

Bleak. I remember one of our previous.

Church members being completely distraught after.

She started working. At homeless shelters.

No matter how much she. Listened to these people's

stories? Try to provide emotional support

and comfort. No matter how many plates of

food she would serve. Offered prayer for the.

Broken the. Knees were too great, the

addictions were too deep and there were far too many people.

To reach and there were more and more every.

Single day coming. In and she.

Started to give in to despair. It was.

Such a confusing time for. Her because she prayed her heart

was. Open and vulnerable to love and

give. To other people.

But she was. Constantly confronted.

With this ugly. Reality that the.

World felt. Hopelessly broken.

And any efforts? She made seem to make little

progress so our. Passage today speaks.

To this in moments where we feel.

Like. What we do isn't even making a

dent in moments where. We feel like.

The Kingdom is coming and. There's this.

Positive gospel message. And yet it's contrasted by this

immense. Darkness and brokenness in our

world. So let's let's read this today.

Let's go to verses 7 to 12, James chapter 5 and see what

James 5 · chapter mention

James tells us. So after verses one to six have

been read, James moves on to verse 7 therefore.

Brothers and sisters. After hearing about.

After hearing about. How unjust the world is, how on

the unrighteous are are in control and they're they're

doing all these things on the earth and God will judge them

for it. It says therefore brothers and

sisters. Be.

Patient until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the

precious fruit of the earth and is patient until it receives the

early and late rains. You also must be patient.

Strengthen your hearts because the Lord's coming is near.

Brothers and sisters. Do not complain about one

another so that you will not be judged.

Look, the judge stands at the door, brothers.

And, sisters, take the prophets who spoke.

In the Lord's name, as an example of suffering and

patience, see, we count as blessed.

Those who have endured you have heard of Job's endurance and

have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about.

The Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Above all, brothers and sisters, do not.

Swear either by heaven or by earth, or with.

Any other oath? But let your yes mean yes and

your no mean no so that you won't fall under judgment.

So with this what James has said, if there are any of us

that have felt this disconnect between God's word being good

and the world being broken and lost, if there are any of us

that have been confused. By this.

Disconnect. Let's pray that this word can

open our eyes to, OK, what are we seeing here?

What's actually happening? What's going on in the Kingdom

while we see this on earth? So my question for today is how

can we stay grounded when brokenness in our life feels

hopeless? How do?

We stay grounded when brokenness in our life feels hopeless.

And I want to focus on this verse here, this phrase in verse

8, it says you must also be patient, strengthen your hearts

because the Lord's coming is near.

So my first point is, how can we stay grounded when we.

Strengthen. Ourselves by focusing on Jesus's

return. SO chapter. 5/1 through. 6

paints the bleak picture, even if.

Christians choose to live. Differently the.

Rich will oppress the. Poor, the unrighteous and the

unjust will hold. Power and we can get.

Overwhelmed with this sense that the world is not the way it

should be You. Spend time in the world here and

it won't be long. Before we recognize that it's

depressingly difficult to take a look at all the horrible things

that are happening. Right hearts.

Are sinful nations are crooked? I've said this before, but we.

Passed. Laws and regulations and we have

a history of. Loopholes and murders.

We create a justice. System and there's still

corruption and abuse. Of.

Power. We create law enforcement and

now we have protests over racist police violence.

We create weapons to protect ourselves and then people use

them for school shootings. We build charities and funds

and, and try to get donations out and these donations get

mismanaged or stolen at checkpoints by authorities.

It's like, what? What are we supposed to do now?

Are there things in this life that we should be praying for

God to change? Absolutely are there.

People in this life that God can redeem.

Absolutely. But just like this church member

that. Went to this.

Homeless shelter sometimes the positive.

Message. Of the Gospel.

Feels almost out of touch. With what's going on around us.

And maybe you've been trying to live by your convictions and

make a difference in the world and donate parts of your income

for good causes and charities. You're trying to live

differently at at work and and follow a different path.

But there are some days you just sit and you think to yourself,

man, are we? Even Are we even making a dent?

Are we even making a difference? And sometimes.

You're at work and you're, it feels like you're trying to swim

upstream, trying to live a life of integrity and faithfulness,

but no one in your workplace cares about that at all.

And they'll, they'll actually take advantage of your value.

They use that to get ahead or bury you.

You are trying to live Kingdom mindedly.

You are trying to be faithful in a world that does not.

Care. Or maybe that brokenness and

that sinfulness that you're dealing with it, it's not even

out there. It's the weight of something

that you've been carrying. Personally, emotionally,

physically. You are struggling with trauma

in your past that feels partially healed, but every once

in a while you have a bad episode.

And it feels suffocating. Just to be alive.

And you question. Am I ever going to get?

Rid of this. Will I ever be free?

You're dealing with major character flaws in your family

and you wonder if they'll ever be self aware or repentant for

what they've done. You get discouraged because

you're fighting with chronic pain in your body every day and

you long for just one hour, one second of just.

Being without it. And maybe you can create some

change, take some medicine, get counseling, fix a few things

here or there. But it can feel like you're

putting a Band-Aid on a bleeding artery and there is little you

can do, it feels like, to stem the tide of so much hurt and so

much pain and so much brokenness.

And in light of all this, James is telling us in verse. 7:00 to

8:00. Strengthen.

Your hearts hope. Is coming.

The Lord's coming is near. Now, patience is a big part of

this and and I'll get into that in the next point, but I want to

focus on this phrase here. Strengthen your.

Hearts with the. Lord's coming.

When Christians are. Faced with a.

Broken and unjust. World their hearts.

Are meant to be comforted. With Jesus's return.

And in moments. Where?

We feel that. Way this is what we.

Are to remember. We are not God and we are not

expected. To save the.

World Jesus is God had to come. We are not capable of rescuing

everyone or everything. There is a.

Humility in recognizing we are not the Savior and no matter how

much good we try to do, there comes a point where we just have

to point upward. And say hope is there, he's

coming. Jesus had to come down to make

that possible, and then he's going to come back to finish the

job. I went through a YouTube phase a

while ago where I. Couldn't stop watching.

Videos of. Colorblind people getting these.

Glasses that fix their. Color blindness.

I don't know if you guys know about this, but there's

something in these lenses. That will adjust your eyes and

all. Of a.

Sudden they can. See the colors they've never

been able to see? So when they, so there's this.

One instance. That sticks in my.

Memory and these. Kids get their.

Colorblind dad these. Glasses as a.

Surprise and they. Take him to a sunset and the

kids are going, wow, just look at that.

That's beautiful, isn't it? Is it's just beautiful.

And then the phone pans over to the dad, and the dad's like

looking at everyone, and he's just like, yeah, cool, great.

Can't see anything and then the kids give him the glasses right

there. And he he just go, what's this?

Try them on? And he puts it on for like one

second. He immediately takes it off and

just starts crying. He he can't hold it together and

it takes a minute before he can put them on again and then look

again and and see it. Something that this?

Man has been living his whole life without something he's been

longing to see. His whole life.

Is suddenly tangible. It's real.

And I think this resonates with me so.

Deeply, because that's what it will be.

Like when Jesus comes back one day.

For all of us, we know that the world is not the way it should

be. We know something is missing, we

know something is broken, we know something is better and

beautiful and good and it's out there.

We just don't know how to make it.

Happen or how to get there but when?

Jesus. Returns.

It'll be like getting these glasses, putting them on, and

everything that we feel like we've been missing or longing

for is there. We understand it now.

Everything that's been broken gets put in place, everything

that we feel like we've been missing is suddenly all the

questions we've had for God are. Suddenly answered, so I hope.

Church. The next.

Time we feel overwhelmed by the brokenness and the.

Pain that we. See, we are meant to strengthen.

Ourselves with this hope. Jesus's second coming doesn't

just. Answer our.

Questions. Everything.

That we've gone through Will. Actually just make sense.

He's going to redeem it all. He's going to make it right.

But in order for. Any of this?

To make sense. Now or for.

Any of us to feel this? Strength that's meant to come

from that hope. We need a key ingredient.

There is something. That we need.

In order to strengthen our hearts with this if we don't

have. This one thing.

This life. Will be very.

Difficult to walk. Through and James has written it

all over this passage and in some places all over this book.

How can we stay? Grounded when brokenness in our

life feels hopeless by. Cultivating patience.

In our life by cultivating patience.

In our life and just verses 7 to. 8 James says the word.

Patience three times. You cannot strengthen your

heart. In the Lord if.

You do not. Cultivate this.

Aspect and in verse 7, James. Uses the example of a farmer

like a farmer. Waits for rain.

Like a farmer waits for his. Crops to grow.

There are some things in life you cannot.

Force there are. Some things in your life you

cannot rush the. Only thing left.

To do at this. Point.

Is to. Patiently wait.

Rain will come. The crops will grow.

But in this moment. There is nothing more you can

do. You can.

Only be patient. And then he starts to.

Unpack examples of what this. Patient might.

Patients might look like in versus. 9:00 to 12:00.

It's. Almost like a.

Litmus test. For whether?

Or not you. Have this patience.

Do you know if you're? Living your life this way, do

you know? If you're cultivating patience

in your life, then. Look at verse. 9:00 to 12:00.

He's saying here, brothers and sisters, do not complain.

About one another so that you will not.

Be judged. Look, the judge stands at the

door. Brothers and sisters, take the

prophets who spoke in the Lord. 'S name.

As an example of suffering in patients, see as we count as

blessed those who. Have endured.

You have heard your of job's endurance.

And have seen. The outcome that the.

Lord brought about. The Lord is.

Compassionate and merciful. Above all, my brothers and

sisters, do not swear either by heaven or by.

Earth or any other oath? But let your yes mean yes and

your no mean no so that you won't fall under.

Judgment James is. Essentially saying.

Here. If we do not strengthen.

Ourselves. If we don't.

Harden our resolve if we don't. Steal ourselves with patience

through hardship and suffering. You're going to start to see

these. Symptoms leak out of your life.

Verse 9. You're going to start to

complain. About other people and focus on

judging other people's faults. Instead of patiently showing

grace instead of. Showing grace to other people,

the same grace that. You want God to show to you.

And verse 12, you're going to start to be tempted to stop

being true to your. Word to stop.

Living with integrity. Because your workplace.

Sure doesn't value it because your boss seems to reward.

People that that. Leave behind moral character and

chase profit or be a winner in society.

Then there's the. The if that's what we're going.

Through if this is what we're. Facing then.

There is a. Need to cultivate patience a

patience. That actually.

Might even make. Your life more.

Difficult in the short. Run.

And you might. Suffer consequences for choosing

to do things God's way instead of this other way.

But like. Like a farmer.

Who's waiting? For his.

Crop to grow. Like verse 11?

Job who suffered? But was later shown compassion

and mercy from God. This patience bears fruit.

Strengthen your resolve. Hold to the truth.

Hold on to what you know is good, even if it feels like.

No one else. Cares.

Even if it. Feels like no one else sees.

God recognizes you. He sees you.

And he will have compassion and show mercy, I think.

This is something that's that's. Very difficult to cultivate in

our society today. Our society.

Does not value. Patients at all?

What our Society of values is. Efficiency.

Streamlining everything, speeding up everything.

It it. And to some degree, it makes.

Sense that's fair. Good customer.

Service is, isn't. Probably.

Something that should take very long.

Right, you should probably get what you want.

Very quickly so. 2 day shipping tops.

You. Get you want, you know you want

your coffee when you right when you come in so you can get out.

It doesn't buy it ahead of time on the app.

You can stream your movie at at home.

Don't go to. The theater.

Want to watch? You don't want to watch a whole

movie? Don't worry, YouTube's got like

10 minute like summaries. You could just watch this thing

with an AI voice over and be like.

A man goes. To a store and like, you know

what I'm saying? Like it's just there's these

ways to rush through. Everything and go through life.

You don't want to deal holistically with this employee

and their whole life. Hire fast, fire fast, right?

It's like we are. Just go, go, go and.

What's become increasingly evident in our society is that

patience is not. A virtue, impatience and rushing

results is praised. The only people we encourage

with patience. These days.

Are our children and everyone else in society?

Rushes, but James is telling us. Dial it back, guys.

Be patient. Slow.

Down it will come. It will happen.

It's just going to take a little more time.

The last time I was. Up here I I talked about.

Catechisms I was going through with my son and one of them.

That's helped. With my son Eli, when I get

angry is it's a simple calm response based on James 119

where James says be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow

to anger. So whenever I get mad, Eli will

ask me dad. What does God want you to?

Do right now and I need to respond.

Slow down, breathe and love you. Slow down, breathe and love you.

Sometimes I I just need that phrase to help me remember.

He's 5, he's 5. What am I doing?

Why am I so mad sometimes I. I need to.

Remember that what he's doing right now is not what he's going

to be doing later on. I need to remember that I don't

have to fix everything he does wrong right now.

He's going to get there. It's going to be fine, and I

think most of us forget that about our.

Relationships and our. Spirituality.

I think we we. Tend to get most angry and most.

Frustrated and most. Anxious when we are the most

rushed, huh? Yeah.

Like when we feel. Most pressed for time.

We're just like. Get get off the get in the car

like we're going to church. Hurry up, we're late.

You know, like even just getting.

Here often times. Having the right response

doesn't come down to just fixing that thing in the moment or

correcting that response. From my dad that I don't like

or. Fixing this and that it, it's

just sometimes it's just letting things be the way they are right

now and. Knowing that it's going to work

out eventually. And James is right to point out

when we are the most impatient, verse 9, we're going to think

everyone else is the problem. Man, if that.

Guy would just listen if if he would just.

He needs to stop doing this. She's got a but in reality.

I'm impatient, we're impatient, we're impatient.

And it. Hurts.

It hurts. My kids feelings, we're

impatient and it hurts. My family, we're impatient and

it. Hurts our.

Friendship. We're impatient and it hurt this

church or that small group and. People are broken.

The world is broken. And I'm angry.

Or I'm. Discouraged not because things

are hopeless. But because I'm impatient.

You see, I think we have an impatience problem in our life

because patients can feel like we're not dealing with the

problem right now. Patients can feel like a vice.

Patients can feel like laziness or procrastination.

We're just putting off this problem until until down the

road we got to deal with it again.

So let's let's do it now. But that's.

Not what patience is. That's not what patience is

meant to be. Here's my working definition of

patience. Patience is accepting.

The present as it is and trusting that over time.

God will bring change. Patience is.

Accepting the present. As it is.

And trusting over time. God will faithfully.

Bring change. You let things be the way they

are now. With the.

Confidence that in time, eventually but surely God will

change things. Is there anything in your life

that you've been anxious about? Frustrated with?

You're on edge. Because you're just.

Rushing, you're just. Going because for.

Some reason the pace of your life or the.

Pace of your work or the? Society around you.

Has LED you to believe that. You need to get things fixed,

done, packaged, ready to go right now rather than remember

there are just some things in life.

That take time. Relationships take time.

Parenting takes time. Loving people takes time.

Forgiveness takes time. Building community takes time.

Being changed by the Holy Spirit takes time.

These are things that will come. Eventually, but you're.

Running through life like a farmer yelling at the.

Ground because the. Plants aren't growing fast.

Enough for you complaining that the.

Rain won't fall faster. It's going to happen.

It's going to happen. And maybe what you need to do

right now isn't start this next thing, start this project, push

this relationship. Do do do.

Faster, faster rush rush. Maybe God is calling you back.

To a season of patience. Are we cultivating this in our

life? We have this promise in the

gospel message. Change will come.

What's? Broken will be mended, what's

lost will be found. And when Jesus comes back?

All of it. Everything changes.

It's going to be like it was in Genesis.

God made it. It was good.

So the next time we feel overwhelmed by the brokenness of

the world, The next time we feel rushed to fix everything now.

The next time we're frustrated or angry with someone or

something. We need to be.

Strengthened with this. Thought the.

Lord has not stopped working. Amen.

He will make things right. Our job right now?

Is to be. Faithful and wait patiently.

So can we say this? I want to try something

different with our with the main point today I want.

I want to actually. Say it together.

As something that we vow to do as.

Something that we commit ourselves to doing.

So can we? Do this together.

I'm going to say. How can we stay grounded?

Can we put up the main point? How can we stay grounded when

brokenness in our life? Feels hopeless.

Let's say it together, when the brokenness of this world feels.

Overwhelming. We will.

Strengthen ourselves by. Patiently hoping in Jesus's

return. Amen.

Let's pray. I think this Advent season is.

So. Well timed with this message,

Advent is a time where we. We.

We. There's nothing more to do.

Except wait. For the coming Savior, right?

And I think maybe some of you in your life, you've been, you've

been feeling rushed, you've been setting this breakneck pace, but

maybe God is calling you to slow down and be patient.

Things will come with time. You cannot rush this.

Let's pray.