Praying for the Wandering - James 5:13-20

Read God's Word, James 5, starting at verse 13.

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.

Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

Is anyone among you ill?

Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.

The Lord will raise them up.

If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other

so that you may be healed.

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a human being, even as we are.

He prayed earnestly that it would not rain,

and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

Again he prayed and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced its crops.

My brothers and sisters,

if one of you should wander from the truth

and someone should bring that person back,

remember this,

whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way

will save them from death

and cover over a multitude of sins.

I'm going to pray and then we're going to look at God's word.

And before we do,

I just want to make just a brief comment about this text.

We've been looking through James.

This is the last one in the series.

This is probably the hardest part of James.

It's one of the hardest parts in the New Testament

and it's one of the hardest parts in the whole Bible.

It's a difficult passage.

And as we go through this,

you may be thinking,

I've got a question here.

I'm not quite sure about that.

So please,

please do talk to me afterwards.

Come back if you've got any questions

or if something wasn't clear,

please come and ask as to what it's all about.

Having said it's difficult,

we can ask for the Holy Spirit to help us

to bring light to his word and to our lives.

So let's pray for his help right now.

Father, we ask for the help of your Holy Spirit

to understand your word.

where there is confusion,

you would bring clarity.

And we pray, Father,

that we would learn much this morning

and be encouraged and built up.

And I pray that there will be nothing

that I say

that would bring any kind of distress

to any person here,

but rather that your word

and the words that I speak

would only lead to building up

and to great encouragement.

Father, please be at work.

We ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So what do you think

is the best thing you could do

for someone in the church family?

What do you think would be

one of the most helpful things you could do?

You might think,

in practical ways,

that I could maybe make a meal for somebody.

I could go visit them.

If they've got children,

I could look after them.

What would you think you could do

that would help someone in your church family?

Well, James tells us here

the answer to that question.

Look at verse 19.

My brothers and sisters,

if one of you should wonder from the truth

and someone should bring that person back,

remember this,

whoever turns a sinner

from the error of their way

will save them from death

and cover over a multitude of sins.

As members of God's family,

we're called to watch out

for our brothers and sisters.

We're to turn each other

from wandering away from God

and to turn each other back

to the Lord Jesus.

That is the best thing

we could do for one another.

And how are we going to do that?

Well, James gives us

the answer through this text.

Pray.

Always pray.

Look at verse 13.

Is any one of you in trouble?

Is anybody here suffering?

Are you going through trials?

Are you going through struggles?

Well, you know what?

Pray.

Pray for each other.

Is anyone here happy?

Is life going well for you?

Are you content?

Well, pray for them.

Offer songs of praise.

Thanksgiving to God.

You see, God wants His people to pray.

And the Father delights

when we cry out to Him in prayer.

And one of the best prayers

that we can pray for each other

is to pray

that those who are turning

and wandering away from Christ

will turn back to Christ

and be forgiven

and be restored.

Prayers that turn people

who are walking away from Christ

and turn them back to Christ

so they can be forgiven

and restored.

So two big prayers

that we are encouraged

to pray for one another.

Here's the first one.

Pray for healing.

Pray for healing.

Look at verse 15.

It tells us there

that the prayer offered in faith

will make the sick person well,

the Lord will raise them up.

And then in verse 16

we get something similar.

It tells us in the middle of 16,

Pray for each other

so that you may be healed.

So we're to pray for each other's healing.

But this healing

is much more than just

physical healing.

Look at verse 14.

Is anyone among you ill?

Is anybody sick?

Let them call the elders of the church

to pray over them

and anoint them with oil.

So this anointing with oil

was symbolic.

It was a way of kind of

setting the person apart,

saying we're going to pray

for this person

and commit them to the Lord.

So anoint them with oil

in the name of the Lord.

Now before we get into

the detail of that,

let me just say two things

about what it's not saying.

Okay?

It's not saying

that elders have

special healing powers.

As with any healing,

look at verse 15.

It tells us that the prayer

is offered in faith.

So it's not the elders demanding,

but the elders entrusting

to God's good and perfect will.

We offer the prayer in faith.

And as verse 15 also tells us,

it is the Lord

who will raise them up.

It's not the elders,

but it is the Lord

through prayer

that will raise them up.

So the elders don't have

any special healing powers.

That's the first thing

it's not saying.

The other thing

that it's not saying

is that if you stub

your big toe

or if you suffer

a little bit of man flu,

that you're to call

the elders.

It's not saying that.

Elders are not a replacement

for South Dock.

Yes, we should pray

if we're sick

and yes, we should pray

if we're not feeling well,

but it doesn't mean

to say we call the elders

for every little illness

that we might have.

It seems to be

in this context

that the illness

is serious

and is related

to turning away

from God.

So look again

at the beginning

of verse 14.

Is anyone among you sick?

Let them call the elders.

Well, why call the elders

if somebody is sick?

Well, the elders of the church

are shepherds

who care for the sheep,

God's people.

They've been given

spiritual oversight

of the church.

They're to ensure

that each and every one of us

are walking in the truth

and not wandering away.

And where people think

illness is related

to their wandering

away from Christ,

they're to call

the elders.

Let me try and expand

this a bit more.

Remember some of the issues

that James has been

addressing in the church.

Back in chapter 1,

we saw that some of the people

in the church

were overlooking

the most vulnerable people,

the widows

and the orphans,

and they've left them

in terrible distress.

Others have been

discriminating,

favouring the wealthy

over the poor.

They were tearing

each other apart

by their own words,

slandering one another.

Fights and quarrels

were existing

within the church

and perhaps worst of all,

we saw this

at the beginning

of chapter 5,

some were hoarding

their wealth

and were oppressing

the weak

and it seems

that some of them

even died

because of the injustice

and oppression.

Terrible things

were happening

in the church.

They were wandering

away from the truth.

So it seems

that the sickness

that is present

is related

to their wandering

away from Christ.

And the way

to see them healed

and restored

is to pray,

verse 15.

And the prayer

offered in faith

will make the sick

person well,

the Lord will

raise them up.

If they have sinned,

they will be

forgiven.

Now,

at one level

that seems

straightforward,

but maybe we're

sitting here this morning

and thinking,

well,

I'm not feeling

so well today.

I'm feeling

a bit sick.

I wonder

if that's related

to some particular

sin that I might

have committed.

Do I need

to call the elders?

Well,

let me give you

two answers

to that.

First,

you can read it

there on the screen.

In John's Gospel,

chapter 9,

verses 1 to 3,

it tells us here

that Jesus,

as he went along,

he saw a blind

man from birth.

His disciples

asked him,

Rabbi,

who sinned,

this man

or his parents,

that he was

born blind?

Oh,

sorry.

I've got it on the screen.

There we go.

Let me read it again.

Okay?

So,

Jesus,

as he went along,

he saw a man

blind from birth.

His disciples

asked him,

Rabbi,

who sinned,

this man

or his parents,

that he was

born blind?

So,

they're thinking

that the reason

he's blind

is because of

some sin somewhere.

Look at Jesus'

reply.

Neither this man

nor his parents

sinned,

said Jesus.

But this happened

so that the work

of God

might be displayed

in him.

So,

Jesus wants us

to be absolutely

clear that if we

have some illness

or sickness,

it doesn't always

mean that it's

the result of

some particular

sin.

We need to be

very,

very careful

about people

who claim

that you're sick

because of some

sin in your life.

Some of the

programs that you'll

watch on the

God channel

will tell you

that.

we need to

stay clear

of false

teaching which

says if you're

sick,

it's because of

some sin

in your life.

The second

answer that we

want to give

to the question

of sin and

sickness,

it comes in

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

So,

in this context,

Paul here is

writing about

the Lord's

Supper and

he's really

upset,

he's annoyed

about what's

happening when

they share in

the Lord's

Supper.

So,

look at 1

1 Corinthians 11:20

Corinthians

chapter 11

verse 20.

So then,

when you

come together,

it's not the

Lord's Supper

you eat.

For when you

are eating,

some of you

go ahead with

your own

private suppers.

So,

it's like they

all gather

together in

somebody's house,

the wealthy

are all eating

and they're

leaving those

who don't have

much outside,

and they're

eating their

food.

As a result,

one person

remains hungry

and another

one gets

drunk.

So,

instead of

celebrating

the Lord's

Supper,

they're getting

drunk on

the wine.

Things are

in chaos

and disorder.

And Paul

responds to

them in

verse 13.

He says,

that is why

many among

you are

weak and

ill and

a number of

you have

fallen asleep.

So,

in this

context,

Paul is

making a

direct

connection

between

their sickness

and sin.

he says,

because you

have been

unrepentant,

because you

haven't turned

back to

God,

some of

the people

in the

church

had even

died.

That's what

it means

when it

said they'd

fallen asleep.

It

hadn't

mean they

fell asleep

in the

service.

They had

actually

died.

You see,

God takes

sin seriously

and sometimes

God in

love will

discipline

his people

so that

they turn

back to

God.

So,

go with

me back

to James

where we

were,

James

James 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

So,

how are

we to

understand

this

sin and

sickness

issue that

we're looking

at here?

Well,

look at the

text carefully.

Chapter 5,

end of

verse 15.

It says,

if they

have sinned,

they will

be forgiven.

it does

not mean

their

sickness

is a

result of

sin,

but,

James is

saying,

it could

be

related.

So,

here's how

I think

this all

works out

in practice,

verses 14

and 15.

Let me

give you a

little scenario.

I don't

think there's

anybody called

Bob here.

I've tried to

think of a

name that

nobody has

called

Bob.

There's no

Bobs,

so we're

not thinking

of anyone

in particular.

So,

let's suppose

the elders

get a call

from Bob.

Bob.

Now,

Bob could

be a

member of

the

congregation.

Bob could

even be

one of

the elders.

And he

rings up

to say,

he's sick.

He's not

well.

And Bob

also knows

that,

well,

he's been

wandering

away from

Christ.

And he's

been ignoring

blatant sin

in his

life.

And in

response,

the elders

go to

pray for

his

healing.

And as

they pray,

opportunity

is given

for confession,

for repentance

to the

Lord for

any sin.

If the

sickness is

a result of

some sin,

they will

be healed

and forgiven.

You see,

sin is

serious.

God can't

ignore it,

especially

among his

people,

the church.

And while

it's not our

place to

judge and

condemn and

say,

well,

the reason

this person

is sick

is because

of what

they said

or what

they did,

sometimes

God in

his kindness

and in

his goodness

may cause

somebody to

be laid

aside so

that they

can examine

their own

hearts and

turn back

to him

in repentance.

The writer

to the

Hebrews put

it like this,

you can

follow it

on the

screen.

God

disciplines

us for

our good

in order

that we

might share

in his

holiness.

No discipline

seems pleasant

at the time

but painful.

Later on,

however,

it produces

a harvest

of righteousness

and peace

for those

who have

been trained

by it.

Now,

let me

please

underline

that not

all sickness

is related

to sin.

I want us

to be clear,

I want us

all to hear

that.

So if you're

here today

and you're

not feeling

well and

you're living

in right

relationship

with the

Lord,

don't be

thinking,

God is

doing

something

to me.

But

sometimes,

in a

serious

matter,

sickness

can be

part of

God's

discipline.

We need

to take

sin

seriously.

We need

to repent.

and

of

avail

of

God's

wonderful

forgiveness

of healing

and

restoration.

So,

sin

and

sickness,

repentance

and healing.

Look at

verse 16.

So in

the light

of all

of this,

verse 16,

therefore,

confess your

sins to

each other

and pray

for each

other so

that you

may be

healed.

God

and his

wonderful

plan

and

goodness

has

given

to

us

each

other

and

through

our

prayers

for

one

another

we

can

care

for

each

other

spiritually.

You see,

the church

is not a place

where we

hide our

sin and

where we

come

together

and we

pretend

how good

we are.

No,

the church

is to be

a safe

and secure

family

where we

can confess

our sin

and ask

others

to pray

for us.

That's what

verse 16

is saying,

therefore,

as you

come together,

confess your

sins to

each other

and pray

for each

other so

that you

may be

healed.

Instead of

condemning

and judging

and pointing

fingers,

we point

one another

back to

the Lord

Jesus

who forgives

all our

sins,

restores

us and

renews us

because in

Christ we

find a

fresh start

and a

new

beginning.

The sign

of a

healthy

and a

mature

church

is when

I or

you can

go to

another

person

and seek

help.

We can

go to

them and

say,

look,

you know

what,

I've been

really bitter

and angry

over these

last number

of days.

We can

share with

people our

struggles

with addiction.

Perhaps

we've been

watching porn

and we

know we

shouldn't.

We need

somebody to

help us.

We need

to be

honest about

covering over

issues where

we've been

lying or

there's been

deception.

Or maybe

it's going to

someone and

facing up and

saying,

you know

what,

I haven't

been loving

my wife

the way I

should have

been.

Will you

pray for

me?

Will you

help me?

We can

confess and

receive the

prayers and

support of

our brothers

and sisters.

The church

family is

not to be

a place

of

condemnation,

but a

family of

restoration,

of building

one another

up.

And as

we do

this,

we bring

healing to

our hearts,

healing to

our relationships

with one

another,

healing where

it applies

to our

bodies,

and healing

ultimately in

our relationship

with God.

Through

prayer,

as we

pray for

one another,

we turn

each other

back towards

Christ.

So,

the first

big prayer

we are to

pray,

pray for

healing.

The second

big prayer

to pray for

each other

is to pray

for restoration.

Look at

verse 17.

Elijah was

a human

being,

even as

we are.

He prayed

earnestly

that it

would not

rain,

and it

didn't

rain on

the land

for three

and a

half years.

Again,

he prayed

and the

heavens gave

rain,

and the

earth

produced

its crops.

Now,

I don't

think James

is going

and talking

about healing

and saying,

look how

wonderful

prayer is

here,

and you

know what?

With

your prayers,

you can

control the

weather.

you're off

to the

beach

tomorrow.

Stop

raining

now.

Or maybe

you want

a bit of

rain for

your flowers.

Start

raining

now.

I don't

think that's

why he's

talking about

Elijah here,

as we'll

see.

The example

of God,

of introducing

us to

Elijah as

a man who

prayed about

rain,

is because

Elijah was

used by

God to

turn people

who were

wandering

away from

God,

back to

God,

through

prayer.

You see,

verses 17

and 18

relate to

one of the

most incredible

accounts in

the Old

Testament.

So I'd like

us to go

back and

look at

that,

if you

keep your

finger in

James 5

and go

back to

1 Kings.

I hope

some of you

managed to

read

chapter 18.

I sent a

note out

about that

in the

week.

I hope

you're able

to read

it.

If you

did,

you'll be

blessed

because it

will help

you now.

So we'll

go back

to 1

Kings 17

and I

haven't got

a page

number so

if someone

could help

me out

again.

3-5-9

3-5-9

to 1

1 Kings 17 · chapter mention

Kings

chapter 17.

So as

you're looking

that up,

let me set

the scene

here.

The king

at the

time over

God's

people Israel

was the

evil Ahab.

He was

worse,

the worst

king that

had ever

been.

His wife

was the

notorious

Jezebel.

What she

did in her

past time

was to

round up

all of

God's

prophets,

kill them

and then

replace them

with false

prophets.

They had

no time

for God's

words.

And as a

result,

God's

people were

on this

downward

spiral,

drifting

further

and

further

away

from

God.

They've

been

committing

spiritual

adultery.

They've

been turning

from the

one true

God to

other

gods

and living

as they

pleased.

And it's

into this

context that

Elijah arrives

and now

speaks

and now

prays.

So chapter

17,

verse 1.

Now

Elijah,

the Tishbite

from Tishbi

in Gilead,

said to

Ahab,

remember he's

the evil

king,

the one

who's

ruling

over

God's

people.

As the

Lord of

God of

Israel

lives,

whom I

serve,

there will

be neither

dew nor

rain in

the next

few years

except at

my word.

No

rain.

Why?

Well,

God is

disciplining

his people.

Sin is

serious and

it can't

be overlooked.

God's

God's

desire

that they

would

return to

him,

be restored

and be

forgiven

or something

much worse

could happen.

Well,

after that

prayer,

about three

years later,

the people

still haven't

turned back

to God

and Elijah

calls all

the people

of Israel

together

and Ahab

and all

the false

prophets

and he

gathers

them together

at a place

called Mount

Carmel.

Look at

chapter 18

verse 21.

Chapter

18

verse 21.

Elijah

went before

the people

and said,

how long

will you

waver

between two

opinions?

If the

Lord is

God,

follow him.

But if

Baal,

one of the

false gods

is God,

follow him.

Decision

time.

You've

been

drifting

and doing

your own

things.

Who are

you going

to follow?

Well,

after calling

all the

people

together,

Elijah gets

the false

prophets.

You might

know the

account where

all the

false prophets

come together

there to

build an

altar and

they kill

a bull and

they put

the bull

on top.

Elijah does

exactly the

same.

He builds

his altar,

he slaughters

a bull and

he puts it

on top and

then he

challenges

them to

pray.

Verse 24,

Then you

call on the

name of

your God

and I

will call

on the

name of

the Lord.

The God

who answers

by fire,

he is

God.

Then all

the people

said,

what you

say is

good.

Right?

So they're

all going

to pray,

whoever

answers with

fire upon

the altar,

well that's

going to

be the

one true

God.

So the

false prophets

get to

pray,

they pray,

they pray,

they pray,

and nothing

happens.

They shout

louder,

they start

cutting

themselves,

but nothing

happens.

Their so-called

gods are

powerless.

They offer

them absolutely

nothing,

because wandering

away from

God leaves

us empty

and unfulfilled.

Now it's

Elijah's

turn.

To make

a point,

he gets

a whole

load of

water and

he pours

it all

over his

altar,

he digs

a trench

around it

and he

pours more

water on it,

so everything

is absolutely

sodden.

And then

Elijah prays,

but look

carefully at

what he

prays,

chapter 18

verse 37,

chapter 18

verse 37,

So here's

Elijah praying

for the

people who

have been

turning against

God.

Here's what

he prays,

Answer me,

Lord,

answer me,

so these

people will

know that

you,

Lord,

are God

and that

you are

turning their

hearts back

again.

Then the

fire of the

Lord fell

and burned

up the

sacrifice,

the wood,

the stones

and the

soil,

and also

licked up

the water

in the

trench.

When all

the people

saw this,

they fell

prostrate and

cried,

The Lord,

he is

God.

The Lord,

he is

God.

You see,

God's desire

all through

this is that

his people

would stop

wandering

and turn

back to

God.

But did

you notice

how they

turned back?

Look at

verse 37,

look at

the prayer.

Answer me,

Lord,

answer me,

so these

people will

know that

you,

Lord,

are God

and that

you are

turning their

hearts back

again.

God turns

the hearts

of the

people back

to God

as Elijah

prays.

And at the

end of the

account,

Elijah prays

again,

the rains

fall after

three and a

half years

as a sign

of God's

forgiveness,

blessing and

restoration.

Now go back

with me,

please,

to James

James 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

Back to

James.

A big

detour,

but I think

it's helpful

for us to

understand

what's behind

Elijah's

prayer.

Now you

might remember

how James

confronted the

church that

he writes

to.

In

chapter 4,

verse 4,

look at how

James refers

to the

people.

James

James 4:4

chapter 4,

verse 4.

You

adulterous

people,

don't you

know that

friendship with

the world

means enmity

against God?

He's saying

to them,

will you stop

committing

adultery?

Stop committing

spiritual adultery.

Stop turning

away from

God to

other lovers.

It happened

at the time

of Elijah,

it's happening

to the people

here that

James is

writing to,

and it can

happen to

you and

to me.

It's a

warning.

Don't drift

away from

the Lord.

But here's

the good news

for us.

On another

mountain,

not Mount

Carmel,

but on the

mountain of

crucifixion,

the ultimate

sacrifice took

place.

Where Jesus

Christ laid

down his

life on the

altar of the

cross.

Where he took

my sin and

your sin,

and the fire

of God's

judgment did

come down

from heaven,

and it fell

on Christ.

And now

God calls

all the people

of the world

to say,

look at this

mountain,

look at

Jesus,

look at

my son on

the altar

of the

cross,

who makes

it possible

for wanderers

like you and

me to be

restored and

be forgiven.

Just flick a

couple of

pages forward

to 1st Peter

chapter 2.

After James

comes Peter,

1st Peter

chapter 2

verse 24.

I think this

helpfully summarizes

what we're

getting at

here.

1st Peter

chapter 2

verse 24.

He,

talking of

Jesus,

himself bore

our sins in

his body on

the cross,

so that we

might die to

sins and live

for righteousness.

By his

wounds you

have been

healed.

For you

were like

sheep going

astray,

but now you

have returned

to the

shepherd and

overseer of

your souls.

You see,

we are to

watch out

for each

other,

point each

other back

to the

cross,

and pray

for one

another's

restoration.

So two

big prayers

we can pray

for each

other.

Pray for

healing,

pray for

restoration,

and pray

because prayer

is powerful

and effective.

Look at

what it

says in

James

James 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5,

the end

of verse

15.

James

James 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5,

the end

of verse

15.

Sorry,

the end

of verse

16.

James

James 5:16

5,

verse 16.

It says,

the prayer

of a

righteous

person is

powerful

and

effective.

Elijah

was a

human

being,

even

as we

are.

You see,

Elijah

was a

righteous

man,

and his

prayers

were

powerful

and

effective.

They

changed

people.

Well,

you say,

well,

that's

because

Elijah

was a

prophet.

He

was

God's

specially

chosen

person.

He's

different

to you

and I.

But look

what it

says in

verse 17.

Elijah

was a

human

being

even

as

we

are.

He

was

full of

flaws

and

failures,

but yet

God

used him

to turn

people

back to

God

as he

prayed.

That

means

God

can

use

us

like

he

used

Elijah.

We

can

pray

the

same

kind

of

prayer

that

Elijah

prayed.

Answer

me,

Lord,

answer

me,

so

that

these

people

will

know

that

you

Lord

are

God

and

that

you

are

turning

their

hearts

back

again.

Now I

don't

understand

how

prayer

works.

Prayer

can be

confusing,

but this

is something

we can be

absolutely

sure of,

that God

works

when we

pray.

As we

pray these

kind of

prayers,

God

works in

the hearts

of those

who

wandered

away,

causing

them to

turn in

repentance

back to

God.

The

prayer of

a righteous