James Chapter 5: Jesus Is Our Great Physician

James 5: Jesus is our Great Physician
James 5: NIV Version Warning to Rich Oppressors 1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.a 6You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. Patience in Suffering 7Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.  8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. 12Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. The Prayer of Faith 13Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And 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. 16Therefore 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. 17Elijah 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. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back,20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.		Review: Currently we are touring JAMES a very practical book, where we find that our FAITH needs to be put “into gear”; We can’t discriminate; We need to guard our Tongues; We need to address “the WORLD, the FLESH and the DEVIL”; take great care with our wealth; ’ and that Jesus is the object of our Faith and our Great Physician! James 5: Warning to Rich Oppressors ·         -(v.1) The bible is not against wealth; Abraham was extremely wealthy in his day. He raised up an army among his servants and was involved in local conflicts; Job was wealthy; Lydia a seller of purple, was wealthy; Personal property & personal gain is ‘OK’; ·         -Bible is against gain by dishonest ways and misuse of wealth ·         -it’s the love of money that is the root of all evil. ·         -worry about your investments?  Gold/Silver etc. -Bible says that “a bag of gold will buy a piece of bread”; …real true value is in spiritual things ·         (v.2) it was their hearts that were “rotting”. (Gold doesn’t corrupt; ·         (v.3) these guys were finding their “security’ in wealth instead of in Christ; thus they hoarded their wealth; they didn’t pay their bills!  They owed money to the workers; but with low sense of honor and integrity, they didn’t pay their bills. …we need to be diligent towards our obligations to others. -James speaks out against mistreating poor people ·         Leviticus 19:13 ~ 13“ ‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor.“ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. (or in today’s language, bi-weekly). ·         Prov. 3:27&28 ~27Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. ·         28Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—when you already have it with you. ·         Jeremiah 22:13 ~ 13“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. ·         Stewardship:  Psalm 50:10 ~ …for the world is mine, and all that is in it. (Remember, God is the owner and we are stewards of what He has entrusted us with). ·         The Quakers used to say, “Tell me what you need and I’ll tell you how to get along without it” ·         About a decade after James wrote this epistle,  1,350,000 (1.3 million) people lost their lives when the Romans sacked Jerusalem.  Most likely, these same people that James is writing about lost their lives. ·         (v8.) The doctrine of immanency; Jesus could come at any moment. ·         (v8.) Patience ~ ·         (V.11) Persecution ~ 2 Tim. 3:13 ~”In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” ·         Hebrews 11:32 ~ 32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were put to death by stoning;e they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. ·         (v.12) -let your Yes be YES...be a person of your word The Prayer of Faith ·         (v13) Prayer for the afflicted; When you are in trouble, the first thing you should do is PRAY! -afflictions are used by God at times to get our attention ·         -PS 92- I will guide you with my eye...God doesn't want to use painful ways to guide us...but he will if he has to ...he wants to guide us with his eye...with his holy spirit! ·         (v.14) Prayer for the sick; It is wrong to think that God intends to heal everybody; So called Word-Faith people teach this, but many people in the bible were healed, however many in the the bible were not healed after prayer. (eg. Paul) ·         James 5:14 ~Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord ·         The bible here instructs us that God’s intention is that the elders should pray for the sick (not one individual that can wrongfully claim healing power). ·         (V.15) -prayer of faith will heal sick ·         (v.16) Confess your faults one to another. (But…confess your sin to God) ·         -be fervant in your prayers ·         (v.17) -Elijah controlled weather with his prayers