Reading: James chapter 5 verse 1-11.
Ill:
• Albert Einstein was invited to speak Swarthmore College.
• It was to be at a banquet held in his honour.
• Hundreds of people from all over the country came along;
• They crowded an auditorium to hear what he had to say.
• When it came time for him to speak,
• The greatest physicist walked to the lectern,
• Solemnly looked around, and said,
• “Ladies and gentlemen, I am very sorry, but I have nothing to say.” Then he sat down.
• The audience was in shock.
• A few seconds later, Einstein got up, walked back to the podium, and spoke again.
• “In case I have something to say, I will come back and say it.”
• Six months later he wired the president of the college with the message:
• “Now I have something to say.”
• Another dinner was held, and Einstein made his speech.
This evening I feel the opposite of Einstein:
• Because I have too much to say!
• The passage I’ve been given to speak on divides into two parts:
• So therefore you are getting two mini sermons instead of one main sermon.
Ill:
• Now this evening you are going to get the highlights and not the full match.
• Full football match lasts for about 90mins,
• Highlights on Match of The Day last about 10mins.
• This evening you are getting the highlights;
• The key points.
• There are a number of expressions that are hard to understand;
• They make uncomfortable reading.
• But in the time I have to look at this passage;
• I haven’t got the ability or the knowledge to explain it all.
• So if I miss out a phrase or a verse you want explaining fuller;
• Then go home and do your own investigations into the passage!
Now:
• As mentioned already the passages divide into two parts:
• In the N.I.V. Bible they are headed
• Verses 1-6: Warning to Rich Oppressors.
• Verses 7-11: Patience in Suffering.
(Sermon 1). A Warning to Rich Oppressors.
• In this section;
• James issues two very practical warnings to the wealthy:
• Now most of us would not consider ourselves wealthy,
• Quote: a famous comedian: "If ‘money talks’ all it ever says to me is good-bye"
• Because most of us would not consider ourselves wealthy,
• The temptation is to apply these verses to others and not ourselves;
• Now don’t do that!
• Because we (each person here) are extremely wealthy;
• On a world scale we are all very, very wealthy.
• i.e. We all have food, clothes, shelter & probably some money in the bank.
ill:
• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...
• You are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week.
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle,
• The loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation;
• You are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
• If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death;
• You are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back,
• A roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.
• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace;
• You are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
• If your parents are still alive and still married ...
• You are very rare.
• If you can read your Bible:
• You are more blessed than the 80% of the world’s people and furthermore,
• You are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.
• On a world scale we (each person here) is extremely wealthy,
• i.e. We all have food, clothes, shelter & probably some money in the bank.
• So resist the temptation is to apply these verses to others and not ourselves.
Ill:
• Of course if you are not rich and you want to get rich;
• Let me tell you how to do it.
• Quote: John D. Rockefeller’s three simple rules for anyone who wants to become rich:
• One: Go to work early.
• Two: Stay at work late.
• Three: Find oil.
2 THINGS TO NOTE FROM THIS PASSAGE:
(1). A Warning against Hoarding Wealth (vs 1-3)
“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your 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”.
Point out:
• James is not speaking against careful planning.
• It is wise to save for a rainy day, or for retirement, or for unplanned emergencies.
• Numerous scriptures that encourage this.
• 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 8 & 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 14.
• Matthew chapter 25 verse 27.
• BUT there is a big difference between saving and hording.
• Hording is ‘the excessive acquisition of possessions (and failure to use or discard them)’,
James is not speaking against saving but very much speaking against hoarding wealth:
• Hoarding wealth is leaving God out of the equation.
• It is the idea of acquiring as much as you can;
• It’s having the attitude of ‘it’s all mine – I can do with it what I want!’
Ill:
• Jesus only ever called one man a fool in the Bible;
• It was the farmer in Luke chapter 12 verses 13-21.
• Who tore down his barns to build bigger barns;
• He had more than enough but refused to think of anyone but himself.
• Jesus called him; “Fool”;
• Because when his life was taken from him – all his wealth achieved nothing!
James in this letter reminds us all:
• That God has blessed every one of us with finances.
• Each Christian must ask God how we are to use those finances;
• We need God’s wisdom to know how much to save;
• And how much to invest for his glory & the extension of his kingdom.
• Quote: Luke chapter 8 verse 24:
• “Everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded”
Note:
• Verse 2-3 are talking about 1st century saving.
• In the 1st century people didn’t have banks accounts.
• So they would accumulate wealth in three basic ways.
• First, through food and food stuffs by having an abundance of grains and food to eat.
• Second, through clothing.
• And third, through precious metals and coins.
• Those who were wealthy ate well, dressed well and spent lavishly.
Notice:
• James refers to these three kinds of wealth;
• But then he adds to them the elements of time and neglect.
• When time and neglect are added to these items,
• It will bring about rotting, moth eating or rusting problems.
• In other words, when you hoard all you have,
• It is rotting in your hands.
ill:
Earthly treasures just don’t last very long. Think about it!
• ill: People who put their pounds in stocks and bonds,
• But the stock market can suddenly change & all those investments can be worth very little.
• ill: If you put your money in a bank, inflation eats away at it.
• ill: Even your highly valued currency can quickly become devalued overnight.
• ill: Your house, your car, your caravan etc;
• Are all subject to deterioration, destruction and theft.
• ill: And even if you are able to hold on to some of your earthly treasures;
• Throughout all of your life,
• James’ point is that at death you must finally let them all go anyway.
Ill:
• Someone asked of a wealthy man who died, “How much money did he leave”
• Expecting the answer to be about the millions he left.
• But the answer he got was, “all of it.”
• You either use it for things of eternal value of you lose it.
Notice how strong the language is that James uses in this verse:
• To those who are hoarding up earthly treasures.
• He tells them to “weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.”
• James literally says; “shriek.”
• This word describes the kind of misery that cannot be contained within;
• It must explode through the lips.
James is saying,
• God gave you wealth to use and you have not used it;
• And one day that which you have hoarded;
• Will not only rot and decay but it will also testify against you!
• And you will be pained by your wrong attitude;
• And you will wish that you could turn back time and do it differently.
(2). A Warning against Stealing Wealth (vs 4)
“Look! 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”
God is not only concerned with what we’ve got but also how we got it.
• Don’t use dishonest means to rip people off.
• How you become wealthy matters to God.
• These rich people had held back the honest wages of the poor.
• The Bible speaks against this practice in many places.
• Deuteronomy chapter 24 verse 14,
• Leviticus chapter 19 verse 13 & Proverbs chapter 13 verse 11.
In James day:
• These wealthy people were hiring men to do work,
• But they were not paying them for what they did.
• The Greek word translated “failed to pay” is actually a lot stronger than that:
• Literally, it means that “you have robbed or cheated those men.”
• The poor people could not afford to take these rich employees to court;
• And if they did, these rich people were able to control the courts of their day.
Question: Why would those who are already wealthy cheat or rob the poor?
Answer:
• The problem is that the rich always want more and more,
• And usually get more at the expense of the poor.
ill:
Fair trade has brought to our attention this sort of thing.
• Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions,
• Local sustainability, & fair terms of trade for farmers & workers in the developing world.
• In other words rich companies make bigger and bigger profits;
• By paying their workers in the third world lower & lower wages.
• Fairtrade says “No!” this is wrong; “A fair days pay for a fair days work!”
• This way the company still make a huge profit but the workers also receive a fair wage.
Note:
• It’s the desire for more and more and more that corrupts a persons character;
• To the point that they will rob and cheat and steal to get what we want.
• Notice at the end of verse 4:
• James points out that the voices of those who have been cheated;
• “Have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty”.
• James wants his readers never to forget;
• That in our dealings with others.
• There is always one person watching with great interest,
• Ready to judge those who are cheating.
• Cheats may get away with it in this life;
• But one day they will get their come- up-unce and with interest!
Application for today:
• If somebody does some work for you – and done it properly;
• The pay them and pay them straight away.
ill:
• Big problem for self-employed businessmen today is unpaid invoices;
• Big companies who will not pay on time the money they owe the small businessman.
• Many a small business has failed due to the fact they have not been paid on time!
Patience in Suffering.
Ill:
• A young man, a Christian, went to an older believer to ask for prayer.
• "Will you please pray that I may be more patient?" he asked.
• The older Christian agreed.
• And so they knelt together and the man began to pray,
• "Lord, send this young man tribulation in the morning;
• Send this young man tribulation in the afternoon; send this young man...."
• At that point the young Christian blurted out,
• "No, no, I didn’t ask you to pray for tribulation. I wanted you to pray for patience."
• "Ah," responded the wise Christian,
• "it’s through tribulation that we learn patience."
• ill: We pray a prayer that goes something like this:
• “Lord, give me patience, and give it to me NOW!”
• Patience, like most Christian characteristics,
• Is one of those character traits that grows over time rather than being given to us overnight.
• To help us hang on in there and be patient & endure?
• James gives us three examples of those who were patient and endured.
(Example 1): The Farmer. (vs 7-9)
“Be 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.
8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”
• Some people are born for the outdoor life;
• And some of us are just not!
Ill:
Things I have learnt from gardening:
• Nothing ever looks like it does on the seed packet.
• Your lawn is always slightly bigger than your desire to mow it.
• Whichever garden tool you want is always at the back of the shed.
• The only way to ensure rain, is to give the garden a good soaking.
• Weeds grow at precisely the rate you pull them out.
• Autumn follows summer, winter follows autumn, drought follows planting.
• Evergreens go a funny shade of brown in the winter.
• The only way to guarantee some colour all year round is to buy a garden gnome.
• However bare the lawn, grass will appear in the cracks between the patio paving stones.
• "Annuals" mean disappointment once a year.
• When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
Ill:
• In contrast to me my wife Penny has had an allotment now for several years;
• It’s a bit extravagant as they charge £12.50 a year for the plot of land!
• Our kids who enjoy the allotment, but they have discovered you can’t hurry nature;
• Nature is slow - but very rewarding - to those who wait.
• The kids have learnt that:
• (1). You begin by preparing the ground.
• (2). You plant the seed.
• (3). You wait and you wait and you wait and you…etc.
• And then months later when you least expect it;
• Wow! There’s a strawberry or a cucumber or load of runner beans etc!
James uses the picture of a farmer to illustrate the necessity and reward for patience:
• When the farmer goes out to plant his seeds,
• He knows that he is going to have a long, long wait;
• Before he will get to see the fruit of his labour.
James reminds his readers that God is producing a spiritual crop in our lives:
• For that to happen it takes time.
• We must persevere.
• Quote: Spurgeon:
• “By perseverance the snail reached the ark”.
• Actually James has already made this point earlier in this letter:
• He writes in chapter 1 verse 4:
• “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”
• God’s purpose through our trials and troubles is to change us.
• To “mature, make strong, having everything necessary to withstand the storms of life”.
ill:
You would be shocked and saddened;
• If I showed you pictures of my children (aged 8 & 10);
• And they still looked like babies or very young children.
• You would ask me; “What is wrong with them?”
• “Are they sick, do they have some kind of syndrome preventing then growing?”
• The natural thing for a healthy child or teenager or adult to do;
• Is to grow, to mature, to reach their full potential.
James tells his readers:
• God’s purpose through our trials and troubles is to change us.
• To “mature, make strong, having everything necessary to withstand the storms of life”.
• In other words patience produces strength within us.
(2nd example). The Prophets (Vs 10).
“Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord”
• The prophets were of course God’s messengers;
• They spoke and preached “in the name of the Lord”;
• Yet they were persecuted and mistreated.
• The prophets were of course in the will of God!
• We might say, ‘right bang in the middle of God’s will.’
• This did not save them from persecution but was the very cause of it!
• Many of the prophets had to endure great trials and sufferings;
• Not just at the hands of unbelievers;
• But also at the hands of professed believers!
Question: Why did God allow it?
Answer: The testimony of a suffering saint is a powerful witness to those around us.
• ill: Corrie ten Boom.
• ill: Joni Erickson Tada.
• ill: Lady in our own fellowship dying slowly of cancer.
• Quote: Warren Wiersbe:
• “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you”.
(3rd Example) Job (vs 11):
“As 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.”
• There can be no victories without battles;
• There can be no peaks without valleys.
• If you want the blessing;
• This verse says you must endure the hardships!
The encouragement of Job’s story is:
• He did not know the reason for his suffering;
• He did not realise that behind the scenes between God and Satan;
• Something else was happening.
• In other words there was a purpose and a meaning to Job’s suffering;
• He might not have understood why – but God did.
Quote:
"My life is but a weaving,
between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colours,
He worketh steadily.
Oft times He weaveth sorrow
and I in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper
and I the under side.
Not till the loom is silent
and the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
in the Weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver,
in the pattern He has planned.”
James tells us the end purpose of Job’s suffering:
“You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
• Job discovered God to be ‘FULL’ – I like that – not just ‘some’ but ‘full’
• Question: ‘Full of what?’
• Answer: ‘Full of compassion and mercy’.
Job experienced & discovered the character & blessing of God in a unique way
• Job chapter 42 verses 1-6 show that to us.
• And that chapter also shows us the rewards of God towards Job.
• Humanly speaking Job lost the lot!
• But in the end God blessed him with twice as much as he had before.
• Job 42 verse 12: “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first”
Ill:
• The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small uninhabited island.
• He cried out to God to save him,
• Every day he scanned the horizon for help,
• But it was all in vain.
• He built himself a hut for shelter and protection;
• The worked was exhausting but worth it.
• Into the hut, he carefully put his few precious possessions.
• It wasn’t much but it was a home to him.
• One day he went out hunting for food,
• When he arrived home, he found his little hut consumed in flames,
• The smoke was billowing up to the sky.
• It was a hopeless situation but he tried his hardest to change it!
• Sadly it was all a waste of time and energy;
• The man collapsed into the sand broken-hearted and exhausted he cried himself to sleep.
• Early the next day, to his amazement, a ship drew near the island and rescued him.
• He asked the crew; “How did you know I was here?”
• They replied:
• “We saw your smoke signal and responded accordingly!”
PUNCHLINE:
• Though it may not seem so now,
• Your present difficulty may actually be instrumental to your future happiness.
• If you don’t believe me – then James would say:
• Ask the farmer or the prophets or Job!
