The Book of James – Part 15:
The Prayer of Faith
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
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SERMON INTRODUCTION
James,
the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem council, concludes his letter
to the twelve tribes.
In
this letter, James has spoken on trials and temptations, the testing
of faith, and the source of our temptations. He explained the differences between listening
and doing, and how favoritism is forbidden in the Kingdom.
James
also talks about faith and deeds, taming our tongues, the two
kinds of wisdom and warnings against worldliness.
James
warns us against fighting, spiritual unfaithfulness, pride,
slander
and boasting, as well as warning us about rich oppressors.
James
closes his letter with scripture on patience and suffering as well as oaths.
Today
we will look at the lasts part of James’ letter, where he speaks about the
prayer of the righteous in faith, and a message about those who may
wander from God and the Truth.
LAST WEEKS SERMONS
Part 1 - Faith and Wisdom
Part 2 - Poverty and Riches
Part 3 - Endurance
Part 4 - Christian Living
Part 5 - Brotherly Love
Part 6 - Faith and Works
Part 7 - Taming of the Shrewd
Part 8 - True Wisdom
Part 9 - Worldliness
Part 10 - Submit Yourselves to God
Part 11 - Judging Others
Part 12 - The Self-Willed
Part 13 - The Stumbling Block
Part 14 - Patience in Suffering
TODAY’S SERMON
Part 15 - The Prayer of Faith
SCRIPTURE READING
James
5:13-20
“13
Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing
songs of praise. 14 Is 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. 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. 16 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.
17
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. 18
Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from
the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember
this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save their soul
from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
I.
WHEN TO PRAY
a. Is anyone among you in trouble?
i.
He should pray
ii.
Prayer should be our first thought, not a last resort.
b. Is anyone happy?
i.
Let him sing songs
of praise
ii.
Always remember to thank God for the things which bring
you happiness in life...all good things come from His hand.
iii.
Not just answered prayers, blessings or things of
material substance, but the songs of birds, the sun in the sky no a beautiful
morning, the cool breeze on a hot day, there are literally hundreds of things
to praise God for on a daily basis!
iv.
Being in a thankful / grateful state allows God to
bless you and allow you to be a blessing to others.
c. Is any one of you sick?
i.
Let them
call on the Elders of the church to pray over them
1. Those who are sick,
should call on the Elders to pray over them...this is their “action”, and
“doing”, to fulfill and complete their faith. God has made the first move, making Himself
available through Christ Jesus to you, now you must respond appropriately
with obedience to that call, allowing the releasing of God’s blessing.
ii.
Anoint them with
oil in the name of the Lord
1. This is an outward
representation of a spiritual truth, taking place inside the person. Just as communion, outwardly represents a
spiritual truth, and baptism, the anointing with oil represents the covering of
God’s Holy Spirit on a person, which brings blessings, power, gifts, fruits,
protection and healing!
a. It is not the bread
and wine that saves, it is not the water that cleanses, it is not the oil that
heals, but all represent the power of God which is received by us through the
Holy Spirit!
iii.
And the prayer
offered in faith will make the sick person well.
d. The LORD will raise them up
i.
The power of God, not the physical elements, and most
definitely NOT the man or woman praying.
e. If they have sinned
(cause of some sickness), they will be forgiven
i.
Some sickness in our lives is caused by our sin.
1. Alcoholism and drug
addiction - We are warned against drunkenness in scripture (mind altering
substances)
2. gluttony - We are
warned about over eating in scripture
3. not obeying natural
laws - These may not be “sins”, however we must make wise choices and take care
of the temples in which God has entrusted us (our bodies)
a. eating proper foods
b. drinking enough
water
c. as well as obeying laws of physics
i.
Jumping
from high places...etc...
ii.
Other sins can cause sickness as well
1. unforgiveness
2. anger/hate
3. bitterness
4. jealousy
iii.
Not all sickness is caused by sin
1. John 9:2-3a “2 And his disciples asked him,
saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his
parents:”
2. Luke 13:2-5 “Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were
worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless
you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died
when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty
than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless
you repent, you too will all perish.”
iv.
Some sickness comes because we live in a sin filled
fallen world, If you have sinned to
cause your sickness, your sin will be forgiven when you call on the Elders to
pray for you, either way, regardless of the reason, the Elders will pray for
you and anoint you with oil.
f. Therefore, confess your sins to each other, and pray
for each other, so that you may be healed.
i.
Jesus said, “You have not, because you ask not...”
ii.
If you are sick, confess your sins to each other, and
pray for each other, so that you may be healed!
g. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and
effective.
i.
James then gives an example of this principal in verse
17-18
II.
ELIJAH WAS A HUMAN,
JUST LIKE US
a. He prayed it would not rain, and it did not rain on the
land for three and a half years
i.
At the time of Elijah, the Israelite's had taken to worshiping another god, Baal. This form of worship was very depraved and
involved the ceremonial killing of babies (like some countries have with
abortion). Baal was a god of agriculture, and they made human sacrifices to him
because they believed it was Baal, (not God), that controlled the seasons and
the weather.
This situation could not continue. These horrific bloodthirsty depraved practices had to stop. Elijah was a righteous man who prayed for the rain to stop, and the people experienced a three and a half-year drought.
This situation could not continue. These horrific bloodthirsty depraved practices had to stop. Elijah was a righteous man who prayed for the rain to stop, and the people experienced a three and a half-year drought.
1. This was also the
same amount of time Jesus’ ministry lasted, when He gave us the watering of the
Holy Spirit through His ministry.
Elijah said, let
the Baal worshippers call on their God and if Baal existed, he could send them
rain.
Of course Baal was in reality a fictional, dreamt up, imaginary god that could do nothing at all! By the end of the three and a half years it was clear who was the True God and that it was time to clear the land of these terrible practices.
If Elijah had not prayed as he did, who knows how many more babies would have been sacrificed to this false god.
Of course Baal was in reality a fictional, dreamt up, imaginary god that could do nothing at all! By the end of the three and a half years it was clear who was the True God and that it was time to clear the land of these terrible practices.
If Elijah had not prayed as he did, who knows how many more babies would have been sacrificed to this false god.
We have the same situation in our country
today. Millions of babies a year
sacrificed to the false god known as selfishness. This self-centered being comes in many forms,
but always wants the same thing, its own way of life at the cost of another’s.
In 1996 alone, 1.2 million babies were
sacrificed to the god known as selfishness.
That is 3,287 babies per day. In other words, since Roe v. Wade in 1973
which made abortions legal, by 2010 - 53,310,843
babies have been murdered legally in the United States.
53 million.
According to the lifenews.com and the
Guttmacher & CDC, by 2018 that number has grown to over 60 million!
These numbers ONLY reflect reported and
legal abortions.
Hitler was responsible for 21 million
deaths.
Stalin murdered 18 million.
Mao’s “great leap forward” in China killed
45 million.
And we called them monsters, recorded in
history as the vile scourge of the earth...and we, the proud USA, have over 60
million babies murdered “Legally”
under our belt.
Abortion is not the proper term, but a
scientific definition. The actual term
for what is taking place is genocide. Look it up in the dictionary. It is ungodly, and it is a sin.
Elijah prayed for God to stop up the
heavens, and rain to stop, and they did.
b. Elijah prayed again
three and a half years later, the heavens opened up and gave rain, and the
earth produced its crops.
III.
BROTHER’S AND
SISTER’S
a. James is reminding
those listening that they are believers,
and follower of Christ.
b. If any of you
should wander from the truth (as the Israelite's did)
i.
Salvation can be walked away from, God’s Will can be
abandoned, the narrow path can be left behind for the broad road!
ii.
We read in Jude that the angels gave up their heavenly
abode, and so can we!
c. If any of you
should wander from the truth And someone
should bring them back
i.
We can also return,
and be forgiven, and become a child
of God once again, such as the prodigal
son!
d. Remember this:
i.
whoever (righteous man’s
prayers)
ii.
turns a sinner (who is the sinner
here? The follower of Christ, the brother or sister who has wandered from the
truth and one true God)
iii.
from the error (sin) of their way,
iv.
they will save
their soul from death
(the second death - eternal)
v.
and hide a
multitude of sins (forgive)
CONCLUSION
We should pray when we are in trouble, sing
songs of praise to God when we are happy, and when we are sick, we should call
on the Elders of the church to pray over us, anoint us with oil, so that if sin
has caused our sickness, we will be forgiven, and we will become well.
James also reminds us that the prayers of
the righteous are powerful, and we need to confess our sins to each other, and
pray for each other so that we may be healed.
If we see a brother or sister wandering
from the truth, away from God, we need to try to bring them back, so that they
do not lose their place in heaven. If we
do bring them back, we will save their soul from the second death, which is
eternal separation from God, and cover a multitude of sins they may have
committed during their departure from God.
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