JAMES 5: STANDING FIRM IN THE FINAL BATTLE

Join us as we wrap up the book of James, focusing on standing firm through struggles and the importance of grace. The host shares personal stories of recent hardships, emphasizing reliance on community for support. Unpacking James chapter five, we explore patience, resilience, and our duty to uplift one another in faith. 

- Understanding personal struggles while relying on God's grace 
- The importance of community and accountability 
- Insights on the transformative power of prayer 
- Community involvement as a measure of real faith 
- Action steps for supporting and restoring one another 

For those interested, please check out our upcoming events and services at Christian Warrior Church!

Christian Warrior Talk is Sponsored by Trident Shield, your trusted ally in violence preparedness. Trident Shield helps safeguard your loved ones with expert training and consulting. Trident Shield, defending faith through empowered preparedness because together, we save lives."

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Christian Warrior Church
• 2:29 Personal Struggles and Humility
• 12:19 A Call for Grace in Trials
• 20:39 Insights from the Book of James
• 36:24 The Role of Community and Accountability
• 46:04 Closing Thoughts and Invitation to Prayer

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:39

Happy Lord's Day to you. I hope you had a better week than I did, but happy to be here. Welcome to Christian Warrior Church, a home church, community ministry and farm that forges Christian Warriors for today's challenges. Some announcements as you guys know, there was no Christian Warrior mission, christian Warrior talk on the past two Wednesdays. My back went out before we went ready because we changed and then my back went out on Tuesday.

Speaker 1: 1:08

And, for those of you guys who don't know, I had a bad parachuting accident in the military when I was serving as a Navy SEAL and that is with me for the rest of my life. So occasionally I have really bad days or really bad weeks, and we're in one of those right now, which is why you know God forgive me I'm in Crocs. I hate to not. You know, they're the only shoes I can get on without totally relying on my wife who already is dressing me at this moment on everything below, you know socks, underwear, pants, yeah, so it's been a very humbling week for me, but you know, again, I have many blessings, and not to grumble and complain, but for things in the context happens when that we're preaching some of the most clear words in the Bible, which is the book of James. It is a manual for application to your life, to where, sometimes, god will show you a mirror and give you a magnifying glass. And boy has that been my experience this week. For those of you guys who haven't been following us the past few weeks, we are wrapping up the book of James today, chapter five, and this week has been a struggle between all the meds that I'm on and everything else. And this week has been a struggle between all the meds that I'm on and everything else and walking out things that I've been preaching for the past five weeks four weeks going on, five now has been very humbling, with a lot of failures, a lot of struggles, and my house has had to be a cathedral of grace for me, for me, and you know.

Speaker 1: 3:17

So again, I find that when the Lord moves this way, this is often where we take the most ground in our lives. It's a season of struggle with the gift of clarity, and that clarity is you know what you should be doing. You've just preached on it, you've just heard it. You've heard it preached. Now you're in the fire of it and you know that you're not enough. You're not enough, you're not enough, and now you need to know why you need to give grace so freely, because you need it so much. And boy do I need grace from my wife, my kids, my mom, my dogs, my cows, my pigs, maybe the chickens I haven't really interacted with the chickens much, but you know every toy in the ground that I've kicked and cursed, that I've tripped over this week, which has been many, you know I've had to repent for all of it. So again, this isn't to make this about me. This is about showing you that coming to church, trying to walk it out as best you can, knowing and being in the word doesn't mean that it's going to be easy and that you're not going to struggle. The gift in this is the knowledge of God will give you grace if you ask for it and if you give it in your own life. And having the manual on how to come back, the manual on how to correct it, the manual on how to walk it out when it isn't easy Because if this was like the week that I planned, I was going to be in the gym every day Life was going to be great, my whole family was going to see that I am a shining light of Christian.

Speaker 1: 5:13

From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. Everyone's going to be like that is a good Christian over there. Yeah, not so much. Not so much. That's okay, because the only way I can ever any of us can get there is is when jesus does. Jesus does it for us. Now we're supposed to do everything we can to be there and we're supposed to fight to be that way. But there are going to be times and seasons where you're going to be crawling through broken glass in your own filth Filth of your sin, your past sin, your current sin filth that is not even your. Sometimes your problem it's someone else's, and you're crawling through glass with someone which brings its own warfare on you. So one of the things in James 5 that we're going to talk about today and I haven't even gotten into the sermon, I haven't even finished the announcements is going back for people who've come off the way.

Speaker 1: 6:20

Now, I didn't come off the way, I didn't stop being a Christian, I didn't do any of those things. I had a down dip. But there are times where, multiple times this week, where I had to go to my shield maid, my wife, and ask her to pray for me. Just call her out of whatever she's doing and saying I need your covering right now. I need you to go to war for me and most men, most even women, particularly in your spiritual battle.

Speaker 1: 6:47

The more you're considering an established Christian can be really reluctant to do that. And we can't, we can't. Every one of us we're going to hear here in a moment are called to be medics for one another, spiritual medics for one another, spiritual medics. Looking at the people in our life who are Christians, who have committed to our Lord and Savior to walk this out. And when we know that we look down on the ground and there's gallons of spiritual blood on the ground, you know because they're bleeding out from somewhere. If you don't do anything, what's wrong with you? How can you not try to help them? That's what you're ordered to do and we're going to see that today.

Speaker 1: 7:40

So some other good news, some good news today. So some other good news, some good news. So we're going to try again to start Christian Warrior Talk on this Wednesday night, which will be the Bible study and everything else with it. Baby Ruth is doing well. Baby Ruth, our female black Angus cow, is the cutest thing out there sprinting around that field, and her and Tomahawk have become good friends. Karen, her mom, has finally let her start hanging out with the older Tomahawk and they sprint around the field and it's really cute. And Mocha has become a farm chupacabra. Lauren has made homemade mozzarella today from that cheese and it was great. We had mozzarella caprese the first of the season. Oh man, I love my mozzarella caprese in the summer, and so that's good. The other thing is to remind everyone the first men's fellowship fire will be on Friday, march 21st at 7 pm up at Warrior's Rest Fire Pit. So RSVP on Facebook or tell me, and so we can prepare for that.

Speaker 1: 8:41

So let's go to prayer and let's get this going. Dear Heavenly Father, lord, we thank you. We thank you for the tests and trials in life, the ones that refine our faith, the ones that show us that we are not enough and that the only way we get through this is relying on you. So, lord, bring clarity to this sermon. May it help someone out there somewhere to understand you and understand your marching orders for us. Lord, lord, we thank you for all the things in our life, all of our blessings, known and unknown, all of our protections, known and unknown, and we praise you with every breath of our lungs, serve you with every beat of our hearts. We ask that this time would glorify you and only you, serve you and only you, and that it would please you. In Jesus' name, we pray amen.

Speaker 1: 9:47

So again, if you're new to faith and you need an example on how to pray, the simplest prayer is often the best prayer. A child's prayer is God knows everything anyways. So just open up and talk to him, but do it humbly. Do it humbly. You're talking to God, not your bro, not Jesus' bro, not Jesus' surfer dude, not you know. No, you're talking to the creator of the universe, who suffered unimaginably for you and paid for you. So come to him with the right amount of deference. Creator of the universe, who suffered unimaginably for you and paid for you. So come to him with the right amount of deference. So there's that way. And then there's the model of Matthew, that when Jesus' disciples asked him how he should pray, how they should pray, jesus gave the perfect example. Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Speaker 1: 10:57

All right, so we are wrapping up the book of James today, standing firm in the final battle, james 5. Let's recap what we've learned and then turn the page into this brief review here. Remember, james is believed to be the brother of Jesus, who did not believe that Jesus was who he said he was until he came back from the dead. He became a leader in the church, became known as James the Just and a pillar of the early church. So, james 1, faith tested and true religion.

Speaker 1: 11:49

Trials lead to endurance. Okay, you know, trials are what refine the weakness out of us and it is what proves that we are who we say we are and produces endurance. God's wisdom versus double-mindedness Right, we know that we are to rely on God's wisdom and not the worldly wisdom. We are commanded to be doers of the word and not hearers only. And that is the rub, that's the hard part. That's how we go from not being the worst word in the Christian language practically, which is a hypocrite Right, and the Christian language practically, which is a hypocrite right. And remember that true religion cares for the vulnerable and remains unstained by the world.

Speaker 1: 12:34

You know just crazy this morning we're doing stuff and put the Hobbit on for the kids. You know the one that was recently redone by Peter Jackson and such a touching scene in there. And you know, praise the Lord for godly works like this. And you know I'm not going to bore you with fantasy and all that stuff. Jr Tolkien was a Christian, a Catholic, but a Christian. And there's a scene in there where they're trying to decide, you know, on whether Sauron's come back and the dwarves can go take their home.

Speaker 1: 13:14

And Galadriel, who's you know the main character in the story asks Gandalf, who's one of the main heroes of the whole thing why did he bring along a hobbit, which is this defenseless little, child-sized person that no one would bring on a quest ever anywhere? And he said something that really struck me, particularly this morning. And he's like Saruman, who was his boss, who's like the head wizard says it's mighty deeds and heroic works that hold evil at bay. And Gandalf had a quote that I'd like to read. He says but I don't believe that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, and small acts of kindness and love.

Speaker 1: 14:03

Now, that is more true, and I believe to be true here, because none of this relies on us. Our heroic acts are not what save the universe. Those are acts of kindness and love and everything else, and we should do those. But the balance of the force of good in this world is when Jesus has been proclaimed throughout the world and everyone is a servant to one another, and the smallest act of kindness and a smile in helping someone overcome a moment of shame or doubt or fear, or overcome some sin, that's where God will change the universe. That's where God will change everything. When the smallest things become the norm, that's when his kingdom will become and his will will be done, because that's what we're preached to do here all the time. So, yes, some brave men going out and doing heroic deeds because no one else is doing anything in their everyday life. They can carry us for some time.

Speaker 1: 15:14

But I believe, as in the wisdom of JRR Tolkien when he wrote that line, that again, line that again, there's the gospel preached and the gospel lived, which is small, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, small acts of kindness and love. I mean, that's the gospel right there. All right, so what's our application as warriors? We must persevere under trials, seek god's wisdom and practice genuine faith. In proverbs three, five through six, we're told to trust in yahweh with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. What an act of faith it requires to trust God.

Speaker 1: 16:11

As an atheist and as a cerebral Christian, for the first part of my journey I had to understand God. Well, you're not going to understand God, you're not going to understand his ways, so you might as well just throw that out the window. You're not going to understand God, you're not going to understand his ways, so you might as well just throw that out the window. And once I realized that I had the scale wrong, made in God's image, christ man and God, all man, all God oh well, we're here. No, god is as big as is beyond scale, infinite. And we are dust, microscopic dust. You can't understand infinite. It breaks your mind, it goes on forever. You can say that, but you don't. You can't see it, you can't understand it. That is the difference. So how is my dust brain going to understand infinite? It can't. It can't possibly know everything that God knows. It can't possibly understand these things. So giving it over to him is my act of faith and trust, and he will then, when you surrender that way, will make your path straight.

Speaker 1: 17:25

So, james 2, no partiality, right, we are the servants. We don't care if we're helping someone who's rich or poor or this or that, we are just called to be servants for the people who are at your feet. Some people feel called to go off to faraway lands. Good on them. God bless them. We need to do more serving the people who are in our lives, at our feet right now, including in our households, first in our households. And that faith without works is dead.

Speaker 1: 17:59

If you're a Christian who hasn't done anything to help anyone, there's a great thing in the news. You're a Christian who hasn't done anything to help anyone, you know there's a great thing in the news. Elon Musk dared to ask federal employees to write five things they did last week. Five things they did last week, and you wouldn't believe the PTSD that these entitled spoiled Gen Zers whatever the heck they're called I don't even know what they're called melting down that. How dare their boss ask them to ask them what they did. You know, someone asked them what they did. Five things they did last week. You would have thought that they were in a Nazi concentration camp, and I posted about this on Twitter. What a horrible example. What a nightmarish, horrible example of the most entitled generation of all time.

Speaker 1: 18:52

You have to earn your job every day. That's what we have to do in the civilian world. You have to provide value and provide services every day to earn your job In the federal fantasy world. You get hired and then you coast until you retire and every day is just ticking off. Another day you can go back to doing nothing, getting paid for nothing in your retirement, for the nothing that you did while you were working, supposedly. Now again, there are hard people working in the federal government and it's not all of them, but boy do they show themselves.

Speaker 1: 19:27

If you can't in your faith journey, it's five things you did to help someone last week. If you can't come up with anything, things you did to help someone last week. If you can't come up with anything, you got really big problems and that should be a five-alarm fire in your life. If all you did was take care of you for that? How many of those weeks have you strung along? How many of those weeks have you just done you? Are you even saved? Are you even Christian? Or are you fire insurance? So real faith shows itself in works of service and love, as a warrior's training reveals itself in battle.

Speaker 1: 20:13

Proverbs 14.31,. He who oppresses the poor reproaches his maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors him. James 3,. Taming the tongue in true wisdom. Oh boy, teachers face stricter judgment. I am in trouble.

Speaker 1: 20:32

The tongue is a powerful weapon for blessing or destruction. We have two kinds of wisdom that we learned in James 3, earthly and heavenly. They run opposite. And what is our warrior application here? Verbal discipline is like weapon discipline. We must practice supreme discipline of our mouth, just as we do with our firearms, and pursue peaceable, pure wisdom from above. And it is hard. It is going to be. Some of the hardest things you ever do is control it, because the selfishness in you is going to want to rage and complain and gripe. Nowhere does God ever look favorably on griping and complaining Nowhere. Usually, when they're griping and complaining, that's when the hammer gets dropped. That's when awful things happen. That's when you get God's judgment. Proverbs 18.21,. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Speaker 1: 21:40

James 4, the war within and submission of God. Quarrels come from lusts within. Most of the fights in your life are from your own sin and not meeting the expectations that you have for the sin in your own life. Friendship with the world is hostility toward God. So submit to God and resist the devil. Do not slander. Life is a vapor Plan. Humbly Understand that.

Speaker 1: 22:12

Whether you are successful or not is whether God blesses you or not. But you do have to do the work. Potatoes are not going to grow in my backyard if I don't plant them. But if God doesn't give me the right weather, it's all for naught. It's all for naught. So you have to go out there and do what Clear all the weeds Till the earth, plow the earth, plant it, take care of them, and then God provides the environment. But you still have to do the work for God to bless it, unless you're Israel and God calls you out of slavery and sends you into the wilderness, and there he makes manna rain from heaven. But that doesn't happen often. It hasn't happened in thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of years. So go out and do your part. God wants you to be the ant.

Speaker 1: 23:13

Ants are looked favorably on in the Bible. Why? Because they're always doing their duty, they're always in community, they're always working together. What's the warrior application? The most dangerous war is the one within. We must submit to our divine commander, christ, resist the devil, control our tongues and remember we are vapor under God's sovereign. Will.

Speaker 1: 23:37

You listen to Christian music today and I love Christian music today, most of it, or some of it actually not some of it and it can really put you right up to their eye to eye with God. And you've got to be really careful. Some of my favorite artists, I think, are too familiar, far too familiar with the Lord. Bible tells us Proverbs 16, 32, he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who captures a city. Control of self is better than control captures a city. Control of self is better than control of a city. Controlling your own spirit, your own tongue, your own sin is more important than capturing an enemy city. So now we get to James 5. I'm going to read it to you and then we'll break it through. So go ahead and turn to James 5. Mine it's page 2,399. And somebody else's is somewhere else, but I'm reading out of the LSB Come now you rich Weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you Now.

Speaker 1: 24:56

People out there with a lot of nothing think this is the time to rejoice that if people have stuff that they are going to be punished because they have stuff Not, so We'll get into that. Your riches have rotten and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted. Gold and silver do not rust. This is James using hyperbole here to show you that even that is nothing and will be witnesses against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure.

Speaker 1: 25:32

Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields and which has been withheld by you cries out against you and the outcries of those who did the harvesting have reached the ears of the Lord. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure. You have fattened your hearts in the days of the day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man. He does not resist you. Verse 7. And therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it until it receives the early and the late rains. You too, be patient, strengthen your hearts for the Lord, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not complain, brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves will not be judged. Behold, the judge is standing right at the door.

Speaker 1: 26:32

Verse 10,. As an example, brothers, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord Verse 10. This is James again. I'll talk about this a little bit, teaching you that no matter what's going on in your life, you need to bring God into the center of that. If you're in joy, be thanking God. If you're suffering, ask God into the middle of it to help you with it. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. But anointing Bea with oil, with her struggles right now and the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed sins, then they will be forgiven him.

Speaker 1: 27:53

Verse 16,. Therefore, confess your sins to one another. To who? To one another, when you have a dear friend, a dear brother in Christ, what I call your war council. These are people who know all your secrets. You pour into them. You tell them these are the bad things I've done. And they tell you the bad things they've done. It's mutually assured destruction. You know all your blind spots. You are to confess that to them and them to you, and then it's done. Confess it, bring the Lord in praying over it, get it off. You Share that burden and pray for one another so that you may be healed.

Speaker 1: 28:41

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah here's an example was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruits. My brothers, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns the sinner from the error of his ways will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Speaker 1: 29:15

We're going to talk about that here, so let's get into the exposition of this, verses 1 through 6, a warning to the wealthy oppressor Wealthy oppressor, not wealthy. Wealthy oppressor. Come now you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. The context of wealthy here implies unjust or oppressive wealth. James is not condemning having money or hoarding, but hoarding and abusing it. Weep and howl. The Greek kleonates and Olozo Probably just ruined that. Strong terms signifying loud lament, basically wailing at the top of your voice, reminiscent of Old Testament prophetic judgment. Remember in verse 4 when I said the Lord of Sabaoth is heard, which means the Lord of hosts, god's battle-ready might to defend the oppressed.

Speaker 1: 30:19

An example of this would have been during COVID, how we saw the small man get smashed, how we were forbidden to work but Walmart was allowed to stay open and Lowe's was allowed to stay open and everything else, and all the mighty used it to enrich all their pockets. You can see it now in the news where we see our tax dollars being used to take from those who don't really have and use it to enrich themselves. You see the tyrant of Ukraine who has a 4% approval rating in his people 4%. Who had no money before, now has Ferraris and, like 15 homes, is worth over a billion dollars. Some say All this from a nation that's completely destroyed. You know, god bless Elon Musk and all the people out there who are diving in to find the corruption to where? All of us who have been paying taxes for our whole lives wondering how it doesn't work. Why doesn't this add up? How can we spend more money than anyone on every student in the world? We spend more money on our kids in school and we get the worst results out there. Why? Because none of it makes it to the actual child. It all goes as a money laundering scheme. To what? To politicians.

Speaker 1: 32:09

We now are seeing that everyone who is on the green initiative agenda not everyone, but a vast majority, super majority have been using it to launder money from the original John Kerry, stacey Abrams, like she's some great whatever great environmentalist, she's getting paid millions of dollars and all these green initiatives, which does nothing, just gives them money to stir up racial hatred. These are the wicked people, or examples of wicked people, who are holding down the poor, the people who say they're going to serve black community, and their politicians get richer Al Sharpton and those and the like and their people don't do any better. There's still more black men killing black men than practically ever before in history, but we don't care about those ones. We lose 100,000 people, over 100,000 people, a year to fentanyl overdoses. Every single one of us knows someone who's died of a drug overdose. I guarantee you, if you're watching this or you're in this room, you know somebody who died from drugs 100% preventable. These are all in an effort to keep their field, the workers, out in the fields working and instead they fleece his pocket, they cheat him of that money and they enrich themselves. This is happening today and James is saying it's been happening for a long time Now.

Speaker 1: 33:49

Back then there was I don't even know if there's a free press now, because of Elon Musk maybe but imagine back then when you were just gifted your wealth or you inherited it, and if you were poor, the Jewish people said that's because you were cursed and you sinned. And imagine how that could be abused. Which is why the Bible tells us that you were to not pick the end of your fields, because that was for the poor to come in and be able to pick the end of your fields. You were to harvest the inners of your fields, but not the outer parts of your field Because there was no safety programs back there, just the word of God. You're like why are we always talking? Why is all the apostles talking about widows and orphans? Because there was no safety programs, there was no safety nets. They were out there with cups. If you were deformed or paralyzed or injured, the rest of your life was this and you didn't live very long. So again, that's who they're talking about.

Speaker 1: 35:04

They're talking about the Rothschilds, the world economic forum. They're talking about the power people who say you will own nothing and be happy. Now we've strung some victories together by the glory of God and are pushing back against this darkness. We have 24 months less than that now To achieve enough momentum to show people the truth, to see if they can handle it and maybe turn back from this calamity. So again, this echoes the wealthy who exploit the needy and provoke divine wrath which is coming. Covid and those who are responsible for COVID will pay. No one gets away with anything. God will judge From the economic theft and the transference of massive wealth, the death of businesses all over this country, the concentration of wealth to a very small percentage, while they put everyone else out of business and made it illegal for them to work, to enriching pharmaceutical companies and everything else that we have seen.

Speaker 1: 36:28

So what do we do? Wealth is an idol. A soldier weighed down by greedy spoils can't fight effectively. You know, an image came to my mind is you're on a ship and you've got all this gold, and the ship's going down and what's one of the heaviest things known to man Gold. And what's it going to do? It's going to suck you to the bottom of the ocean. So you can either let it go or it's going to kill you. And justice is like internal mutiny, weakening the moral integrity of the body. That's why they spend so much time trying to make us feel that America is unjust, why they try to make us hate one another, because that's how you destroy a nation from within. And that's all at the hands of China and our enemies, soviet Union, who have been sowing this since the 40s, if not sooner Earlier.

Speaker 1: 37:24

To quote Martin Luther, riches are the least worthy things which the human heart can set itself upon. They are the smallest external good. Proverbs 11, 28,. He who trusts in riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. Now I want to dispel something. You are not called to poverty. Some people believe that. In fact, some very big theologians think if you buy a new car, that that's some type of sin, which I think is absolutely ridiculous. Your dollars are bullets in the warfare.

Speaker 1: 38:04

Who you spend your money with matters. You go to Starbucks and you put money in the Starbucks coffee. Starbucks hates you, hates. God, hates everything about you and is trying to destroy your children. Yet you go through and give them $10, $12 for a coffee. It's easy, right, it's there, it tastes good. I have given up Starbucks. Now. There are times where I'm going across country and there is nothing else there and that's it Fine, but I do everything that I can not to.

Speaker 1: 38:41

So understanding who you're doing business with matters and being successful is good for the kingdom, because if you have more resources and God is blessing you with a war chest, what should you be using that? For? Bigger cars, bigger house, bigger this? Maybe? If you're using it for the kingdom, not for your own pleasure, the more resources you have, the more people you can help. So don't treat resources and wealth as a negative, only if it becomes your idol.

Speaker 1: 39:18

Is there a single reason to own a Louis Vuitton purse? No, there is not. There is not a reason to own a Ferrari. These are examples of excess. A purse that is worth $24,000 that just holds your makeup. What could you have done with that? How many people could you have helped with that money? Again, have fun, enjoy life, share it. Share it. Reassess. If you're hoarding or helping, look at yourself and say the balance of my life. Am I helping anyone or am I hoarding? Is my life about gathering stuff for me? And if it is, you're in trouble.

Speaker 1: 40:27

And james tells us this, as well as the bible over and over 7, 7 to 11, patience and suffering in the coming of the Lord. Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. It could be meaning that the Lord is coming back imminently and tomorrow, which we believe 2,000 years ago, when this was or that could be, the Lord is coming in the next instant. In some way, your prayer could be answered. Tomorrow, the rain that you've been waiting for came, coming to the Lord. Blessing of the Lord, things that only God controls. Be patient. The Greek here connotes long-suffering and enduring of a prolonged siege, which is some of the most horrific warfare known to man, to where people turn to cannibalism. That is the language, again, the Bible uses. It's always warfare language.

Speaker 1: 41:18

Always Think of some examples Noah, the 70 years or so to build the ark. Moses wandering in the desert, job, his extreme trials Verse 7, he talked about early and late reigns that God will come through. How God praised Job for his unyielding endurance, god's compassion in the end. So, as warriors, what do we do with this? We hold the line. We hold the line. We wait for divine reinforcements. That could be an answered prayer. That could be Christ returning. It could be a brother coming in to stand in the gap with you. It could be a blessing the finances, that of a gift that you didn't even look for or knew was coming. Blessing the finances that of a gift that you didn't even look for or knew was coming. And we stand firm despite adversity. No complaining, scrub complaining from your language. This is hard from a 10,000 generation complainer like myself. Gotta, get rid of it. Avoid destructive grumbling. It saps morale.

Speaker 1: 42:40

The words of wise John Chrysostom he that endures patiently is in higher favor with God than he who works miracles, because if you're working miracles, you know God's there. What faith is that? If you're doing all these things, you know God's in the middle, but the person who's out there doing it when that's not happening. That is where things are, where God smiles truly down. Proverbs 20, 22,.

Speaker 1: 43:07

And we're wrapping up here. Do not say I will repay evil. Wait for Yahweh and he will save you. So here's a practical step Hold the line habit During trials. Take 30 second prayer, pause Lord, I trust your timing and rate steadfast until you move. How hard that is for a door kicker like myself, for somebody who's a doer and somebody who's making a decision in charge. That is the hardest thing ever for me to do. It goes against everything that I am, that got me to where I am and that is going to be the hardest lesson. I had a brother pour into me on that recently Speech integrity.

Speaker 1: 43:48

But above all, my brother, do not swear. This is oath-taking. Okay, and a lot of us are raised and taken our oath to defend the Constitution of the United States in various formats and other things. It's not talking about that Basically, back in the day, culturally, people would say elaborate oaths like that was going to they didn't do it before, but because they're going to swear on their mother, the eyes of their mother, is this that and saying this and who? And just let your no be no and your yes be yes.

Speaker 1: 44:15

Imagine being a man where you didn't have to promise for people to believe you. You just said it and that was written in stone. A warrior's word is born. Trust is paramount in any unit. Dependable speech fosters unity. John Calvin said an upright man's word should suffice. An oath is only needed to quell this trust. So I only have to promise. I only have to make an oath if you won't trust me. Proverbs 10, 19,. When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable. But he who holds back his lips has insight. Practical step Aim for concise truth-telling. Replace I swear or I promise with simple, clear statements. Okay, we've got two more teaching points. Hang on now.

Speaker 1: 45:09

Prayer, confession healing. Is anyone among you suffering? They must pray. Prayer covers all circumstances suffering joy, sickness, sin. Anointing with oil symbolizes consecration in the Spirit's work. Prayer of faith emphasizes confidence in God's power, submitted to his will. Confess your sins. Vulnerable accountability with brothers and sisters fosters communal healing not just your healing, but theirs. When you start doing this with your spouse, you're going to have the deepest relationship you could ever fathom and you're going to prevent more fires from ever starting than you would, because you're going to know what they're struggling with. You're no longer a mind reader. You don't have to interpret the size which you're going to misinterpret or what they're struggling with, because they're bringing it to God and God and your attention and your authority and their authority in your life. And now it's full transparency. This is where I'm hurting authority in your life and now it's full transparency. This is where I'm hurting, instead of all of your baggage being projected onto their baggage and miss cross lines.

Speaker 1: 46:24

We are called to be trauma, spiritual trauma, medics for each other. You get around each other. Notice if someone's bleeding. Notice, notice if they're having a you know, a spiritual heart attack or a spiritual stroke. Is their language normally off? Are they cussing all the time? That's what happens to me. When I start going down, my mouth gets foul. That is the primary.

Speaker 1: 46:58

One of the primary, most important roles of fellowship is that medic role. If you're far away and I can't see you and I can't talk to you and you're not talking to me and we're not hanging out, how can I observe that? Which is why you need to be in a congregation so people can notice and see if you're taking the off ramp of the faith. So the warrior application, corporate intercession. Soldiers rely on communication with command. Prayer is our lifeline HQ. That's what we call on air support, that's what we call on the medevac Right, that's what we call an air support. That's what we call in the medevac. That's what we call for extraction. This is where this is how we do it and, like a medic checking for wounds, we uncover spiritual injuries so they can be treated.

Speaker 1: 47:49

Charles Spurgeon said prayer moves the arm that moves the world. In Proverbs 15, 29,. Yahweh is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. Commit to weekly or biweekly check-ins, exchanging prayer requests, confessing struggles and celebrating victories. Do this with people and then finally restoring the wanderer, if any among you strays from the truth.

Speaker 1: 48:19

Strays from the truth may be a doctrinal error, a moral compromise or a simple drift. James calls believers to spiritual rescue. We are called to go after those who fall away. We are called for those who are, who were here and then something happened and the enemy took them out, and it's our job to try to bring them back on the life raft. They were on the life raft of Christ and they just fell back in the water or sewage. Pull them up instead of having to go search and go to Haiti to save someone when your brother's right here or your neighbor's right here. This covers a multitude of sins your sins, my sins. Doing this covers the things that you need your sins covered. Love's pursuit of the wanderer prevents further downfall and as warriors, we should know no soldier is left behind. Christian warriors must do search and rescue for straying souls.

Speaker 1: 49:23

Restorative is redemptive and not condemnatory. Augustine said he that is in sin is not in safety. Yet you may help him with brotherly correction. Galatians tells us to approach with humility. Proverbs 27, 5 and 6,. Better is open reproof. That's confrontation, that's saying you are doing this wrong. Stop X. Then love that is hidden. You say you know you've got a family member who comes out of the closet and is LGBT, whatever. If you don't say anything there, you are not fighting for their soul and calling them back home. That's just one example. Or cheating on your wife, or or back and drinking, or whatever. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of the enemy Proverbs 27, 5 and 6. Better is reproof than love that is hidden. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of the enemy. Practical step Identify a drifting believer. Reach out with gentle, accountability, prayer and consistent presence. So the full arc of enemy. Practical step Identify a drifting believer. Reach out with gentle, accountability, prayer and consistent presence. So the full arc of James.

Speaker 1: 50:40

James 1, trials and true religion. James 2, partiality and faith in action. James 3, tongue and wisdom. James 4, eternal warfare and submission. James 5, patience, prayer and restoration. From faith under trial to prayerful restoration.

Speaker 1: 50:55

James is a blueprint for authentic faith in a troubled world. So here's what we're called to do Face adversity with patience. The supreme commander has your six. Jesus Christ, god himself has your six. Guard your heart from greed, self-sufficiency or slander. All those are very hard. Will prayer, as a weapon for healing, unity and miracles, rescue your wandering comrades? No soldier left behind. Aw Tozer said true faith rests upon the character of God and it does not apologize because it trusts his word. So, final reflection and prayer Memorize this verse James 5.16.

Speaker 1: 51:40

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Let's go to prayer, heavenly Father, we have traversed James and confronted trials, dead faith, favoritism and the untamed tongue and worldly alliances. Now we behold the deeper call to patience, prayer and restoration. Equip us as Christian warriors to fight well, defending our families, fellowship, communities and country, guarding against wickedness and justice, strengthening one another in prayer and rescuing any who wander. We stand ready on guard until the coming of the Lord, living as agents of hope and healing in the fallen world. In Jesus' powerful name, amen, all right.

Speaker 1: 52:48

We do the Lord's Supper here every week, and this is sometimes the most stressful part of the whole sermon is opening these amazing cups. So I think I am there, yep. God bless me today. Thank you, lord. So we must do this correctly. This is a big deal. This shouldn't be done willy-nilly.

Speaker 1: 53:13

This is only for true Christians, baptized believers, and this is why, in Corinthians 11, 27-32, whoever therefore eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord, an unworthy man, will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats. And let's go ahead and close your eyes. Now let's reflect on this. First, let's remember what Christ did for us, the sacrifice that he paid, the wrath that he bore of God, how he came and fought for us when we were still traitors, and then see him rise victorious. As he defeats death, ascends to the right hand of the Father to judge the world and rule for eternity.

Speaker 1: 54:25

Now let's look at us, look at our many failures this past week and beyond. How are we not walking out this manual that James gave us, these guidelines? Have we served anyone? Do we have faith? What does our tongue sound like? Are we speaking words of life or death? Have we rescued anyone? Are we serving anyone? Have we gone after a brother? Are we helping those less fortunate than ourselves? Are we helping those that we love, that are even right at our feet? And what most of us will find is that we are woefully inadequate and failing at all those things.

Speaker 1: 55:11

So let us repent, bring that to Christ's feet now. Let us bring any other unfinished business, any sin, unrepentant sin. Ask God to share with you or reveal to you any unrepentant sin that you need to work on, a blind spot that you may have, and, after you've repented, let it go. And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out. I'm sorry I not ordered there now.

Speaker 1: 55:57

As they were eating, jesus took bread and, after blessing it, broken and gave it to the disciples and take, eat. This is my body. Go ahead and eat. And he took a cup. When he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for the many, for the goodness of sins, go ahead and drink. And we, father, lord, we thank you. We thank you for your Son, we thank you for your Holy Word. We thank you for the book of James. We thank you for your crystal clarity. We thank you for your crystal clarity. We thank you for your Holy Spirit, lord. May it guide us this week in an effort to walk out more like you, to die to ourselves and to become more like you. We are struggling, I am struggling, others are struggling. We can only do this with you by submitting to you, and we submit to you, lord.

Speaker 1: 56:57

So now I call on a prayer and a blessing of protection and blessing on this fellowship and congregation, on the persecuted church, on our troops overseas, our first responders at home our veterans of yesteryear. I want to pray that this world will not go into World War III. I pray for our leaders in government, particularly Donald Trump and other righteous rulers that are in our government. To do your will and not theirs, lord. To do your will and not theirs, lord, that they are nothing without you and that you would use them to do your will, lord. I lastly pray for my beloved America. I pray that you would humble herself, turn from her sins, hit her knees and seek your face, and that you would see her, heal her, so that we could once again be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Speaker 1: 58:01

Now I call upon this fellowship to put on the full armor of God, strap on the shield of faith, pick up the sword of the Spirit and boldly march forward to join the shield wall, locking shields to the left and right as we march forward to take ground for your kingdom, for your glory forever. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. Go ahead and rise. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. God bless you.