Be Patient! Stand Firm!

Part (2) Two

Summary: Here James tells us how to respond correctly when we are treated unjustly. He suggests four specific attitudes – (2) two we should adopt and (2) two we should avoid.

Scripture: James 5:7-12

“^7. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. ^8. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. ^9. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. ^10. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. ^11. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. ^12. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

1. ATTITUDES TO AVOID WHEN MISTREATEDA. Don’t Grumble … v. 9

   Times of stress and hardship cause tempers to flare. It is very easy in times of special difficulty to become quarrelsome and impatient, to take our troubles out on each other, and to complain in the family. Satan wins a major victory when he provokes us to criticize one another. James says, “Don’t grumble against each other…” or as the NIV translates, “Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”

   James warns that such criticism puts us in danger of judgment, and the judgment is imminent: “The judge is standing at the doors.” Christians must stand before God give an answer to him one day. Be sure that your conduct is above reproach.

   B. Don’t Swear … v12

   “Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.”

   James’ concern was not with swearing in courts of law, or with profanity. He wanted Christians to be ethical in ordinary conversations and private talk. He was concerned with the dishonesty that creeps into Christian speech and with the casual disregard of truth. Two standards of honesty are impossible—the Christian must be truthful at all times.

   James calls for integrity. Our speech should be more sincere than dramatic. We should mean what we say and say what we mean. “Yes” should be yes, and “No” should be No. Integrity is more important than the form of words, but our speech should guard our integrity.

This is why David said it in Psalm 141:3 – “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.”

We may wonder, “What does ‘swearing’ have to do with the problem of suffering?” In the midst of a difficult trial it is easy to say things you don’t mean, and make bargains with God. This suggests that the passage warns us not to appear super-spiritual. Keep your speech very simple.

“Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” “be No” when you experience mistreatment. Don’t offer super-spiritual explanations. Don’t talk—”Be patient and stand firm”—persevere!

III. EXAMPLES OF PERSERVERANCE

James suggests two excellent examples of those who stood firm, the prophets and Job.

A. Prophets – v. 10

“My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.”

They are a great case study in suffering and patience. The true prophets “spoke in the name of the Lord.” Bearing a message which people did not want to hear often led to trouble. They were not exempted from opposition and mistreatment because they were faithful. Their work actually provoked the opposition.

Nearly all the prophets suffered persecution and extreme hardship. Elijah was hounded and hated.

1 Kings 18:10 – “As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you.

See also 1 Kings 18:17 – “Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”.

Amos was falsely accused of conspiracy Amos 7:10-13 – “^10. Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. ^11. For thus Amos has said: “Jeroboam shall die by the sword, And Israel shall surely be led away captive From their own land.” ^12. Then Amaziah said to Amos:

“Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy.
¹³ But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king’s sanctuary, And it is the royal residence.”

Jeremiah was thrown into a dungeon and threatened with starvation Jer. 38:1-13 –“Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal^[a] the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord: ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’^[b] 3 Thus says the Lord: ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.” ⁴ Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.” ⁵ Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.” ⁶ So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s^[c] son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire. ⁷ Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, ⁸ Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying: ⁹ “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city.” ¹⁰ Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.” ¹¹ So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. ¹² Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so. ¹³ So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

He suffered so many abuses that the Jews called him the prophet, and looked back to him for inspiration and courage in their own trials and persecutions.

Suffering and ministry went together in the lives of the prophets. If Daniel had not been deported we would never have heard of him or benefited from his ministry. Hosea’s painful marriage failure became his message!

The writer of Hebrews describes some of the things these men endured.

Hebrews 11:33-38 – “³³ who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,³⁴ quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ³⁵ Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted,^[a] were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

God is faithful.

James 5:11 – “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered”

Don’t focus on their suffering. Look at how God dealt with them. Then call them “blessed” or “happy.” What a witness! Respond graciously to inconsiderate, uncaring acts, and you will notch out an opportunity for witness everytime. Those who endure until the end will be rewarded.

B. Job was also blessed because he stood firm

Story of Job

Job 1:1-3 – “1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. ² And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. ³ Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East.

Disaster fell upon Job and there is no doubt—he suffered terribly.

Painful sores covered his body from head to foot

Job 2:7 – “So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.

Job 2:8-9 – “⁸ And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. ⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

and his friends aggravated him with their awful advice. He knew the pain of material, emotional, physical and mental distress. Yet Job’s loyalty was steadfast. He stood firm, saying, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.” (Job 13:15). Job’s faith was genuine!

God is concerned about you and me just as he was with Job. “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” The Psalmist said in Psalm 103:8 – “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” Brethren know this very well that “When you find yourself in the fire, remember that God keeps His gracious hand on the thermostat!” And it will not destroy you, remember the three (3) Hebrew men in the furnace of fire.

Job and the prophets were commendable before God.

Peter spoke of this kind of living in 1 Peter 2:18-20 – “¹⁸ Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. ¹⁹ For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. ²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.

See the repeated word “commendable.” This is worthy of notice by God. To bear up under the pain of injustice is beyond ordinary human response. Be patient! Stand Firm! And God favors you! Bear the pain of unjust suffering. Endure when you suffer for doing good. Hear the commendation of God!

You may have an opportunity to put this into practice very soon. Many of you already know the terrible pain of unfair treatment. For some of you life has been a series of injustices. God will make it right. Put your trust in Him.

Song:

I have no power of my own (2ce)

Holy Spirit, I look unto you, help me!

I have no power of my own

Prayer:

1. Begin to thank the Lord for how He is been faithful to you.
2. Ask God to help to Stand Firm and Be Patient in Him and in all things