The Patience of a Saint

If you would please take your
Bibles and turn to James chapter five, James chapter five. We live in a funny world, funny
time of the world, a time where we have seen so many improvements
and enhancements to life, the computer, perhaps most noteworthy,
which is supposed to save us so much time. And I can’t even
count the times that I have threatened to go back to paper and pencil.
All of these things, these inventions, are supposed to save us time
and really to help us to settle into life. But I would suggest to you that
Even with all of the inventions, even with all of the modern conveniences,
we are as impatient as we ever have been as a people. Think of it. If you wake up in
time for breakfast, we used to go for quick oats. That was replaced
in time by instant oats. If you don’t have time for breakfast
at all, you can go through a fast food drive-thru. You don’t even
have to get out of your car anymore. Speaking of restaurants, I remember
walking into a restaurant one time and there was a clock on
the table. Apparently there was some scheme,
some big plan that they had had at a corporate meeting that decided
that those who come to lunch really want to get through in
a certain period of time and that we ought to remind them
as we remind ourselves about the time we’re saving them. If
you go somewhere in your car, you can jump on the expressway,
which is kind of a misnomer if you’re driving from I-25 to Denver. If that’s not fast enough, you
can get on the tollway and use the fast pass. Speaking of your
precious car, when it needs a little TLC, you take it to Quick Lube
or Jiffy Lube. If you need cash from the ATM,
or if you need cash, you go to the ATM. If that’s not quick
enough, just use the quick cash option, 20 bucks. Quick cash
option isn’t enough. You can always get instant credit. You have a meeting, have a power
lunch. You need a rest, take a power nap. And then you have a plethora
of feel better fast medications if you get sick. Once you get
to work, if you get to work. You have answering machines,
voice messaging, cell phones, high speed internet, instant
messaging, all of which is supposed to make our life quicker, faster. If you need something to mail
something, rather, you can overnight something nowadays. If you need
to stop by the grocery store, there’s always the express lane.
Just make sure, unlike me, to count your items. If you want
to gamble and waste all your hard-earned money, now there’s
QuickPicks. You don’t even have to think
about it. And you would think that with all the time that we’ve
now saved because of all those modern inventions, that we would
be the most equipped to be the most patient people the world
has ever known. And yet I would suggest to you
that with all those modernizations we may well be the least patient. We are impatient people and the
amazing thing is We are sometimes the least patient with God himself. James’ exhortation in this particular
passage to patience is a timeless exhortation. It was as true in
his day as it is in ours. In patience with God, in patience
with others, in patience in our circumstances, We are now, as people have always
been, like so many babies. We want what we want and we want
it now. And it’s never soon enough, even
with God. And so James issues here in this
passage before us this morning, a call to patience. I remember my grandmother used
to use a phrase, When she would see somebody standing in line,
it made me think of an old show, which they tricked people intentionally. Candid Camera, you might recall,
if you’re old enough. And in this one particular episode,
they had two lines available in a bank. And whatever line
a particular gentleman got caught in, the actors in front of him
would stall out while the line adjacent to him would quickly
and rapidly go through the line at the bank. You think you’ve
been in that line, right? I remember my grandmother talking
about it and watching this man as it unfolded As most of us
would have absolutely flipped out, my grandmother said, he
has the patience of a saint. And that got me to thinking on
this particular passage, because what James is talking about here
is the patience of a saint. What does the patience of a saint
look like? Three times in these two short
verses, verses seven and eight, were urged, were admonished to
patience. In the end, what does it look
like? Glance down, if you would, at verses seven and eight of
James chapter five. Be patient, therefore, brethren,
until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for
the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it until
it gets the early and late rains. You to be patient, strengthen
your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Some commentators found this
transition to be just plain abrupt, even disconnected from the previous
paragraph, which we considered last Lord’s Day. It’s as if James
is now just stringing along so many thoughts as he draws to
a close on his great epistle. This paragraph, however, is really
intimately related to the previous paragraph. We might even think
of that precious paragraph as a parenthetical thought in the
course of James writing. As we noted last week, it’s a
paragraph that is primarily about the wealthy Jewish oppressors,
those who were troubling the church there in Jerusalem. James
is talking not about believers there. He’s talking about unbelievers. I’ll show you that clearly in
a moment. But now he returns to the church. He returns to speak to the brothers. Look at it. Look at verse seven. In verses one through six, he
never mentions the brethren, but in verse seven, immediately
be patient, therefore, brethren. Look at verse nine. Do not complain,
brethren. Look at verse 10 as an example,
brethren of suffering and patience. And then finally, look over at
verse 12. Above all, my brethren do not
swear. And jump lastly down to verse
19, my brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, it
is the focus now shifted back to his church, back to the saints,
back to his brethren. James is speaking directly to
his brothers. But particularly, he calls his
brothers to patience in view of what he had just said. the
troubling treatment of the wealthy oppressors in their community. It’s not a new thought in this
epistle. It’s really a summary thought,
a reiteration, if you will, of all that he has said up to this
point. But here, even in the direct
context of their dealings with the unbelieving Jews, wealthy
as they were, troubling this fledgling little church with
their unprofitable hoarding, as we heard about last week,
their enraging theft, their ruinous hedonism, their heartless cruelty. All of those things were true.
And even given all of that. James calls his fellow Christians
to patience. Just as in that preceding paragraph,
it builds, doesn’t it, to a crescendo. James’s tie-in here stands in
greatest contrast to the very final verse, verse 6. You have
condemned and put to death the righteous man. He does not resist
you. Be patient. Be patient. James knew full well how vexed,
how troubled his brothers were. They were living out and experiencing
the very words that Jesus Christ had warned them. John 15. If the world hates you, you know
that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world,
the world would love its own. But because you are not of the
world, but because I chose you out of the world because of this,
the world hates you. And John, in an echo in his first
epistle, says, 1 John 3.13, do not be surprised, brethren, if
the world hates you. It was a fulfillment of what
Christ had told them was going to happen. But even with this
prediction, given directly by our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
we still react almost faithlessly at times, don’t we? We react
and we lash out and respond in kind as if we had never heard
these words. One faithful commentator, no
doubt a pastor, said this. Few things, if any, in the life
of faith are more difficult to accept cordially than the divine
forbearance with arrogant and oppressive sin. Did you hear
what he said? It’s essentially an echo of Psalm
73. It’s tough to put up with God’s patience, God’s forbearance,
God’s long-suffering of somebody that we deem to be a greater
sinner than ourselves. Few things, he says, are more
difficult to accept. The sublime long suffering which
permits great moral problems to be worked out fully in the
experience of generations through centuries and millenniums for
God’s glory. In other words, we want it fixed
now. We would rather God move now. Robert Johnstone, inserts an
illustration here. When he says, though immediately
on the commission of the first sin, a promise of grace was given. He takes us all the way back
to Adam and Eve. And remember the curse that was
pronounced to Adam and to the snake and to the woman. But in
that, a gracious promise of redemption. That’s what he’s talking about.
Though immediately on the commission of the first sin, a promise of
grace was given, yet thousands of years had to elapse before
the right time came. The fullness of time. When the
Son of God was manifested in flesh for our redemption. Patience. Patience. Regardless of how troubled
and vexed we are here in this world as believers, followers
of our persecuted, even murdered savior, we have a divine promise. Throughout scripture, but articulated
very clear here in this passage. That God will move. God’s justice
will prevail. God’s grace will win the day. We just need to be patient. So
what does the patience of a saint look like? What we’ll look at this morning
is elements of a godly fortitude. What does godly fortitude look
like? Where does it come from? That’s
what James wants us to know. If you would look back at verse
seven, the first element of godly fortitude is the duration of
a saint’s patience. We think that if we wait until
tomorrow or a week or 10 years, that the longer we wait, somehow
there is there is an added blessing to be bestowed upon us because
of the time with which we waited. But James tells us exactly how
long Precisely how long we’re going to have to wait. Be patient,
therefore, brethren. Until the coming of the Lord. When he says, therefore, in that
little passage, he points us directly back, as I’ve already
pointed out to verses one through six of this chapter to the oppressive
rich. To those believers who were Under
trial and difficulty, even being hauled into court, having their
lands stolen from them by the oppressive rich. And those same people, believers
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Heard the same message that those
wealthy Church visitors likely heard the morning that James
articulated that message in one through six. Where James scolded
their unprofitable hoarding, James challenged their enraging
theft, James addressed their ruinous hedonism and railed against
their heartless cruelty. They heard the same message. But ultimately, they also heard
the same message that the church heard. He’s coming. He’s coming. And even though we know that.
We believe that we say that we believe that we’re still caught
off guard by the harsh treatment that we receive. Persecution
when it comes, we’re tempted to despair, we become rash, we
question God, we lash out at others. One pastor described it in these
terms, in all ages, when the world’s hostility to vital religion
is permitted by God in his providence to show itself in virulent and
lengthened persecution, that’s the setting What’s the response? When prisons are overcrowded
with God’s saints, when lips taught and comforted by many
were silenced, this must have proved a severe trial of that
quietness and restfulness in heart to which believers are
called. We tend to forget about God in
those moments. We tend to forget about his promise.
His comfort, His sovereignty. As we’ve already pointed out,
Christ told His disciples what to expect. He told them to expect
persecution. Paul learned the lesson well
and said, the troubles of this time, the trials of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be
revealed. And he says, be patient. James
urges us to patience. This patience isn’t just a stiff
upper lip, not stoicism, not just toughing it out, but a joyful embracing. of our
circumstances, knowing that God has sifted this trial through
his fingers, that he knows full well what we’re enduring, that
he will never ladle upon us more than we can bear. The word literally means long
temper. And it refers to a Christian
who is not yielding himself to lashing out, not yielding himself
to the exercise of his temper, but a humble submission to the
wisdom of God, to God’s ways, to his circumstances as they
have fallen to him. It’s used primarily, though,
of God himself. This is an attribute of God,
this patience. And I’ll tell you, there’s one
of us that isn’t thankful for this patience of God. Romans
2, 4 says, do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness,
tolerance, and patience, not knowing that the kindness of
God leads you to repentance? I’ve never met a Christian yet
that isn’t exceedingly thankful that they didn’t get what was
deserved. Jesus. Tells a story. And uses essentially rhetorical
language in Luke 18, 17, when he says, will not God bring about
justice for his elect who cry to him day and night? Will he
do long? Will he delay long over them?
Of course, God will bring about justice. Of course, God will. uphold his principles. This kind
of godly patience is urged upon believers. 1 Corinthians 13,
4, love is patient. That isn’t a wedding verse. It’s
a church verse. Love is patient. It is long-tempered. It is long-minded. It is slow
to exercise resentment or anger. It bears with provocations. 1 Thessalonians, Paul uses it
there in 1 Thessalonians 5.14, when he says, we urge you, brethren,
admonish the unruly. In any given church, there are
going to be those that are out of line. Admonish them. Admonish
the unruly, encourage the fainthearted. In any church, there are going
to be those that just seem to constantly lag behind. Encourage
them. In any given church, there are
going to be those that are weak, and he says, help them. And then he says, admonish the unruly,
encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with
everyone. Don’t we get frustrated at times?
When we have to admonish the unruly a second time, Or after
the 10th time, we have to come along to the faint-hearted and
somehow read him another verse of Scripture and prop him up
and pray with him again? We’re to be long-tempered. We’re
to be slow to anger. This word is also used in Hebrews. It’s used in Hebrews to speak
of Abraham with regards to the great promise that God had given
to him. And it says of Abraham, having
patiently waited, he obtained the promise. It’s a patient endurance. It’s a long-temperedness as opposed
to being short-tempered. It’s a patient waiting on God
himself. And you say, well, how long?
The passage tells us precisely how long. How long does the church
have to wait until God’s justice prevails in the land? How long
do believers have to endure this persecution that they face on
a daily basis here? Be patient, therefore, brethren,
until the coming of the Lord. James tells us exactly how long. This is the first in this passage
of three references that I want to call your attention to. Three
references, really, that all point to the same moment. Look
at verse seven, be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of
the Lord. Look down at verse eight. You
to be patient, strengthen your hearts for the coming of the
Lord is at hand. It’s right here. It’s at hand. Come back to that in a moment.
He’s talking about the Lord’s return. He’s talking about the
second coming. How long do believers have to
be patient? How long do we have to wait for
justice? to the second coming. But he says, it’s right here. It’s at hand. Look down at verse
nine. Do not complain, brethren, against
one another that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, the
judge is standing right at the door. It’s the coming of the Lord.
This little phrase is the expression, it’s the recognized expression
that refers to the second coming, to the advent of Christ himself. And it is seen, and you know
that I use this word very carefully, it is seen in a number of truly
parallel passages. For the first, I would have God’s
people turn to Matthew chapter 24. It’s the same word that refers
to his coming, his second coming, the parousia in Matthew chapter
24. We looked at these verses several
weeks ago because they call us to faithfulness. They call us
to readiness. But the context specifically
in this particular passage is faithfulness in view of the coming,
the second coming, the return of Christ. We know of it as the
Olivet Discourse. Look at verse three. As he was
sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately
saying, tell us, when will these things happen? And what will
be the sign of your coming? Same word. What will be the sign
of the end of the age? When are you going to come and
make everything right? When is God’s justice going to
prevail? When are we going to be freed
from this oppression and persecution? This particular word really could
be translated presence rather than coming, because we have
a tendency to think of coming as something far off. It’s his
presence. And when his presence is manifest,
it is forever. It’s a technical term for the
coming, the second coming of the Messiah and his second coming
will be his last. It will be forever. It’s found four times in Matthew’s
gospel, and in fact, in all of the rest of the gospel writers,
it’s never used a single time. That’s why I call this a parallel
passage to James 5, 7, and 8, because it’s talking about the
second coming just as was James. This word, it was interesting,
was used to speak of a king’s visit to a city. It was a big
deal. To have the king visit your town,
your city, was a very big deal. And so this word came to be known
as the coming, the coming of the Messiah himself. And because of his coming, we
are to live in view of his imminent return. Jump down, if you’re in Matthew
24, look at verse 27. It’s used again. Just as the
lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west,
so will the coming of the Son of Man be. It’s going to be sudden. You’re not going to have to read
about it in the newspapers. You’re not going to have to pull
up Fox News. You’re not going to have to wait
for a call from a friend or a text. The whole world will know in
an instant. like lightning. Jump down, if you would, to verse
37 of Matthew 24, the coming of the Son of Man will be just
like in the days of Noah. The image that is brought to
mind there is that of waiting patiently for this rain And then suddenly
there’s a downpour and. Likewise, in 2439, they did not
understand until the flood came and took them all away, so will
the coming of the Son of Man be. He’s talking about the second
coming of Christ. Because of that, as we talked
about even several weeks ago, we are to use the grace gifts
that God has bestowed on us for his service in the kingdom, for
his glory. Our prayer, our money, our talents,
our sanctification, all of it is to be used because he’s coming. Please turn to 1 Thessalonians.
I told you that we would be in several parallel passages. Here’s another passage that speaks
very clearly to the same great event, the second coming of Christ. And as you’re turning, let me
tell you about a third. Listen just carefully to one
little verse as you’re turning to 1 Thessalonians. The word
is used in the same exact context in first Corinthians chapter
15. He’s talking about the resurrection and when and how and where. Verse
15, chapter 15, verse 23, each in his own order, Christ, the
first fruits after that, those who are Christ’s at his coming. Those who belong to Christ at
His coming will be raised. Well, the Thessalonians, we talked
about this church several weeks ago. This is a church that heard
the gospel, and as soon as they heard the gospel, boy, they hit
the ground running. And then they heard something
that just spooked them, rattled them. They thought Jesus had
come and gone and they were the original left behind. Paul addresses this very thing
in his first epistle, but what he kind of alludes to in his
first epistle becomes a major focus in his second epistle.
That is the second coming. They thought that they’d missed
it. They thought that they had missed the Lord’s return, the
second coming of Christ. This was a church that desperately
needed instruction, right? If you’re in 1 Thessalonians,
look at chapter two, verse 19. This word is used over and over
and over again in the Thessalonian epistles. Chapter two, verse
19, who is our hope or joy or crown of exaltation? Is it not
even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? Paul
said, look, I’m building this church. I’m pouring my life into
you. I can’t wait until the Lord returns because at that point,
you are going to be seen as our joy and crown. He was fixed on
this event. Look at chapter three, verse
13. His prayer was that he would
establish your hearts without blame in holiness before God,
our Father, at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the second
coming. Look at chapter four, verse 15.
For in this way we say to you by word of the Lord that those
who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not
precede those who have fallen asleep. So we’ll talk about the
timing of the resurrection. Look at chapter five, verse 23.
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely. May your
spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then, as I said, what became
a hint became an absolute major theme in the second epistle.
Over and over again, he mentions the second coming again there. Peter uses the word in exactly
the same way. I won’t take the time to bring
you to this parallel passage. But 2 Peter 1, 16, 3, 4, 3, 12,
the coming of the day of God, the promise of his coming. The coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And so here in James. Here in James, there’s no doubt
a reference to the Christians ultimate encouragement. Jesus
Christ is coming back. He’s talking about Christ’s second
coming. What he’s alluding to here is
what we now know what theologians refer to as the doctrine of imminence,
that Christ could return at any moment. He could come back today,
right? We believe that. And his coming, when he comes,
is going to be a glorious event. He’s going to come in person,
not sending a delegate, Not sending a representative. And it’s not
as if this opens the door to a greater day. It is the day. It is the great hope of the New
Testament church. That Jesus Christ one day. Will
burst through the skies and we will be with him for eternity. One of my favorite passages.
In scripture, one of. Titus chapter 2, for the grace
of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing
us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly,
righteously, and godly in the present age. Looking for the
blessed hope and the appearing of our great God and Savior,
Jesus Christ. We should be looking. We should
be expectant. We should be longing for Christ’s
return. It could happen today. That should
be our hearts call every day. Every day we wake up. Is it today? And so the patience of a saint
is marked, first of all, by patience, patience that is exercised with
the hope and expectation of the Lord’s return. The hope and expectation
of the Lord’s return, that’s patience. It’s not a wishfulness. It’s not a resignation to our
current thing and that maybe if the Lord comes, he’ll deal
with this mess. He’s coming. It’s a confident
expectation, he’s coming. But there’s a second element
of this godly fortitude of which James speaks. Not only the duration
of a saint’s patience, but the picture of a saint’s patience.
Look at the end of verse seven. Behold, the farmer waits for
the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it until
it gets the early and late rains. You know this already, I love
this. I love this illustration. I love the illustration of the
farmer’s life. The illustration, though, of
a farmer’s life is a life of waiting. And really, what an understatement
this is. Because if you think about it,
in the winter, he’s waiting for the spring. There’s a gap before he can even
plant, the ground is either too frozen or too muddy to work. And then there is this planting
season, and then we wait all over again for germination. And then germination comes and
then we wait for rain and then we wait for the heat of the summer
sun to cause the growth of the plant. And then we wait. We wait
for the plant to set fruit and then we wait for the fruit to
mature and then we wait for the maturation of the fruit. And
then there’s more waiting and waiting on rain. And then there’s
waiting on harvest. And then the winter comes and
the wait begins all over again. The farmer waits. That’s what
he does. But he’s not a lazy man. It’s
not like he just sits around waiting. The whole life is a
life of toil and patience. It’s a life of working with the
soil and with the weather, cooperating with it, all the while waiting,
look at this, for the precious produce of the soil. I’ve told
you before, my wife is convinced that I grow the most expensive
vegetables in the world, but the illustration is right here.
He’s waiting for the precious produce of the soil. He’s waiting
for food. What more basic need is there
than that? One pastor said waiting for God
is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going
to sleep. Not the abandonment of effort.
Waiting for God means first activity under command. A readiness for
any new command. The ability to do nothing until
the command is given. It is a prayerful waiting. It
is an intentional waiting. That just like with the farmer
sowing his field, he continually watches. He’s not watching, wondering
if something might happen. He knows what will happen. We’re called to wait. This word is used so often in
scripture. Remember that skirmish that was
going on at the love feast in the church of Corinth? where
people were coming and glutting their faces, stuffing their faces
with food, and then they were allegedly going to have communion
at the end. Paul says, when you come together,
wait, be patient. It’s an intentional waiting.
It’s translated many times in scripture as expectation. You know exactly what you’re
waiting for. I spoke of Abraham a moment ago.
Hebrews also mentions Christ waiting patiently. Christ waits. Did you realize
that? You talk about being tempted
in all things as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 10 says,
having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat
down at the right hand of God. Waiting. Waiting from that time onward
until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet. Patiently, expectantly
waiting. Look at the passage again. The
farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient
about it. It’s intentional. He’s looking
expectantly. He knows exactly what to do at
exactly the right moment, but the timing is everything. And he knows that growing these
vegetables isn’t just a matter of him sticking a seed in the
soil. It’s fully dependent on the rain.
It’s fully dependent on the sun. It’s fully dependent on the great
mystery, the mechanism that causes that seed at the right moment
to germinate and then to set fruit. And he’s absolutely dependent
on bees to pollinate that fruit. Well, Christ is patient. He urges us to patience. But it’s true, really, isn’t
it? Especially when you’re dealing
with unbelievers, harsh, foul-mouthed unbelievers. Patience is oftentimes
the furthest thing from our mind, isn’t it? That’s what James is
addressing with these believers. Jesus knew. Jesus knew what it
was like to talk to impatient men. Think with me just for a
moment. Luke chapter 9, the days were
approaching for his ascension. He was determined to go to Jerusalem.
He sent messengers on ahead of him and they went in, entered
a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for him. All
they wanted were some groceries. When the Samaritans thumbed their
nose at the apostles, they did not receive him because he was
traveling toward Jerusalem, they were prejudice. When his disciples
James and John saw this, they said, Lord, do you want us to
command fire to come down from heaven and consume them? Don’t
tell me that you’ve never thought it. We think it all the time. I can’t wait to be rid of them. God calls us instead to patience. Look at the passage. The farmer
waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about
it until the early and late rains. I really encourage you to garden,
because it keeps you grounded. It just gives you a little picture
into what a delicate process this is, that unless God brings
the moisture at just the right time, just the right measure,
without, mind you, hail, As one pastor said, as eager
as this farmer is to have his harvest, still he waits quietly,
knowing from experience that according to the great arrangements
of God, months must intervene between the sowing and the reaping,
that nothing he can do to materially accelerate the processes of nature. I’ve tried that one. You harvest
something off the vine that isn’t yet ripe, You might as well throw
it in the trash. We’re considering the patience
of a saint, elements of godly fortitude. Not only the element
of the duration of a saint’s patience until the coming of
the Lord, not only the picture of a saint’s patience, this dutiful
farmer, but also the motivation for a saint’s patience. Don’t
miss this one. Look if you would at verse 8,
you too be patient. Strengthen your hearts for the
coming of the Lord is at hand. When he says you too, he’s pointing
us back to the farmer. He gave us this beautiful illustration,
a beautiful picture of what it is to wait. And then James turns
to his believers and he says, you to be patient. Farmers patient,
you to be patient. Even in the midst of their troubles,
even in the midst of oppression, even in the midst of the difficulties
that they’re facing, you to be patient under God’s sovereign
hand. Strengthen your hearts, literally prop them up, stand
firm, get on your own two feet. When this verse is used on many
occasions, it speaks of being strengthened or established,
firmed up. And on many occasions, it is
a spiritual strengthening pictured as something that God does. But
in this particular passage, he’s clearly pointing to the believer.
Do what you can to grow up, do what you can to strengthen. your
life, strengthen your faith, strengthen your resolve, build
your patience. It’s a work of God in the believers
lives to establish and strengthen us. But here in this passage,
James urges the believer to strengthen themselves by spiritual graces,
by God’s word, by his ordinances, by prayer. Matthew Henry said it simply
when he said, let your faith be firm without wavering your
practice of what is good, constant and continued without tiring. Let your resolutions for God
and heaven be fixed in spite of all sufferings and temptations. Why? Well, that’s the whole point
of this observation. Why? Because it’s our motivation. It’s our motivation for patience.
The coming of the Lord is at hand. We say from time to time, somewhat
tongue in cheek, that a pastor needs to be ready to preach,
pray or die in a moment. I sprung that on our new pastor
last week. Preach, pray or die in a moment.
But you know what? Every one of us, that’s really
got to be true of every one of us. We’ve got to be ready to
die in a moment. We’ve got to be ready to face Christ in a
moment. That keeps you living as you
ought to live, doesn’t it? You to be patient, strengthen
your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand. It’s here. It’s time. It’s imminent. It’s biblical
imagery. It’s not just James here. This
is the concert, if you will, of the entire New Testament,
Romans 13, 12. The night is almost gone. The
day is near. Hebrews 10.25, not forsaking
our own assembling as the habit of some, but encouraging one
another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. 1 Peter 4.7, the end of all things
is near. Philippians 4, 5, let your gentle
spirit be known to all. The Lord is near. 1 John 2, 8,
I’m writing a new commandment to you, which is true in him
and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true
light is already shining. He needs only people to burst
through the clouds. The Lord had instructed his followers
to be ready and to be waiting. My dear brother, Robert Johnstone,
said it this way. The Lord had laid it on his people,
not only to believe, but to watch. Not only to love, but to watch.
Not only to obey, but to watch. The whole tone of the passage
suggests a completeness and grandeur of deliverance. It’s not like
we’re going to begin a reconstruction project on the globe at that
point. The whole passage suggests a
completion and grandeur of deliverance, and this not from the oppression
of evil men merely, but from all troubles of every kind that
necessitate patience. The Savior’s personal advent
was fully before the writer’s mind, to raise the dead and judge
the world, to visit his enemies with everlasting destruction,
and to introduce his friends to the fullness of salvation.
The grand event, the consummation of the divine probationary dealings
with this world is always exhibited in scripture as the supremely
influential fact of future and the object of the most ardent
longings of the Christian heart. In other words, what he says
is it’s clearly proclaimed in scripture. It’s going to happen. He’s coming. Be patient. Let’s pray. Our merciful King, we humble
ourselves and we frankly repent before you. We know that at many times we
have all but shaken our fist at you. Because we don’t like
your timing. We want what we want and we want
it now. Merciful God, forgive us. And
we pray, Father, that in place of our hastiness, grant us the grace to be patient,
patient as you would have us to be, patient as saints waiting
and watching with greater expectation and anticipation. Be glorified
in and through us as we wait. We lay all of these things before
you. And we pray for those who do not know our Savior, our Lord
Jesus Christ. Theirs is a hopeless waiting. Replace that, Father, with a
settled confidence in who Christ is. We pray all of these things in
Jesus name. Amen.