Real Blessing (James 5:1-20)

Pr Michael Koh
18-08-2019

James 5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Misuse of Riches
5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! 4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of [a]Sabaoth. 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have [b]fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and [c]put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.

Exhortation
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until [d]it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not [e]complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing [f]right at the [g]door. 10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the [h]endurance of Job and have seen the [i]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but [j]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, [k]anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer [l]offered in faith will [m]restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, [n]they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective [o]prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed [p]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the [q]sky [r]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that [s]he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

In verse 1 to verse 6, James addresses a certain kind of wealth that is not from God. The way of this so-called blessing or power is by corrupted means. They are just like what the world is looking for. They will rot and rust. They are not the way of God. It is a blessing that is wrapped up in the Christian word but it's not real blessing. We are seeing Christians who are saying they are blessed but if you see the way they live their lives, they are not. They are proud, sleek, look good, wealthy and seem to have it all but do not have a fruit of God. Society wants wealth and power quickly. It is all about impressions. There is a certain arrogance to it. But it comes from a whole different spring.

Isaiah 28 New King James Version (NKJV)
Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem
28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,
Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [a]verdant valleys,
To those who are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,
Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
Will be trampled underfoot;
4 And the glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [b]verdant valley,
Like the first fruit before the summer,
Which an observer sees;
He eats it up while it is still in his hand.

The way of God leads to things that are precious and don't rust. They last forever.

James 1 verse 7 onwards opens up this way of God that is the counterpoint and the opposite of the way of the world that stands under judgment. The world is about fake blessing and the kind of blessing that is all about me, me, me.

"Therefore, be patient." (verse 7) Patient (or makrothymeō in Greek) can be translated as long-spirited (or for bearing or longsuffering). The precious things come in the long game. The things that make your success shine with the power, love and endurance of God. The sowing reaps slowly, not fast. They come with a long investment and a long practice.

Verse 7 onwards is about how to invest in the meantime. We are living in the crucial margin of time of being oppressed and the latter rain. It's going to take a while. It means you will last for a while as well. You might as well as get ready and enjoy it.

1) The precious things come slowly through incremental investment through life habits that are habituated into our muscle memory.

The long game of listening and praying until what we hear is filled with conviction that is stronger than all the doubts and naysayers. It is a miracle. You need to have the conviction of the Holy Spirit. When you pray until you know that you know that you know, then you are unshakable. Whatever word or conviction that you've got, if it's not strong enough, you would not have the boldness to speak about it. It comes with a practice of hearing and praying in the spirit until it burns. In this knowing, there is a certain witness. If you want precious things, you cannot live by eventness. You yourself have to hear from God first. What God has for you is precious. He loves you. You have to have intimacy with Him every day. Just by turning up every day, the Holy Spirit comes through. Commit yourself to the Holy Spirit doing something hard. Feel is developed by continual repetition and practice. It is not something quick. It has to be graced by God. The sound and presence of God is just there. The precious things are the things that make achievers such achievers to achieve the things of God. We learn how to have the practice of praying up and praying through.

The habit of thankfulness. By being thankful, it builds my faith.

2) Strengthen your heart. Establish your heart. Our hearts have holes. We are prone to doubts. While God is dealing with you, there are trials that make you feel that hole in you and faith goes out the window and everything collapses. In this time, it is a great opportunity to establish ourselves in God. What God does is healing. Surrender it before the Lord. Pray in the spirit. Give it time. Develop a habit. And there will be a breakthrough in the spirit.

3) Do not complain. (v9) Do not swear (v12).

Numbers 20 New King James Version (NKJV)
Moses’ Error at Kadesh
20 Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.

2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they [a]fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.

10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

13 This was the water of [b]Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the Lord, and He was hallowed among them.

The glory of God never became something that Moses immersed into. Moses made it all about him. He didn't have the patience to immerse himself in the long game.

There is something that causes things to leak out when it becomes about us. It becomes personal and it is dangerous. And it turns into road rage that makes you want to smash things.

The long game means have practices to hear from God.

Establish yourself in the Lord.

Be careful about complaining.

For the long game, God wants us to be people who know Him and display strength. Spend time for the Lord. It is for Him to heal you. This pathway is inevitable because it is based upon God's faithfulness.

Lord, we welcome You to come to wash us. You have longevity for all of us. It is You that we need. Come and fill us right now in Jesus' name. I am nothing. It is not about me. I am your servant and You are the lover of my soul. Hallelujah! Amen.

RELATED:
REAL JOY (JAMES 1:1-18)

REAL FAITH (JAMES 1:19-2:26)

REAL WISDOM (JAMES 3:1-18)


REAL HARMONY (JAMES 4:1-17)

REAL BLESSING (JAMES 5:1-20)