Patience and Prayer

James 5:5-18

Review: Professing to be a Christian goes beyond calling oneself “A Christian”. Living a Christian life is to walk close to God, fleeing anything that would keep you from pleasing God. The Christian maintains his walk with God by realizing that within themselves they are nothing, but with Christ they can be all that God wants them to be. Let us surrender daily ours lives to Him, reframing from all wrong, and do what is right and pleasing to God.
Establishing Patients
• Patients- the art of “waiting on God”
• The husbandman analogy
• Establish- prepare your hearts- even till his 2nd coming

Embedded Hurts
• Hold no embittered feelings
• Forgive as Christ forgave you- You also will be accountable
Example to the Believers
• The prophet suffered affliction and waited on God
• The story of Job- We see how God rewarded job’s life
Endurance to the End
• Hardships are not meaningless
• God’s has a purpose
Evaluate your communication
• The use of oaths and swearing not to be taken lightly
• Yea and Nay, -As Christian, the words we speak should be binding and truthful and have no need for swearing
Encouraging Prayer
• Pray when the going gets tough
• Ask the saint of God to help you pray
• Physical and spiritual infirmities- Help nurse each back to health
Effectual Prayer
• Getting results from your prayers
• Red, hot, passionate prayers- Intense, focus, laborious
Earnest Prayer
• Serious praying
• Important prayers
• Diligently praying
• Preserver in prayer
• Don’t give up prayers.
• Elias- A man who patiently/earnestly prayed to God

Living in God's Sight

James 4:7-17

Review: The words we speak and write can be used for good or evil. Speaking harshly, critically (judgmental), disrespectfully, or unkindly causes division among the body of believers. We must have the Holy Spirit to help us control our words. Do our words reflect the fruits of the Spirit?

Question: Do we live what we believe?

Submission to God
• Say “No” to that which is wrong
• Get close to God
• Ask for cleansing- forgiveness of sinful deeds
• Double minded Christians- Removal of the carnal mind-
• Attitude toward our sinful carnal condition- mourn and weep
• Humble yourselves- Not I, But, Christ! His strength

Speaking Evil
• Back to the power of the tongue
• Are we called to administrate the law or to live it?
• Only God can rightly judge who is living after the law
• We are not to set up ourselves as God. God knows the heart

Surrender our days to God
• Our days are given to God
• Life is short- Live each day as your last
• Make it a habit- The Lord willing….

Sin defined
• Willful transgression- He that knows.
• Refusal to do what is right
• Living a life that pleases God.

The Power of the Tongue

James 3:1-18

Review: Faith and works are both essential. Faith and faith alone in the atonement of Christ is the only things that will and can wash our sins away. Works are the fruit that manifest to God that the work of salvation is truly sincere. The life of Abraham demonstrates to us how important Faith and works are both needed to keep the smile of God on our lives. “Enter in thy good and faithful servant”
Mastering Lives
• Seek power and control over the lives of people
• Let the office seek you, not you seeking the office
• We must seek to be servants and not power
• Be care how you use words to manipulate

Control the Lips (tongue)
• The bit in the horses mouth- words are powerful
• The governor of the ship- Words can sway the ground to change their minds- Pulpit manipulation

Danger of a Loose Tongue
• Ruin the influence of a good person
• Dispel discourse among the believers
• It can weaken the confidence of the body of Christ
• Bring down a church
• Brings the displeasure of God- set on fire
• It is the devil’s greatest weapon –destroys outreach
The Lie and hypocrisy
• Double talk
• Water fountain- Bitter or Sweet, fresh or salty- not both
• Fig tree/vine- Can a Christians speak evil? No! He should be bearing the fruits of a Christian. If he says he is a Christian and does not give Christian fruit, then he living a lie and is a hypocrite.
• Self examination- Don’t deceive yourself
Living after the Wisdom of God
• Pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to approach, merciful,
• Not partial, not living a lie (Hypocrisy)
• Sowing peace- What are we sowing?

Faith and Works

James 2:14-23

Review: Real and pure religion must go deeper than the rituals that one may observe. To have a head-knowledge of truth, is not sufficient. The truth must not only be put to action, but it must come from a heart that desires to live and please God. Christianity is a heart religion. Believers are to be doer of God’s commands by showing mercy and living holy.

The Profits of Life
• What is the purpose? In everything you do
• What gain will you have? If you lose your soul
• What have you gained in life if your religion is empty of fruit
The Practical life of Faith
• Do we 1st see the needs.
• Are you too busy to stop.
• Does your religion get in the way of helping others- Good Samaratin
• Is it the thought that counts!!
• Serving the needs must go beyond words of comfort
The Proof of Faith
• Can faith be proven without demonstration?
• Show me- Demonstrate your love for God
• Words are very powerful, but it is only a token of good gestures
Precepts must be right
• You theology might be right, but…
• Consent of mind is not salvation-must have consent of heart
• Living and doing must come from the heart not to be in vain.
Patriarch Abraham
• The father of faith
• His faith was tested by doing the will of God
• He proved his faith by demonstrating willingness to obey
• Faith was completed and made perfect
• Righteousness before God- Demonstration leads relationship
Paradox of Scripture
• Paul said: Faith and faith alone
• James said: Faith alone is not good enough
• We are not saved by our works, but works is essential to show and demonstrate our faith in God

Hearing and Doing

James 1:16-27

Review: We ended the series of Chronicles of Kings with King Hezekiah, a prototype of Israel. A king who had a good start, but ultimately was concern about preserving self and his self interest. We must not just start the race, but we must finish it with patience believing God until the end. Keeping revival fires burning in our hearts will help us run this race with patience and to endure suffering as a good soldier of the cross.
What is Pure Religion?
Do not err concerning this question!

Do not err concerning the nature of God
• God, The Giver of Good Gifts
• God, The Source of True light
• God, The One who Changes Not
• God has chosen His creation to reflect His truth

How is one’s religion Judged? How do you judge your religion?
Are you?
• Quick to listen to what God has to say
• Do you think through what you are going to say before you speak?
• Is your anger a manifestation due to self-injury or pride?
• Examine your anger in light of God’s righteousness Why are you angry? Sanctified emotions.

Does your religion go deeper than religious rituals?
• Have you forsaken the sinful pleasures of this world?
• Have you had the truth of God graphed into your heart?
• Do you have a head religion or a heart religion

A good listener is essential. Many seem to take it all in, but fail to deliver when the “rubber meets the road”

Believers are to be doers of God’s commandments. How?
• Take care of those in need? The orphan and widows: Show MERCY
• Unspotted from the world: abstained from the appearance of evil: SIN NOT- Live a life of HOLINESS.