1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,480 As you find your seat, if you would open your Bibles to the 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:07,400 book of James chapter 5 this morning we're going to be in 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,160 verses 13 to 15. We've, we've been going through 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:14,120 James for several months now and we are almost finished. 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:17,240 We are. I had said last week that I was 6 00:00:17,240 --> 00:00:20,200 hoping to finish this week, but the passage that we're looking 7 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:23,240 at on prayer is just so densely packed with theology and 8 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:26,000 application that I needed to break it up into two sermons. 9 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,560 So we'll, Lord willing, finish the book of James next week. 10 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,479 I do not know what I'll be preaching on next, but I will 11 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:36,720 update you as soon as the Lord directs me to the book. 12 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:38,280 We will be doing something in the Old Testament though. 13 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,560 But James, chapter 5, verses 13 to 15. 14 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,240 Let's read the text, open us in a word of prayer, and then we'll 15 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:48,440 jump into the sermon this morning, James 5, beginning at 16 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:55,000 verse 13. Is anyone among you suffering? 17 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,600 Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? 18 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:06,800 Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? 19 00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:11,720 Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray 20 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,840 over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 21 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:24,280 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and 22 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:30,720 the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he 23 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:38,560 will be forgiven. Let's pray, Father, this morning 24 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:42,720 we pray that we come as we come to a text that deals with 25 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:50,120 suffering, sickness, singing things that all of us in some 26 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:53,280 measure have dealt with, that everybody in this room has had 27 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,240 some measure of suffering. Everybody in this room has been 28 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:00,640 sick at one time or another, and everybody in this room has a 29 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:04,880 voice in which to sing with. We pray God that you would teach 30 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:07,960 us this morning by the power of the Spirit how we should face 31 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:12,480 these situations, how we should face these trials, what you call 32 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,920 on us, what you direct us and guide us to do. 33 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,440 Help us Lord, to have a right theology, help us to have a 34 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:28,960 right mindset, to not lose hope, to not let despair overtake us, 35 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,240 but to be reminded that you are a God who not only invites his 36 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:37,800 people to pray, you are a God who answers our prayers. 37 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:42,080 We pray this Lord in Jesus name, Amen. 38 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:50,400 I have never been a fan of quarantining when you are sick. 39 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:54,840 You know the idea of when you're sick you stay away from people. 40 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,960 I completely understand if a person doesn't feel well enough 41 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:04,960 to be around others, but I have never understood staying away 42 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:07,480 from others because you don't want them to get sick. 43 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,240 I've always had the perspective. Let's just share. 44 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,520 Let's just, let's just increase each other's immunity. 45 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,320 I recognize I'm in the 1% minority in this perspective. 46 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,320 I recognize this is not what most people believe and think. 47 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,920 The reality is that when we are physically sick, we often avoid 48 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:41,440 people. The same is often true when we 49 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:48,800 are spiritually sick. We avoid the Lord and we avoid 50 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:53,360 the Lord's people. But James reminds us this 51 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:59,360 morning that when we are sick, even if God doesn't heal us 52 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,920 physically, he promises to heal us spiritually. 53 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:12,800 We should never quarantine from God because God has promised 54 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:15,880 that when we come to Him, He will forgive us. 55 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,040 This morning we're going to be looking at a text that deals 56 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:25,200 with suffering and singing and sickness. 57 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,120 So let's start by looking at exposition of the text. 58 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:31,560 The way that will be the sermon will be broken down this morning 59 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:33,720 is I'm going to start with an exposition of the text where I 60 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,320 break it down verse by verse, even section by section, and 61 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,720 then I'll give us application. I have 7 exhortations this 62 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,200 morning. Let's start looking at verses 13 63 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,000 to 14 where James writes. Is anyone among you suffering? 64 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,080 Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? 65 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:52,760 Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? 66 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,480 Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray 67 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:59,480 over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 68 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,560 So this morning we get to our second to last passage in the 69 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:09,760 book of James, and James is going to ask us three questions 70 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,920 this morning and he's going to give us 3 answers. 71 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:15,080 The first question he asked is this. 72 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:20,160 Is anyone among you suffering? Now this is not the normal Greek 73 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,560 word for suffering. The word that James uses here 74 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,200 means to suffer distress would stay in trouble, to endure 75 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,640 hardship. It can actually refer to any 76 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,480 kind of suffering, any kind of trial that you're facing. 77 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:37,920 So it's very broad, and James gives a very basic answer to 78 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,120 this problem of suffering. Here it is. 79 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:47,200 Let him pray. This is a command in the Greek. 80 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:50,360 This is why the NASB translates it. 81 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,560 Then he must pray. Now, I want you to notice that 82 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,480 James doesn't tell the church what to pray. 83 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,560 Did you notice that he doesn't tell them what to pray? 84 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:03,640 He just says let him pray. Now, one might assume that James 85 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,800 intends for the church to pray that their suffering would 86 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,160 cease. Given the other exhortations in 87 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:14,240 this letter, I think it is perhaps that James would rather 88 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,360 intend for them to pray that they would persevere through it. 89 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,800 Then James asked the second question, Is anyone cheerful? 90 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,520 The word cheerful means simply means a state of happiness, 91 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:28,400 right? Is any? 92 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:30,880 Is anyone suffering? And then he says, is anyone 93 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:32,800 happy? Is anyone feeling cheerful? 94 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,720 So what should they do if they are feeling cheerful? 95 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,120 What should you do when you're feeling happy and cheerful? 96 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,960 He says this, Let him sing praise that. 97 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:46,680 That is actually one word in the Greek solo. 98 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:48,680 It means where we get the word Psalm from. 99 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:53,000 It means to sing songs of praise with or without musical 100 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,560 accompaniment. This again is a command. 101 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,400 We are commanded to sing praises. 102 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:03,480 I want you to notice this is so important. 103 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,400 I want you to notice that whether we are experiencing 104 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:14,400 suffering or cheerfulness, our focus is to be towards the Lord. 105 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:19,080 The third question James asks is this. 106 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:23,080 Is anyone among you sick? The Greek word for sick can 107 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,200 refer to any sickness, any illness. 108 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:27,400 It can refer to a sickness like fever. 109 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:31,360 It can also refer to much more serious ailments or diseases. 110 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:36,080 And James gives 3 responses to this situation here. 111 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,840 They are a first thing. Let him call for the elders of 112 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:44,840 the church. Now I want you to notice James 113 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,760 assumes the church has elders to call upon. 114 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:53,960 Now why the elders? We're going to see in just a few 115 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,720 minutes that he says the prayer of a righteous person. 116 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,040 Sorry, not just a few minutes. I wrote that and then when I 117 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,200 realized we had to do 2 sermons, I forgot to change that. 118 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:09,560 We're going to see next week that the prayer of a righteous 119 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,840 person has great power as it is working. 120 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,800 So hopefully all of these elders are righteous men and that James 121 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,720 calls them to come and to pray, which is B. 122 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:28,080 He says let them pray over him. Now that's interesting, right? 123 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:30,960 It says pray over him. Why does he word it that way? 124 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,799 This may mean that the person was confined to a bed and so the 125 00:08:34,799 --> 00:08:37,720 elders would come to this person's house and actually pray 126 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:39,799 over them because they're confined to a bed. 127 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,039 It also though, could mean that's not the case, that they 128 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:46,200 are actually to lay their hands on this person, that when they 129 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,960 pray over them, they would gather around this sick person 130 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,080 and lay their hands on them. That's the second thing. 131 00:08:52,280 --> 00:08:57,800 Third action is anointing him with oil in the name of the 132 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,520 Lord. Now that last action raises a 133 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,400 lot of questions. I'm going to boil it down to two 134 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,040 questions. Number one, what is the purpose 135 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:13,240 of anointing with oil and #2 are we to practice this today? 136 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:15,560 Are we to practice this today? Let's look at the first 137 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:18,160 question. What is the purpose of anointing 138 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,160 with oil? This practice is mentioned only 139 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,080 one other time in the New Testament and Mark 613. 140 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:27,080 When Jesus sent out the disciples, they cast out many 141 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:31,280 demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed 142 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,960 them. Douglas Mood, who was a 143 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:37,320 commentator, has actually divided the possibilities into 144 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:43,360 two main categories with two subdivisions each, 2 main 145 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:45,760 categories with two subdivisions each. 146 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:47,320 Let's look at those very briefly. 147 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,400 The first main category is that it may have a practical purpose. 148 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,040 It may have a practical purpose. So under that main category 149 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,120 there are two possibilities. A It could be medicinal. 150 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:01,240 It could be medicinal. If you remember the Good 151 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:04,520 Samaritan, remember that a man was going down from Jericho. 152 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:05,960 He was beaten up by some robbers. 153 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:08,920 He was left for half dead on the side of the road. 154 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:11,680 A Samaritan came along and what did he do? 155 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:16,960 He bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, right? 156 00:10:16,960 --> 00:10:18,840 They didn't have Neosporin in those days. 157 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:24,480 They poured on oil and wine. So it could be medicinal, B. 158 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:27,560 It could be pastoral. This could be they could have a 159 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:29,440 pastoral purpose. What does he mean by that? 160 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:34,280 He says that oil was perhaps used to stimulate the faith of 161 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:38,920 the sick, similar to how Jesus used props and some of his 162 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,160 healings. Ever notice how Jesus sometimes 163 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:43,360 would use props in his healings? Why did he do that? 164 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:46,600 The theory is, is that perhaps it was the prop, if you will, 165 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:48,800 was meant to stimulate this person's faith. 166 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:53,800 So that's two possibilities. The second main category is a 167 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:57,240 religious purpose. A religious purpose He gives two 168 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:00,880 options under here. A, it could be Sacramento. 169 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:02,800 In other words, what does that mean? 170 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,520 Oil would become a vehicle of divine power. 171 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:11,040 If you take a Sacramento view of this, that God works through the 172 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:13,840 oil, all right, that would be a Sacramento view. 173 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:18,600 And then B would be symbolic. It could have a symbolic 174 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,800 meaning. Oil symbolizes the consecrating 175 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:27,320 of this sick person, similar to how priests in the Old Testament 176 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,480 priests were anointed with oil when they took their office. 177 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:33,520 They would anoint them and it was it was a symbolize they were 178 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:37,520 consecrated to God. So those are 4 possibilities. 179 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,880 And the question that we all have is which of the four should 180 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,800 we adhere to? I can't tell you what it what 181 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,560 you should because there's maybe some merit to all of them. 182 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:50,680 I'm going to argue for the last though. 183 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:55,040 I'm going to argue for the last that the oil has a symbolic 184 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:56,800 purpose. That's what I'm going to argue 185 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,080 for, and I'll tell you why very quickly. 186 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,320 Medicinal doesn't make sense since the elders were 187 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,440 specifically called on to do this. 188 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:08,880 If it was simply medicinal, anybody could administer that. 189 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:10,560 Anybody could just administer the oil. 190 00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:11,960 You don't need the elders to do that. 191 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:17,200 Pastoral Jesus did use props in his healings, but it that was 192 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:18,840 the exception. It wasn't the norm. 193 00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:20,480 Those were very much the exception. 194 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:24,200 Sacramento. I don't think it's Sacramento in 195 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:29,040 the sense that James is about to say to us that the prayer of 196 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,880 faith will heal this person, not the oil. 197 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:35,280 The prayer of faith will heal this person. 198 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,160 So I think that symbolic is the best interpretation here. 199 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:45,160 I think the oil is being used to symbolize that this person is 200 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,760 being set apart to God in prayer. 201 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,680 That it was a symbolic way to say we are setting apart this 202 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:57,480 sick person to God in prayer. Now notice they are not just too 203 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:03,360 anoint with oil, they are too anoint with oil in the name of 204 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,120 the Lord. I think that's important. 205 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,600 Why? Because it reminds us the oil 206 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:14,840 does nothing. The name of the Lord does 207 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:20,640 everything. Similar to baptism, the water 208 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:26,640 does nothing. It symbolizes the work of Christ 209 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,360 who does everything. And I think oil is functioning 210 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,560 the same way in baptism. It's a powerful symbol to 211 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:37,160 symbolize this person is being set apart to God in prayer. 212 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,480 That's just the way I take it. It's there's room to disagree 213 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:44,040 here. Second question, That was the 214 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,320 first question. Second question, are we to 215 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:51,440 practice this today? In other words, if you call on 216 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,600 the elders, we we, we now have elders in the church. 217 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:55,920 We have 3 elders, myself, Frank, and Daniel, right? 218 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,520 If you call on the elders to come to your house to pray, 219 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:01,840 should Frank bring his anointing oil with him? 220 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:11,950 I'm sure he's got some given the fact that many healings in the 221 00:14:11,950 --> 00:14:14,750 New Testament were accomplished without oil. 222 00:14:15,870 --> 00:14:17,710 I don't think this is binding us today. 223 00:14:17,710 --> 00:14:19,070 I don't think it's binding us today. 224 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,560 Many of the healings, if not maybe most of the healings in 225 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,440 the Old Test and in the New Testament, we're not done with 226 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:27,120 oil. So I don't think it's buying us 227 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:29,800 today. However, however, I don't think 228 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:34,840 it's a bad idea. I wouldn't be opposed to it if, 229 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:37,920 if somebody said I would really like to be, you know, provided 230 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:40,280 you had a right understanding, you didn't think that like this 231 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:43,560 was some magical oil that was going to heal you. 232 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:45,640 Provided you have the right understanding, provided the 233 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:47,040 elders have the right understanding, I wouldn't be 234 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:49,440 opposed to it. But I don't think it's binding 235 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,640 us today. Let's look at verse 15 A. 236 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:58,200 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. 237 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:02,360 The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. 238 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,800 Now verse 15 A raised 4 questions in my mind and let's 239 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:13,840 look at them individually #1 what is a prayer of faith? 240 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,600 He says the prayer of faith. What is a prayer of faith? 241 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:20,080 Remember what James had previously said about our 242 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,000 prayers. He said that when when we asked 243 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,000 the Lord for wisdom, how should we ask? 244 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:29,480 Let him ask in faith with no doubting. 245 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,200 Remember what Jesus said to us. He said whatever you ask in 246 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:38,840 prayer, you will receive if you have what faith? 247 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:46,680 A prayer of faith is praying with a firm foundation of belief 248 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:53,080 that God is able to heal and He is willing to heal. 249 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:58,040 Question two. What does James mean? 250 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:02,760 The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. 251 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:05,520 The prayer of faith will save the one who's sick. 252 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:07,600 Does he mean save them from their sins? 253 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:09,920 That's how we normally use the word save. 254 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,400 Does he mean that the prayer of faith will save this person from 255 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:14,280 their sins? No, that's not what I think he 256 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:16,560 means. There is no indication in 257 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:18,840 Scripture that anybody is saved by prayer. 258 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,960 I do not believe that we can pray and save someone by our 259 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:26,120 prayer. God saves, so why does he use 260 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:28,360 the word save? Well, the Greek word for save 261 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,720 can also mean to heal or to make well. 262 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:38,480 I counted 16 times in the New Testament where it is translated 263 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:43,080 as the same Greek word for save. It's translated as heal or make 264 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:46,440 well 16 times. So this should probably be 265 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,040 translated as heel save as the normal translation. 266 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:51,520 I think that's why ESV goes with it. 267 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,080 But I think James means heel here. 268 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,760 Number three, What does it mean the Lord will raise him up? 269 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:01,960 The Lord does he mean raise him from the dead. 270 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:04,440 That's how it's normally used. We talk about raising someone 271 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:08,920 up, so I don't to be sure, it could mean that it could mean 272 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:10,880 that this person died. You pray that the Lord would 273 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,520 raise him up. I mean, Eudaikus was raised from 274 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:18,560 the dead by Paul, to be sure. It could mean that, but this 275 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:22,760 Greek word is often used in the context of raising up from 276 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,079 sickness, that the Lord will raise him up from the sick bed. 277 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:28,520 That's how it's often used in the New Testament. 278 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,720 And I think the the meanings, same meanings here as well. 279 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,320 And then we get to perhaps the most perplexing question of all, 280 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,840 the 4th question, which is the most perplexing of all #4 what 281 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:45,680 do we do with this word? Will what do we do with this 282 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:53,200 word will The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick. 283 00:17:54,400 --> 00:18:00,800 The Lord will raise him up. That's the indicative mood, the 284 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,280 mood of reality. What do we do with that? 285 00:18:04,560 --> 00:18:09,520 Those two usages of will we all know from experience of loved 286 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:15,480 ones who maybe were diagnosed with cancer or Alzheimer's or 287 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:19,360 had a stroke. I had a heart attack or maybe 288 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:22,560 diabetes. People have prayed for them, 289 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:29,360 maybe even elders prayed for them, and they weren't healed. 290 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,040 They weren't raised up from their sickness. 291 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:44,040 They may have even died but two times, James says will. 292 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,600 So how do we reconcile this? How do we reconcile this? 293 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,400 This is why we must read the whole council of God's Word. 294 00:18:55,320 --> 00:19:01,000 We must read the whole council of God's Word, because in other 295 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:06,840 passages Jesus makes it clear that prayer must be asked in his 296 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:10,840 name, which is another way of saying it must be asked 297 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:16,040 according to his will. James earlier had said to us, if 298 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:21,480 the Lord wills so, the way that we have to read this statement 299 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,000 by James is this. The way we have to interpret it 300 00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:28,600 is this. The prayer of faith will heal 301 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:35,640 the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up if the 302 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:45,800 Lord wills, if he wills it. What is sovereign is not our 303 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:51,600 prayer, but God's will. God's will is sovereign. 304 00:19:54,080 --> 00:20:01,200 Look at verse 15-B and the Lord and and if he has committed 305 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:08,560 sins, he will be forgiven. If he has committed sins, he 306 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,080 will be forgiven. Now why does James introduce 307 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:14,080 sins here? Did you wonder that? 308 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:14,920 I don't know if you wondered that. 309 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:16,760 I wonder that. Why does he introduce sins here? 310 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:19,440 He hadn't talked about sin. All said, he introduced and says 311 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:23,080 if he's committed sins, what is the connection? 312 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:28,560 Is James suggesting that it's possible his sickness is a 313 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,440 result of his sins? I think so. 314 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:35,440 I think that's what he's getting at. 315 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:38,920 Now let's clarify 2 things. Let's clarify. 316 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:42,480 So important. Let's clarify 2 things #1 James 317 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:48,000 is not suggesting that all sickness is a result of sin. 318 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:51,680 He's not suggesting that. He is not suggesting that all 319 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,240 sickness is a result of sin. And I don't mean like in the 320 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:57,720 curse version of sin. I mean all sickness is a result 321 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,240 of the curse. But he's not referring to all 322 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,040 sickness is a result of my personal sin. 323 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,520 I am sick right now because I sinned. 324 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:10,520 James says if he has committed sins, if he has committed sins, 325 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:12,480 you know, you're like, well, of course he's committed sins. 326 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,440 Everybody's committed sins. He's referring to a sin that led 327 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,320 to his sickness. If he has committed sins that 328 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,720 led to his sickness, Now we know that this isn't referred to 329 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:26,040 everything, right? How do we know this? 330 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:28,120 Job's sickness was not a result of a sin. 331 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:31,200 Job's sickness was not a result of sin. 332 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,440 The man in John 9, Jesus said, was not blind because his 333 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:37,720 parents had sinned or because he had sinned. 334 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,200 Paul's thorn in the flesh, as far as we know, was not a result 335 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,920 of his sin. Timothy had stomach ailments 336 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:48,640 that it does not appear were a result of his sin. 337 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:52,480 Apophoditis was not sick as a result of the sin. 338 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,960 Trophonis was ill and it doesn't appear he was sick as a result 339 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,200 of a sin. So I think we should conclude 340 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:03,200 that not all sickness is a result of sin. 341 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:05,640 That's number one. Number two, that needs to be 342 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:10,560 clarified. James is suggesting that some 343 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:18,400 sickness is a result of our sin. Some sickness is a result of our 344 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,760 sin. Miriam got leprosy because of 345 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:27,960 her sin. King Uzziah got leprosy because 346 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:31,920 of his sin. Remember in the Lord's Supper in 347 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:34,800 First Corinthians, some in the Corinthian church, Paul said 348 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,480 we're sick because they were not treating the Lord's Supper with 349 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,440 reverence. And somebody even died in the 350 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,400 Corinthian church because of their sin. 351 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:46,760 And remember the paralytic that Jesus healed. 352 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:50,640 His paralysis may have been a result of a sin member. 353 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:54,080 Jesus said to him, sin no more so that nothing worse may happen 354 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:55,960 to you. That may imply that his 355 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,000 paralysis was a result of his sin. 356 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:05,720 Both are true. But look what James says. 357 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:11,320 Even if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 358 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:18,760 Even if his sickness is a result of his sin, he will be forgiven. 359 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:20,960 So I want you to consider what James is saying here. 360 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:25,760 Not only will he be physically healed, but they will also be 361 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:29,760 spiritually healed. James is reminding the church 362 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:33,560 that not only will this person rise from their sick bed, they 363 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,480 will also rise from their bed of sin. 364 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:43,000 The Lord will forgive him and we'll stop there. 365 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,400 With the exposition application of the text. 366 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:54,800 I have 7 exhortations. 7 exhortations #1 Prayer is a gift 367 00:23:55,520 --> 00:24:00,240 to be used as a first resort, not a last resort. 368 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:09,240 Prayer is a gift to be used as a first resort, not a last resort. 369 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,520 I'm old enough to remember when the Internet first came out. 370 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,040 We didn't have it in our home, but I could use it at the 371 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:21,720 library, I could use it at the school. 372 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:27,040 And I was blown away by it. I, I, I was fascinated with how 373 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:30,280 much information was, was on this, even if it was at dial up 374 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:31,960 speed and it was a dial up speed. 375 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:37,240 I was fascinated with this. Years later, I remember when 376 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:42,720 Google first came out. I remember the day it did before 377 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:43,520 this. You know, I don't know if you 378 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:45,040 guys remember when you used to search online. 379 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:46,960 It was so tedious to search online. 380 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,880 It was so cumbersome, you know, like you were the search 381 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:52,640 categories and stuff. And it was just like, oh man, it 382 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,600 just took so long. But I, and I remember when 383 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:58,240 Google first came out, I was like, now here is this central 384 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:03,000 place where you can search the whole Internet like at once. 385 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,840 And I was fascinated with the capabilities. 386 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:12,920 And most recently, when ChatGPT came out, I initially was 387 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,360 suspect. I was like, I'm not using it. 388 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,240 I didn't understand or believe the hype. 389 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,440 But then I started using it because my son started using it. 390 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,960 And when I started using it, I couldn't believe how powerful it 391 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,080 was. I couldn't believe how efficient 392 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:36,800 it was. I now rarely Google anything. 393 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:42,400 I use ChatGPT in Gemini for everything for online searching. 394 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:49,520 I I don't like Google and I broke up recently I've been 395 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:53,720 having some medical problems and so I got on ChatGPT and what 396 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:55,880 else am I going to do? I'm going to the doctor ChatGPT, 397 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:58,200 you know, So if you're a doctor, if you're in the medical field, 398 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:02,760 sorry. I got I got on ChatGPT and I've 399 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:06,000 researched what could it be, how to treat it. 400 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:09,840 This is how I looked up almost everything now. 401 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:14,320 Is there anything wrong with all of this? 402 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:21,040 Are there any downsides? Are there any cautions I should 403 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,200 be aware of? Are there any cautions you 404 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:33,920 should be aware of? Yes, yes, the more technology we 405 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:40,280 have, the more comprehensive it becomes, The faster it gives 406 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:44,200 information, the more accurate the results. 407 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:51,680 My fear is that prayer will become a last resort instead of 408 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:57,320 a first resort. You see, the temptation is to 409 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:03,400 take all of our problems and bring them to either social 410 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:09,560 media or AI or whatever the next technological advancement is 411 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:15,640 rather than going to God in prayer. 412 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:22,720 James asked the question, Is anyone among you suffering? 413 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:24,840 Did you notice what he doesn't say? 414 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:35,720 Ask ChatGPT how to alleviate your suffering or vent about 415 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:40,160 your suffering on social media and look for consolation. 416 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:50,120 What does he say to do? Let him pray. 417 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:54,920 Now I want to be clear, church family, my intent is not to 418 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:58,480 knock AI or knock on Google or knock on social media. 419 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:02,080 They are all gifts. I am wonderfully thankful for 420 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:03,440 these gifts. I am. 421 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,920 I just want to remind us that God has given us another gift 422 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:15,800 and this gift is His primary gift when we are suffering. 423 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:23,840 And it is the gift of prayer. Brothers and sisters, prayer is 424 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:29,120 a gift that is meant to be used as a first resort, not a last 425 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:32,680 resort. God does not attempt for us to 426 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:36,920 try to solve our suffering first and after everything else has 427 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:38,920 failed. We've tried this, we've tried 428 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:40,880 this, we tried this, we tried this. 429 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:47,040 Well, let me try prayer. Let me see if maybe God will fix 430 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:50,400 this for me. No, God has given us this gift 431 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:54,760 to be used as a first resort when I am suffering. 432 00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,840 When you are suffering, my first inclination should not be to 433 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:05,200 open my laptop or to put in the pin on my phone, but to get on 434 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:11,040 my knees. Is anyone among you suffering? 435 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:22,160 Let him pray #2 Suffering is God's dinner bell. 436 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,320 Suffering is God's dinner bell. You ever heard of something 437 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:30,280 called a dinner bell? How many here have never heard 438 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,720 the phrase dinner bell before? Quite a few. 439 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:36,640 Many of us who grew up in the inner city. 440 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:39,360 If you grew up in the inner city your whole lives, you may have 441 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:43,560 no idea what a dinner bell is. Years ago, on farms or ranches 442 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,200 or maybe even large households where people would be spread out 443 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:51,400 over this large household, there would be a literal bell that 444 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:54,920 someone would ring. It would let people know that 445 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:57,400 dinner was ready. So you might be out in the 446 00:29:57,400 --> 00:29:59,360 field. They would ring the bell, let 447 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,200 you know dinner is ready. When you heard this bell, you 448 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,040 knew. OK, now it's time to put my work 449 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,680 down, go wash up and get ready for supper. 450 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:12,120 The phrase has taken on an idiomatic meaning. 451 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:14,800 A dinner bell is any kind of call that summons people 452 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:16,000 together. Right? 453 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:26,920 Suffering is God's dinner bell. It's his means of summons. 454 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:33,360 One thing we have in common is that most of us, if not all of 455 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:41,240 us, are busy jobs. We work 8:00 to 5:00 or 6:50, 456 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:45,080 and because of technology, we bring our work home with us. 457 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:50,760 Marriages. Parenting, school assignments, 458 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:59,200 deadlines, chores, errands, church ministry, emails, text, 459 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,720 social media To Do List calendars. 460 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:05,200 I can't even look at my wife's calendar. 461 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:09,320 I get anxiety looking at it. There's so much in it. 462 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:19,520 I'm just I can't look at it. We have so much going on and we 463 00:31:19,520 --> 00:31:23,640 all know that often one of the first things to go when you are 464 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:27,760 in a season of busyness, often one of the very first things to 465 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:36,920 go is prayer. How does God get our attention? 466 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:44,400 How does God get us to lay down the proverbial rake and shovel 467 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:52,600 and come inside to his table? He rings a bell. 468 00:31:54,240 --> 00:32:02,120 A bell called suffering trials. Just as a dinner bell reminds us 469 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:07,720 it's time to eat, suffering reminds us it's time to pray. 470 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:23,160 I need to pray. 3.3 Sing in the shower, sing in the car, sing 471 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:29,680 your praises near and far. Sing in the shower, sing in the 472 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:33,560 car, sing your praises near and far. 473 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:38,400 Why does James give such a contrast here? 474 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:44,360 He asked, is anyone suffering? And then he asked, Is anyone 475 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:47,720 cheerful? That seems kind of odd, right? 476 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:49,800 It's such a contrast. If I ask, like, how many of you 477 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:51,640 here are suffering? You raise your hand. 478 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,040 And then I said, how many of you here are cheerful? 479 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:56,520 You'd be like my brother's suffering. 480 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:59,880 You know why? Why the contrast? 481 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:03,960 I think it's this. You see, I think suffering has a 482 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:09,920 way of redirecting us to God, but cheerfulness often has a way 483 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:15,480 of redirecting us away from God. We all know from experience that 484 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:19,560 when life is going well, it's all too easy to forget about 485 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,840 God, isn't it? Marriage is going well, 486 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:28,440 parenting is going well, church is going well, school is going 487 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:32,720 well, health is going well, my career is going well, the stock 488 00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:35,760 market is going well, and the temptation is to forget about 489 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:40,120 God. Now James is not saying don't be 490 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:44,520 cheerful, but James is exhorting the church that when you are in 491 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:48,400 seasons of cheerfulness, when you're in those seasons when it 492 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:53,240 may be like man, life's going well, don't forget the Lord, 493 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:58,400 sing praises to the Lord, John Calvin writes. 494 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:03,640 James means that there is no time in which God does not 495 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:09,600 invite us to Himself. When we are suffering, God 496 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,639 invites us to Himself through prayer. 497 00:34:13,159 --> 00:34:17,679 When we are cheerful, God invites us to himself through 498 00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:21,639 praises, through sinking, the psalmist writes. 499 00:34:21,639 --> 00:34:26,679 He puts a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God, 500 00:34:26,679 --> 00:34:32,440 Psalm 43. God puts joy into our hearts so 501 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:35,679 that it would overflow into songs of praise. 502 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:43,719 So brothers and sisters, sing in the shower, sing in the car, 503 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:57,400 sing your praises near and far. 4 If you ever need prayer, ask 504 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:03,480 the elders of the church to not just pray for you, but over you. 505 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:10,760 If you ever need prayer, ask the elders of the church to not just 506 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:18,280 pray for you, but over you. Most of you know that recently 507 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:22,840 we became a new church and part of the process of becoming a new 508 00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,200 church was thinking through all of our finances. 509 00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:28,880 That was a huge piece of it. One of the decisions in that 510 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:32,240 process was we talked about this in our last members meeting is 511 00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:36,040 how much do we need to keep in a contingency fund, right? 512 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:38,120 We have an operating fund and then we have a contingency fund. 513 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:40,200 Like how much do we need to keep in this contingency fund? 514 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:44,720 Part of the way that I was thinking through this is what 515 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:48,760 was the most we ever spent at any given time, right? 516 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:51,080 Like what was the biggest bill we ever had at one time where we 517 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:54,520 needed, you know, liquid assets to have access to, right? 518 00:35:55,240 --> 00:35:58,480 I don't know if this is accurate, but to my knowledge, 519 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:00,120 it was the awning that we have outside. 520 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:01,360 The awning we have in a parking lot. 521 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:02,960 To my knowledge, that was the largest expensive. 522 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,280 The total cost of everything was $40,000. 523 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:10,600 We built it during COVID. Why? 524 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:13,880 So that we could continue to meet in person outdoors. 525 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:17,400 We built this awning so we could continue to meet in person 526 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:19,880 outdoors. Now, I've asked myself this 527 00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:22,160 question many times. I ask it almost every time I see 528 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:22,880 the awning. Now. 529 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:24,920 Why did we spend that much money? 530 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:30,520 And I keep coming back to the same answer. 531 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:37,480 Because there is something unique and powerful about being 532 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:42,240 in person. There is something unique and 533 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:47,080 powerful about being in person. The awning allowed us to 534 00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:52,240 continue to meet in person even when it was 28° outside. 535 00:36:55,160 --> 00:37:01,000 There is something unique and powerful about being in person, 536 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:03,640 and I believe the same is true with prayer. 537 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:08,800 Now don't get me wrong, this is not to say that praying from a 538 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:12,440 distance is powerless. Paul prayed for the churches 539 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:16,240 while he was in chains. Frequently pray for the churches 540 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:19,800 while he was in chains. But what I find it is that James 541 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:24,840 asked, he says, is anyone sick? And he doesn't say tell the 542 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:28,400 elders to pray for you. He doesn't say that. 543 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:32,080 He says let him call for the elders of the church and let 544 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:38,960 them pray over him, not just for him, but over him. 545 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:43,320 Now this might means nothing more than this person was 546 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,440 confined to a bed, so they couldn't come to the assembly, 547 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:48,680 right? So the elders had to go to him 548 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:50,760 or her at their house and pray over him. 549 00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:53,760 It could mean that. It also could mean that the 550 00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:57,840 elders were called on to come and lay their hands on this sick 551 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,840 person, just as Jesus laid his hands on the children. 552 00:38:01,840 --> 00:38:04,920 Remember when Jesus prayed for the children, He laid his hands 553 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:06,520 on the children and prayed for them. 554 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:12,920 In addition, they are to anoint this man with oil. 555 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:16,880 You cannot anoint with oil from a distance. 556 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:23,560 Oil requires a physical presence. 557 00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:29,120 So I want to say to you, brothers and sisters, if you 558 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:34,600 ever need prayer, and not just for sickness but for anything, 559 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:41,280 don't hesitate to ask the elders of the church to come to your 560 00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:44,720 house or if you don't want us knowing where you live, meet at 561 00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:54,400 church and to pray over you. Acts 6 teaches us that one of 562 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:58,320 the primary jobs of an elder is to pray. 563 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:04,480 We should not neglect the ministry of the Word and prayer. 564 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:10,480 Our job is to pray. Please take advantage of that 565 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:21,320 five We are not promised physical healing, but we are in 566 00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:24,880 this life. But we are promised that God is 567 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:31,240 able and willing to heal. We are not promised physical 568 00:39:31,240 --> 00:39:36,320 healing in this life, but we are promised that God is able and 569 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:42,840 willing to heal. I grew up a denominational mutt. 570 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:50,640 We were Lutheran for a while, we were Baptist, we were Anglican, 571 00:39:50,640 --> 00:39:53,160 we were non denominational, we were Pentecostal. 572 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:57,400 I think my my parents objective was to like sample every 573 00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:03,000 denomination out there. While we were in charismatic 574 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:06,960 circles. I heard I have heard two wrong 575 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:12,600 teachings A. If God doesn't heal, it's 576 00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:14,480 because the person didn't have enough faith. 577 00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:19,200 If God doesn't heal, it's because the person didn't have 578 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:22,680 enough faith. And B, if you have enough faith, 579 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:27,960 we are promised healing. Both of those are wrong. 580 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:30,520 We don't have time to get into that. 581 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:32,680 But both of those are wrong. But here's the thing. 582 00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:35,680 I can see how people get there, right? 583 00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:38,600 Even if you believe something's wrong, it's so important that 584 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:40,160 you understand how did you get there? 585 00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:44,720 And I can see how they got there because statements like verse 15 586 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:47,360 seem to reinforce this idea. Don't, doesn't it? 587 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:52,360 James says. And the prayer of faith will, 588 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:58,800 will save the one who was sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 589 00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:04,960 So how do we deal with this? I think with the way I build 590 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:06,840 this, what I said in the exposition, Timothy, 591 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:12,080 apaphroditis and tropomas were all sick and Paul mentions 592 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:15,600 nothing about them being healed because of prayer. 593 00:41:16,240 --> 00:41:20,200 In fact, he actually tells Timothy, Timothy use some wine 594 00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:25,440 for your stomach ailments. Why does he need to use wine if 595 00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:32,800 he can just pray and be healed? We are not promised physical 596 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:37,320 healing in this life. But then the question still 597 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:40,640 remains, what is verse 15 promising us then? 598 00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:43,120 Because it's promising us something. 599 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:47,600 What is it promising us? It's promising us this, A that 600 00:41:47,600 --> 00:41:52,480 God is able to heal and B that God is willing to heal. 601 00:41:52,520 --> 00:41:54,280 Now let me unpack those very briefly. 602 00:41:54,880 --> 00:42:00,080 A God is able to heal. God does not need any special 603 00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:02,320 medicine. He doesn't need to consult the 604 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:06,360 the medical Academy. He doesn't need time to work its 605 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:11,960 magic. All God needs to heal is the 606 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:16,560 prayer of faith. That is sufficient. 607 00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:20,240 God is able to take care of the rest. 608 00:42:20,240 --> 00:42:21,960 God. God is powerful enough. 609 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:25,960 He's always able to heal. I don't care what the diagnosis 610 00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:33,520 is, He is able to heal it. And B, God is willing to heal. 611 00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:35,560 Now this one's trickier. Here's where it gets tricky. 612 00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:38,840 When I say God is willing to heal, here's what we have to 613 00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:43,800 remember. God's willingness does not mean 614 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:51,480 that He always wills it. God's willingness does not mean 615 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:57,680 that He always wills it. Sometimes God's will is to not 616 00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:02,880 heal in this life for a greater purpose and a greater glory. 617 00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:12,320 Verse 15 is teaching us that should God will healing? 618 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:19,120 Should God ordained that healing happen, the prayer of faith will 619 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:24,080 heal the one who was sick, and the Lord will raise him up. 620 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:31,080 If God wills it, he will do it. The prayer will be effective, 621 00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:36,520 and they will be healed. Number 6.6. 622 00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:44,960 Not all sickness is the Lord's discipline for sin, but some is 623 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:49,280 ask what He might be teaching us through it. 624 00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:56,360 Not all sickness is the Lord's discipline for sin, but some is 625 00:43:57,400 --> 00:44:00,880 ask what he might be teaching us through it. 626 00:44:03,840 --> 00:44:08,280 The worst sickness I've ever experienced was norovirus. 627 00:44:09,240 --> 00:44:12,040 I I recognize some of you have had much worse sickness or much 628 00:44:13,240 --> 00:44:15,560 worst ailments, so I'm not trying to, you know, complain 629 00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:17,960 about in the grand scheme of things it's not that bad. 630 00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:21,360 But that was the worst sickness for me was norovirus. 631 00:44:22,360 --> 00:44:26,600 It was the only time I missed church in the past 15 years. 632 00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:29,720 For sickness. I usually get sick around 2 * a 633 00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:32,640 year, on average 2 * a year. I've been here for 15 years, so 634 00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:35,880 that's been 30 times on average. I've been sick 30 times over the 635 00:44:35,880 --> 00:44:40,200 past 15 years, give or take 29 out of the 30. 636 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:43,880 I have pushed through it and come to church and I shared with 637 00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:52,880 all of you but the one time I couldn't do it is when I got 638 00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:57,000 norovirus and the reason is is I couldn't leave the bathroom. 639 00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:02,480 I had to not exaggerating when I say this, my wife can can can 640 00:45:02,480 --> 00:45:04,840 vouch for this. I had to use the bathroom some 641 00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:11,000 60 to for a 48 hour period that's how bad it was. 642 00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:13,720 I remember thinking when I was right in the middle of it like 643 00:45:14,720 --> 00:45:21,560 or did I do something wrong? I was so discouraged, I was in 644 00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:25,880 so much pain that I genuinely wondered is this punishment for 645 00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:29,440 some sin of mine? Like what did I do wrong? 646 00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:37,160 I'm sorry, this is not uncommon thought when sickness hits US, 647 00:45:37,160 --> 00:45:38,360 is it? Isn't it? 648 00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:44,360 Especially if we get sick in an unusual way or if it's severe 649 00:45:44,360 --> 00:45:47,880 sickness? You get cancer at a young age, 650 00:45:49,960 --> 00:45:52,280 or worse if your child gets cancer. 651 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:59,880 One thing we know from Scripture is that not all sickness is the 652 00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:01,840 Lord's discipline for sin. We know that. 653 00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:09,400 But we do know that some of it is Job, the blind man and John, 654 00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:13,920 9 Paul Thorne, Opaphroditis, Timothy Trophonis, they were all 655 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:16,800 sick for no sin of their own, as far as we know. 656 00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:21,480 But Miriam, Uzziah, some of the Corinthian church, and perhaps 657 00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:26,720 the paralytic man were sick or disabled for their sin. 658 00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:31,280 So where does that leave us the next time we're sick? 659 00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:34,960 Or if you are experiencing sickness right now, where does 660 00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:38,840 that leave us? Something I have always 661 00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:43,320 considered in my sickness and I want to recommend to you for 662 00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:49,600 your consideration. Ask the Lord what He might be 663 00:46:49,600 --> 00:47:01,560 teaching us in this trial. Ask what He might be teaching #7 664 00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:06,160 Last point. Just as there is no physical 665 00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:10,480 illness, the Lord can't heal. There is no spiritual illness 666 00:47:10,480 --> 00:47:14,760 the Lord can't heal. Just as there is no physical 667 00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:17,640 illness the Lord can't heal. There is no spiritual illness 668 00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:20,600 the Lord can't heal. Remember when the four friends 669 00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:23,240 brought the their paralyzed friend to Jesus? 670 00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:26,640 Brought paralytic to Jesus. And where they, they, they, they 671 00:47:26,640 --> 00:47:29,440 carry them on this like cot, this makeshift cot, if you will. 672 00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:31,680 And they, they try to go through the door, but they can't get 673 00:47:31,680 --> 00:47:33,880 into the door because all the religious leaders are taking up 674 00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:38,280 all the space and, and, and they could just go home and be like, 675 00:47:38,280 --> 00:47:41,600 well, sorry, we tried, you know, my friend, we tried, we couldn't 676 00:47:41,600 --> 00:47:43,040 get in. But rather than give up and go 677 00:47:43,040 --> 00:47:45,240 home, what do they do? They improvised, they 678 00:47:45,240 --> 00:47:48,400 improvised, they climb on this man's roof and they start taking 679 00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:50,560 this homeowner's roof apart. I don't know if that invalidated 680 00:47:50,560 --> 00:47:53,400 his homeowner's insurance or not, but they started taking his 681 00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:57,560 roof apart. They then lowered their friend 682 00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:01,320 down through the roof, right in the front of Jesus. 683 00:48:03,200 --> 00:48:06,920 And what did Jesus do? Did he heal him? 684 00:48:09,200 --> 00:48:13,400 He didn't. He didn't. 685 00:48:16,040 --> 00:48:20,480 He said to him, Son, your sins are forgiven. 686 00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:26,720 Now we are given every indication that perhaps that may 687 00:48:26,720 --> 00:48:32,880 have been left at that. We assume that Jesus healed 688 00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:34,880 everybody that came to him. Maybe he did and maybe he 689 00:48:34,880 --> 00:48:38,280 didn't. But Jesus just says, Son, your 690 00:48:38,280 --> 00:48:41,000 sins are forgiven. That's it. 691 00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:44,280 Can you imagine the look on the man's face? 692 00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:48,880 Can you imagine the look on the friend's face? 693 00:48:49,240 --> 00:48:53,400 We brought our friend to you to heal him of his paralysis, and 694 00:48:53,400 --> 00:48:56,280 all you can say to him is your sins are forgiven. 695 00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:04,760 You see, Jesus took care of his true sickness, his spiritual 696 00:49:04,760 --> 00:49:10,120 paralysis. Jesus took care of his true 697 00:49:10,120 --> 00:49:12,400 sickness, his spiritual paralysis. 698 00:49:12,640 --> 00:49:17,440 It was only after the Pharisees challenged him that he decided 699 00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:21,840 to heal him to prove he had authority to forgive sins. 700 00:49:25,880 --> 00:49:30,520 What the miracles and the gospel show us is that there is no 701 00:49:30,720 --> 00:49:37,640 physical illness the Lord can't heal, and there is no spiritual 702 00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:44,120 illness the Lord can't heal. You can be as spiritually dead 703 00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:49,280 as Lazarus dead body in a tomb for four days, and the Lord can 704 00:49:49,320 --> 00:49:53,680 raise you from the dead. You can have a leprous heart and 705 00:49:53,680 --> 00:49:57,360 one touched by the Savior, and you will be made clean. 706 00:49:57,560 --> 00:50:01,600 You can be blind to the beauty of Jesus Christ, crucified and 707 00:50:01,600 --> 00:50:05,600 risen from the dead, but one washing of the mud away from 708 00:50:05,600 --> 00:50:09,440 your eyes and you will see the beauty of the gospel. 709 00:50:10,680 --> 00:50:15,560 Our one true problem in this life is not that we have 710 00:50:15,560 --> 00:50:18,280 sickness that we need to be healed from. 711 00:50:19,880 --> 00:50:24,040 It is that we have sins that we need to be forgiven from. 712 00:50:27,960 --> 00:50:31,280 And God promises to forgive all of them. 713 00:50:34,760 --> 00:50:43,280 Brothers and sisters, we are promised healing, it's just a 714 00:50:43,280 --> 00:50:51,800 matter of time. We are promised healing, it's 715 00:50:51,800 --> 00:50:57,120 just a matter of time. Let's pray.