So last. Week we talked.
About letting go of our hoarding and being open to letting God.
Use whatever we. Have our time.
Our money, our. Resources for his Kingdom.
What we've been given in this life, we want to use it for
something greater than just our own selves than.
Just our own. Lives and everything we do with
this mindset will push the Kingdom forward, right?
And this should give us a more hopeful outlook on life.
The Kingdom is coming, God is in control.
We are being redeemed and changed more and more.
Every day that's. Good news and life is good.
But I think. There are moments that we hit in
this world where life does not. Feel that way?
It almost. Feels like the.
King, the message. Of God's Kingdom is out of touch
with reality. It's.
Too idealistic. It's too hopeful in a world that
can get. Really dark and.
Bleak. I remember one of our previous.
Church members being completely distraught after.
She started working. At homeless shelters.
No matter how much she. Listened to these people's
stories? Try to provide emotional support
and comfort. No matter how many plates of
food she would serve. Offered prayer for the.
Broken the. Knees were too great, the
addictions were too deep and there were far too many people.
To reach and there were more and more every.
Single day coming. In and she.
Started to give in to despair. It was.
Such a confusing time for. Her because she prayed her heart
was. Open and vulnerable to love and
give. To other people.
But she was. Constantly confronted.
With this ugly. Reality that the.
World felt. Hopelessly broken.
And any efforts? She made seem to make little
progress so our. Passage today speaks.
To this in moments where we feel.
Like. What we do isn't even making a
dent in moments where. We feel like.
The Kingdom is coming and. There's this.
Positive gospel message. And yet it's contrasted by this
immense. Darkness and brokenness in our
world. So let's let's read this today.
Let's go to verses 7 to 12, James chapter 5 and see what
James tells us. So after verses one to six have
been read, James moves on to verse 7 therefore.
Brothers and sisters. After hearing about.
How unjust the world is, how on
the unrighteous are are in control and they're they're
doing all these things on the earth and God will judge them
for it. It says therefore brothers and
sisters. Be.
Patient until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the
precious fruit of the earth and is patient until it receives the
early and late rains. You also must be patient.
Strengthen your hearts because the Lord's coming is near.
Brothers and sisters. Do not complain about one
another so that you will not be judged.
Look, the judge stands at the door, brothers.
And, sisters, take the prophets who spoke.
In the Lord's name, as an example of suffering and
patience, see, we count as blessed.
Those who have endured you have heard of Job's endurance and
have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about.
The Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Above all, brothers and sisters, do not.
Swear either by heaven or by earth, or with.
Any other oath? But let your yes mean yes and
your no mean no so that you won't fall under judgment.
So with this what James has said, if there are any of us
that have felt this disconnect between God's word being good
and the world being broken and lost, if there are any of us
that have been confused. By this.
Disconnect. Let's pray that this word can
open our eyes to, OK, what are we seeing here?
What's actually happening? What's going on in the Kingdom
while we see this on earth? So my question for today is how
can we stay grounded when brokenness in our life feels
hopeless? How do?
We stay grounded when brokenness in our life feels hopeless.
And I want to focus on this verse here, this phrase in verse
8, it says you must also be patient, strengthen your hearts
because the Lord's coming is near.
So my first point is, how can we stay grounded when we.
Strengthen. Ourselves by focusing on Jesus's
return. SO chapter. 5/1 through. 6
paints the bleak picture, even if.
Christians choose to live. Differently the.
Rich will oppress the. Poor, the unrighteous and the
unjust will hold. Power and we can get.
Overwhelmed with this sense that the world is not the way it
should be You. Spend time in the world here and
it won't be long. Before we recognize that it's
depressingly difficult to take a look at all the horrible things
that are happening. Right hearts.
Are sinful nations are crooked? I've said this before, but we.
Passed. Laws and regulations and we have
a history of. Loopholes and murders.
We create a justice. System and there's still
corruption and abuse. Of.
Power. We create law enforcement and
now we have protests over racist police violence.
We create weapons to protect ourselves and then people use
them for school shootings. We build charities and funds
and, and try to get donations out and these donations get
mismanaged or stolen at checkpoints by authorities.
It's like, what? What are we supposed to do now?
Are there things in this life that we should be praying for
God to change? Absolutely are there.
People in this life that God can redeem.
Absolutely. But just like this church member
that. Went to this.
Homeless shelter sometimes the positive.
Message. Of the Gospel.
Feels almost out of touch. With what's going on around us.
And maybe you've been trying to live by your convictions and
make a difference in the world and donate parts of your income
for good causes and charities. You're trying to live
differently at at work and and follow a different path.
But there are some days you just sit and you think to yourself,
man, are we? Even Are we even making a dent?
Are we even making a difference? And sometimes.
You're at work and you're, it feels like you're trying to swim
upstream, trying to live a life of integrity and faithfulness,
but no one in your workplace cares about that at all.
And they'll, they'll actually take advantage of your value.
They use that to get ahead or bury you.
You are trying to live Kingdom mindedly.
You are trying to be faithful in a world that does not.
Care. Or maybe that brokenness and
that sinfulness that you're dealing with it, it's not even
out there. It's the weight of something
that you've been carrying. Personally, emotionally,
physically. You are struggling with trauma
in your past that feels partially healed, but every once
in a while you have a bad episode.
And it feels suffocating. Just to be alive.
And you question. Am I ever going to get?
Rid of this. Will I ever be free?
You're dealing with major character flaws in your family
and you wonder if they'll ever be self aware or repentant for
what they've done. You get discouraged because
you're fighting with chronic pain in your body every day and
you long for just one hour, one second of just.
Being without it. And maybe you can create some
change, take some medicine, get counseling, fix a few things
here or there. But it can feel like you're
putting a Band-Aid on a bleeding artery and there is little you
can do, it feels like, to stem the tide of so much hurt and so
much pain and so much brokenness.
And in light of all this, James is telling us in verse. 7:00 to
8:00. Strengthen.
Your hearts hope. Is coming.
The Lord's coming is near. Now, patience is a big part of
this and and I'll get into that in the next point, but I want to
focus on this phrase here. Strengthen your.
Hearts with the. Lord's coming.
When Christians are. Faced with a.
Broken and unjust. World their hearts.
Are meant to be comforted. With Jesus's return.
And in moments. Where?
We feel that. Way this is what we.
Are to remember. We are not God and we are not
expected. To save the.
World Jesus is God had to come. We are not capable of rescuing
everyone or everything. There is a.
Humility in recognizing we are not the Savior and no matter how
much good we try to do, there comes a point where we just have
to point upward. And say hope is there, he's
coming. Jesus had to come down to make
that possible, and then he's going to come back to finish the
job. I went through a YouTube phase a
while ago where I. Couldn't stop watching.
Videos of. Colorblind people getting these.
Glasses that fix their. Color blindness.
I don't know if you guys know about this, but there's
something in these lenses. That will adjust your eyes and
all. Of a.
Sudden they can. See the colors they've never
been able to see? So when they, so there's this.
One instance. That sticks in my.
Memory and these. Kids get their.
Colorblind dad these. Glasses as a.
Surprise and they. Take him to a sunset and the
kids are going, wow, just look at that.
That's beautiful, isn't it? Is it's just beautiful.
And then the phone pans over to the dad, and the dad's like
looking at everyone, and he's just like, yeah, cool, great.
Can't see anything and then the kids give him the glasses right
there. And he he just go, what's this?
Try them on? And he puts it on for like one
second. He immediately takes it off and
just starts crying. He he can't hold it together and
it takes a minute before he can put them on again and then look
again and and see it. Something that this?
Man has been living his whole life without something he's been
longing to see. His whole life.
Is suddenly tangible. It's real.
And I think this resonates with me so.
Deeply, because that's what it will be.
Like when Jesus comes back one day.
For all of us, we know that the world is not the way it should
be. We know something is missing, we
know something is broken, we know something is better and
beautiful and good and it's out there.
We just don't know how to make it.
Happen or how to get there but when?
Jesus. Returns.
It'll be like getting these glasses, putting them on, and
everything that we feel like we've been missing or longing
for is there. We understand it now.
Everything that's been broken gets put in place, everything
that we feel like we've been missing is suddenly all the
questions we've had for God are. Suddenly answered, so I hope.
Church. The next.
Time we feel overwhelmed by the brokenness and the.
Pain that we. See, we are meant to strengthen.
Ourselves with this hope. Jesus's second coming doesn't
just. Answer our.
Questions. Everything.
That we've gone through Will. Actually just make sense.
He's going to redeem it all. He's going to make it right.
But in order for. Any of this?
To make sense. Now or for.
Any of us to feel this? Strength that's meant to come
from that hope. We need a key ingredient.
There is something. That we need.
In order to strengthen our hearts with this if we don't
have. This one thing.
This life. Will be very.
Difficult to walk. Through and James has written it
all over this passage and in some places all over this book.
How can we stay? Grounded when brokenness in our
life feels hopeless by. Cultivating patience.
In our life by cultivating patience.
In our life and just verses 7 to. 8 James says the word.
Patience three times. You cannot strengthen your
heart. In the Lord if.
You do not. Cultivate this.
Aspect and in verse 7, James. Uses the example of a farmer
like a farmer. Waits for rain.
Like a farmer waits for his. Crops to grow.
There are some things in life you cannot.
Force there are. Some things in your life you
cannot rush the. Only thing left.
To do at this. Point.
Is to. Patiently wait.
Rain will come. The crops will grow.
But in this moment. There is nothing more you can
do. You can.
Only be patient. And then he starts to.
Unpack examples of what this. Patient might.
Patients might look like in versus. 9:00 to 12:00.
It's. Almost like a.
Litmus test. For whether?
Or not you. Have this patience.
Do you know if you're? Living your life this way, do
you know? If you're cultivating patience
in your life, then. Look at verse. 9:00 to 12:00.
He's saying here, brothers and sisters, do not complain.
About one another so that you will not.
Be judged. Look, the judge stands at the
door. Brothers and sisters, take the
prophets who spoke in the Lord. 'S name.
As an example of suffering in patients, see as we count as
blessed those who. Have endured.
You have heard your of job's endurance.
And have seen. The outcome that the.
Lord brought about. The Lord is.
Compassionate and merciful. Above all, my brothers and
sisters, do not swear either by heaven or by.
Earth or any other oath? But let your yes mean yes and
your no mean no so that you won't fall under.
Judgment James is. Essentially saying.
Here. If we do not strengthen.
Ourselves. If we don't.
Harden our resolve if we don't. Steal ourselves with patience
through hardship and suffering. You're going to start to see
these. Symptoms leak out of your life.
Verse 9. You're going to start to
complain. About other people and focus on
judging other people's faults. Instead of patiently showing
grace instead of. Showing grace to other people,
the same grace that. You want God to show to you.
And verse 12, you're going to start to be tempted to stop
being true to your. Word to stop.
Living with integrity. Because your workplace.
Sure doesn't value it because your boss seems to reward.
People that that. Leave behind moral character and
chase profit or be a winner in society.
Then there's the. The if that's what we're going.
Through if this is what we're. Facing then.
There is a. Need to cultivate patience a
patience. That actually.
Might even make. Your life more.
Difficult in the short. Run.
And you might. Suffer consequences for choosing
to do things God's way instead of this other way.
But like. Like a farmer.
Who's waiting? For his.
Crop to grow. Like verse 11?
Job who suffered? But was later shown compassion
and mercy from God. This patience bears fruit.
Strengthen your resolve. Hold to the truth.
Hold on to what you know is good, even if it feels like.
No one else. Cares.
Even if it. Feels like no one else sees.
God recognizes you. He sees you.
And he will have compassion and show mercy, I think.
This is something that's that's. Very difficult to cultivate in
our society today. Our society.
Does not value. Patients at all?
What our Society of values is. Efficiency.
Streamlining everything, speeding up everything.
It it. And to some degree, it makes.
Sense that's fair. Good customer.
Service is, isn't. Probably.
Something that should take very long.
Right, you should probably get what you want.
Very quickly so. 2 day shipping tops.
You. Get you want, you know you want
your coffee when you right when you come in so you can get out.
It doesn't buy it ahead of time on the app.
You can stream your movie at at home.
Don't go to. The theater.
Want to watch? You don't want to watch a whole
movie? Don't worry, YouTube's got like
10 minute like summaries. You could just watch this thing
with an AI voice over and be like.
A man goes. To a store and like, you know
what I'm saying? Like it's just there's these
ways to rush through. Everything and go through life.
You don't want to deal holistically with this employee
and their whole life. Hire fast, fire fast, right?
It's like we are. Just go, go, go and.
What's become increasingly evident in our society is that
patience is not. A virtue, impatience and rushing
results is praised. The only people we encourage
with patience. These days.
Are our children and everyone else in society?
Rushes, but James is telling us. Dial it back, guys.
Be patient. Slow.
Down it will come. It will happen.
It's just going to take a little more time.
The last time I was. Up here I I talked about.
Catechisms I was going through with my son and one of them.
That's helped. With my son Eli, when I get
angry is it's a simple calm response based on James 119
where James says be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow
to anger. So whenever I get mad, Eli will
ask me dad. What does God want you to?
Do right now and I need to respond.
Slow down, breathe and love you. Slow down, breathe and love you.
Sometimes I I just need that phrase to help me remember.
He's 5, he's 5. What am I doing?
Why am I so mad sometimes I. I need to.
Remember that what he's doing right now is not what he's going
to be doing later on. I need to remember that I don't
have to fix everything he does wrong right now.
He's going to get there. It's going to be fine, and I
think most of us forget that about our.
Relationships and our. Spirituality.
I think we we. Tend to get most angry and most.
Frustrated and most. Anxious when we are the most
rushed, huh? Yeah.
Like when we feel. Most pressed for time.
We're just like. Get get off the get in the car
like we're going to church. Hurry up, we're late.
You know, like even just getting.
Here often times. Having the right response
doesn't come down to just fixing that thing in the moment or
correcting that response. From my dad that I don't like
or. Fixing this and that it, it's
just sometimes it's just letting things be the way they are right
now and. Knowing that it's going to work
out eventually. And James is right to point out
when we are the most impatient, verse 9, we're going to think
everyone else is the problem. Man, if that.
Guy would just listen if if he would just.
He needs to stop doing this. She's got a but in reality.
I'm impatient, we're impatient, we're impatient.
And it. Hurts.
It hurts. My kids feelings, we're
impatient and it hurts. My family, we're impatient and
it. Hurts our.
Friendship. We're impatient and it hurt this
church or that small group and. People are broken.
The world is broken. And I'm angry.
Or I'm. Discouraged not because things
are hopeless. But because I'm impatient.
You see, I think we have an impatience problem in our life
because patients can feel like we're not dealing with the
problem right now. Patients can feel like a vice.
Patients can feel like laziness or procrastination.
We're just putting off this problem until until down the
road we got to deal with it again.
So let's let's do it now. But that's.
Not what patience is. That's not what patience is
meant to be. Here's my working definition of
patience. Patience is accepting.
The present as it is and trusting that over time.
God will bring change. Patience is.
Accepting the present. As it is.
And trusting over time. God will faithfully.
Bring change. You let things be the way they
are now. With the.
Confidence that in time, eventually but surely God will
change things. Is there anything in your life
that you've been anxious about? Frustrated with?
You're on edge. Because you're just.
Rushing, you're just. Going because for.
Some reason the pace of your life or the.
Pace of your work or the? Society around you.
Has LED you to believe that. You need to get things fixed,
done, packaged, ready to go right now rather than remember
there are just some things in life.
That take time. Relationships take time.
Parenting takes time. Loving people takes time.
Forgiveness takes time. Building community takes time.
Being changed by the Holy Spirit takes time.
These are things that will come. Eventually, but you're.
Running through life like a farmer yelling at the.
Ground because the. Plants aren't growing fast.
Enough for you complaining that the.
Rain won't fall faster. It's going to happen.
And maybe what you need to do
right now isn't start this next thing, start this project, push
this relationship. Do do do.
Faster, faster rush rush. Maybe God is calling you back.
To a season of patience. Are we cultivating this in our
life? We have this promise in the
gospel message. Change will come.
What's? Broken will be mended, what's
lost will be found. And when Jesus comes back?
All of it. Everything changes.
It's going to be like it was in Genesis.
God made it. It was good.
So the next time we feel overwhelmed by the brokenness of
the world, The next time we feel rushed to fix everything now.
The next time we're frustrated or angry with someone or
something. We need to be.
Strengthened with this. Thought the.
Lord has not stopped working. Amen.
He will make things right. Our job right now?
Is to be. Faithful and wait patiently.
So can we say this? I want to try something
different with our with the main point today I want.
I want to actually. Say it together.
As something that we vow to do as.
Something that we commit ourselves to doing.
So can we? Do this together.
I'm going to say. How can we stay grounded?
Can we put up the main point? How can we stay grounded when
brokenness in our life? Feels hopeless.
Let's say it together, when the brokenness of this world feels.
Overwhelming. We will.
Strengthen ourselves by. Patiently hoping in Jesus's
return. Amen.
Let's pray. I think this Advent season is.
So. Well timed with this message,
Advent is a time where we. We.
There's nothing more to do.
Except wait. For the coming Savior, right?
And I think maybe some of you in your life, you've been, you've
been feeling rushed, you've been setting this breakneck pace, but
maybe God is calling you to slow down and be patient.
Things will come with time. You cannot rush this.
Let's pray.