Prayer for the Sick (James 5:14-16)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                                        Date:  11-18-03

 

My Worship Time      Focus:  Prayer for the Sick

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  James 5:14-16

 

            1.  Message of the verses:  “14  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15  and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, 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 prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. (NASB)  “14  Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.  15  And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.  16  Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.”  (NLT)

 

Prayer for the Sick

Dr. Wiersbe gives a different view on this passage than I have ever read about it before, but I do believe that his view does make sense when you look at it.  I believe that there have been many times that this portion of Scripture has been taken out of the context in which James intended it to be.  It is good to remember that we cannot and must not demand things of God when we do not know what His will for us is.  A friend of mine told me very early in my Christian life that God heals you every time except the last time, and when you think about that it has a lot of truth in it. 

 

What are the special characteristics of this case that James is describing?

1. The person is sick because of sin (15b-16).  “If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.  16  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”  (NIV)  Dr. Wiersbe tells us that the Greek reads as follows “if he has been constantly sinning.”  This is the reason that he believes that the person is sick, because of sinning constantly and cites 1Corthian 11:30 as a parallel passage.  “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.”  Now as we continue to follow how Dr. Wiersbe explains this passage we see that this person was sick because of sin and is being disciplined by the Church, and now he has realized his error and is calling upon the elders of the Church so he can confess his sin. 
2. The person confesses his sins (5:16).  “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”  In the NIV and the NASB translations the word “therefore” is used, but not in the AV.  Also the NIV uses the word sin instead of fault, which is used in the AV.  Dr. Wiersbe says that the same Greek word is used in verse 16 for sin as in James 1:15, however when I looked it up on my Online Bible these were two different words so I do not understand how he came up with that.
3. The person is healed by the prayer of faith (5:15).  “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”  It is the Lord who heals the person through prayer and not the anointing.  I have read several peoples commentary on this verse and they say that the oil was used as a medicine.  “This may be an indication that James suggests using available means for healing along with asking the Lord for His divine touch. God can heal with or without means; in each case, it is God who does the healing.”  

The question is asked what is the prayer of faith that will heal the sick?  Someone read 1John 5:14,15.  “The “prayer of faith” is a prayer offered when you know the will of God. The elders would seek the mind of God in the matter, and then pray according to His will.”  As we look at the verse from 1John we can see that if we pray for something that is in the Lord’s will He will hear us.  But is it always God’s will that someone should be healed?  Of course the answer to that question is no, it is not always the Lord’s will for someone to be healed.  I will ask you to answer why it is not always the Lord’s will for us to be healed?  Dr. Wiersbe goes on to say this, “But where we have the inner conviction from the Word and the Spirit that it is God’s will to heal, then we can pray “the prayer of faith” and expect God to work.” 

Dr. Wiersbe lists some practical lessons we can learn from this section.  1.  By disobeying God it can lead to sin.  2.  Sin has an affect on the entire church.  3.  There is both physical and spiritual healing when sin is dealt with.  Keep a short list with God. 

Another practical application that can be learned from this lesson is found at the top of page 170 where it says, “We confess our sins first of all to the Lord (1 John 1:9), but we must also confess them to those who have been affected by them. We must never confess sin beyond the circle of that sin’s influence. Private sin requires private confession; public sin requires public confession. It is wrong for Christians to “hang dirty wash in public,” for such “confessing” might do more harm than the original sin.”

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer for the Suffering (James 5:13)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                            Date:  11-17-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Prayer for the Suffering (5:13)

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  James 5:13

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.”  (NASB)  “Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord.”  (NLT)

      We move into the last chapter of “Be Mature,” and thus the last verses in the book of James.  Dr. Wiersbe entitles this chapter “Let Us Pray.”  As stated over many times in these lessons on James, he uses the reference of the tongue or speaking in many of the verses he has written. The tongue can be used for good things and for things that are not pleasing to the Lord, so when we use the tongue to pray we will be using it for something honoring to the Lord.  “Seven times in this section James mentioned prayer. The mature Christian is prayerful in the troubles of life. Instead of complaining about his situation, he talks to God about it; and God hears and answers his prayers. “Taking it to the Lord in prayer” is certainly a mark of spiritual maturity.

“In this section, James encourages us to pray by describing four situations in which God answers prayer.”

I.  Pray for the Suffering (5:13).

      “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.”  (NIV)  “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.”  (AV)

What kinds of troubles do you think that James is referring to in this verse?  It seems that James is referring to the kinds of troubles that come our way that are not caused by sin, things we think of when we think of Job, or Paul, or even the Lord Jesus Christ.

What should we do and not do when we find ourselves in these types of situations?  We should go to the Throne and not to the phone.  I think that Paul gives good advice to the Thessalonian believers that we can look at too concerning the answer to this question.  “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances.  But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”  James 1:5 gives good advise too.  “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” 

Let’s look at some verses that speak to us about prayer and some of the answers to those prayers that were prayed. 

2Corthians 12:7-10 is the story of Paul after he was transported into heaven and how God answered his prayer.  (Read the passage).  James 4:6 gives the same answer, “But he giveth more grace.”  How did God the Father answer Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane?  God gave his the strength He needed for what He sent Him to earth to accomplish, and Jesus accomplished it.

James has told us in this verse (James 5:13), that those of us who are merry are to sing psalms.  There are many times when we go through trouble that God will bring others into our lives to bring us joy when we are troubled, and this shows us that not everyone is going through trouble at the same time.  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”  This verse in Colossians shows us that we can even sing when we are going through troubles, and now here are a couple of examples:  “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”  “When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” 

Praying and singing do go together and music has always been used in the worship of the Lord.  The book of Psalms is a book that was sung unto the Lord and music today is still an important part of our worship to the Lord. 

 

2.      Spiritual meaning for my life today: As my walk closer to the Lord and begin to know Him better then I would hope that when troubles come that I would pray first about it because I will realize even more that God is in control of everything and that He will not do anything or allow anything to come into my life that is not for my good or for His glory.

 

The Word of God was refreshing to my heart as I read it this morning, and it also presented some challenges to me.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Continue to pray that God will cause me to “press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” 

 

Memory verse for the week:  Philippians 3:12b

I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

           

 

The Patience of Job (James 5:11)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                            Date:  11-13-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  The Patience of Job

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  James 5:11

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “11 Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”  (NASB)  “11 We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. Job is an example of a man who endured patiently. From his experience we see how the Lord’s plan finally ended in good, for he is full of tenderness and mercy.”  (NLT)

A.     Blessings Through Endurance.  James says here in verse 11 that “we consider blessed those who have persevered.”  This tells us that in order for us to receive God’s blessings we will go through trials and we will endure through them.

B.     God’s Balance for our lives.  In order for us to be able to get close to the Lord, to be lifted up into the heavens as this young man prayed, we may have to receive a thorn in the flesh like Paul did so that God will balance privileges with responsibilities, blessings with burdens, or else we could become spoiled children of God.

C.     Blessings come after endurance.  This is what James cites in verse 11 and he uses the example of Job to prove it.

D.    The outline of the book of Job. 

1.      Job’s distress:  Chapters 1-3.

2.      Job’s defense:  Chapters 4-31.

3.      Jobs deliverance:  Chapters 38-42  (Dr. Wiersbe does not include chapters 32-37 in the outline he gives.

E.     The innocence of Job.  Job did not know the drama that was going on in heaven between God and Satan that affected Job and his trial.  Job maintained his innocence to his friends and even to his wife as this trial was going on in his life.  It is also important to remember that Job never maintained that he was perfect.  Job was correct in stating that he was innocence, and God told his friends this at the end of the book.  Job 42:7 “After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.’”

F.      The things against Job and the silence of God as Job went through this trial.  There were circumstances against him, for he lost all of his wealth, and his health.  He lost his children, and his wife turned against him along with his three friends, and then another man too.  It seemed that God was silent throughout his trial until the end, and I am sure that this bothered Job.

G.    Throughout this Job endured the trial.  He did not forsake his faith as evidenced in Job 13:15, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.”  Job did not understand all that God was doing in this trial, but he did have confidence of God’s perfection, and this is why he wished to argue with Him.

H.    Wrong interpretation of God’s Word by Israel and others which is proved by the book of Job and by Jesus’ teaching.  In the law of God, from the book of Deuteronomy, God told Israel if you do this or that I will bless you, but if you do not do this or that I will bring cursed upon you.  Now out of this came some wrong thinking that taught that if you are wealthy God is showing His blessings upon you and if you are poor He is showing His curses upon you.  Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 19:23-26 and surprised His disciples when He spoke about how hard it was for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.  The book of Job also shows that this teaching was wrong, for Job who was a righteous man certainly suffered, for God did not find evil in Him that would cause Him to judge Job.  “Job teaches us that God has higher purposes in suffering than the punishing of sin.  Job’s experience paved the way for Jesus, the perfect Son of God who suffered, not for His own sins, but for the sins of the world.”  (From “Be Mature”)

I.       The end purpose of the Lord in Job’s trial.  Dr. Wiersbe states the answer to this is, “To reveal Himself as full of pity and tender mercy.”   There are other results of this trial too, and it is good to remember that God never wastes pain on any of His children.  Job knew God better after this trial, and testifies to that in Job 42:1-6.  “Then Job replied to the LORD:  ‘I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.  You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.  "You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’  My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.  Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.’”

J.      “Why.”  The question is why did God allow Job go through all of this in the first place if God is so merciful?  For one thing God was surely glorified through Job’s trial, and Job was surely purified through it too.  Deu. 29:29 can give us some more insight into this, “There are secret things that belong to the LORD our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our descendants forever, so that we may obey these words of the law.” God does not tell us all things, nor is He obligated to do so.  We only have to see how He answered Job, and what He said to Him to understand this truth.  Read Job 38 as to how God answered Job’s questions.

K.    Application to James’ readers and to us too.  We may not understand all the things that come into our lives, and we too could have trials come our way because Satan is involved with them, but remember God limits Satan’s activities in our life as seen from the book of Job.  “When you find yourself in the fire, remember that God keeps His gracious hand on the thermostat!”  Job 23:10 tell us that.  “But he knows where I am going. And when he has tested me like gold in a fire, he will pronounce me innocent.” 

L.     Satan has a purpose for our trials too! This truth has really made an impression on my life.  James 1:4 says this, “And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  We can see by this verse that God wants us to be perfected by our trials through endurance or patience, but Satan wants us to grow impatient through our trials.  Dr. Wiersbe cites some examples of saints now having patience when they went through trials.  Moses missed out on going into the promise land because he was impatient, and Abraham ended up with Ishmael.  Peter almost killed a man when he was impatient.  “When Satan attacks us, it is easy for us to get impatient and run ahead of God and lose God’s blessing as a result.”  (“Be Mature”)

M.    Paul answers why we are to be patient. The answer is grace for the Lord said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for thee!”  Strongs gives this as part of the meaning of the word grace, “2) good will, loving-kindness, favour

2a) of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.”  Grace increases the believer in Christian faith and it is faith that the believer needs when he is going through one of these fiery trials that is similar to what Paul was describing in 2Corthians 12:7-9.  His answer to this is the answer that all believers should answer with and that is that the grace of God is sufficient for all trials, because God will never give us a trial or temptation that we cannot handle, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”  It seems to me that the way we bear it is through grace, and through faith in God that He will only do this for our good even though it may not seem so at the time.  Satan will try and make us impatient so that we miss the blessing that God has for us in this trial.  IN trials we need to go to the throne of God to find grace to help in our time of need, and to be reminded that God has a gracious purpose in all of the suffering and trials that we go through and as Romans 8:28 tells the believer that God causes all things to word together for our good and it will also work together for the glory of God.

N.    The exhortation of verse 12.  “Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No", no, or you will be condemned.”  As Dr. Wiersbe says only those who have gone through any kind of trials will understand why James put this exhortation here.  This verse reminds me of a time when I was drafted into the Army in July of 1966.  As a young unbeliever who was frightened about going into the Army in the middle of the Vietnam war I promised God that if he could some how get me released from the Army that I would never swear anymore.  Well He did but I did not, that is until January 26^th, 1974 when God saved me and took away a filthy mouth from me that I could not do on my own.  The moral of the story and of this verse is that when we are in trials that we, as believers, are not to make rash vows to the Lord, but rather we are to, by faith, trust the Lord to work it out for our good and His glory.

O.    James gives us examples from Jesus teaching.  As stated before James must have been listening to Jesus even before he was a believer, for we can see that this teaching can be seen by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5:34-37.  “But I say, don’t make any vows! If you say, ‘By heaven!’ it is a sacred vow because heaven is God’s throne.  And if you say, ‘By the earth!’ it is a sacred vow because the earth is his footstool. And don’t swear, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.  Don’t even swear, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black.  Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.”  Jesus is saying in verse 37 that when you say something then you do not need to add a lot of words to it so others will be sure to believe what you are saying.

P.      Dr. Wiersbe gives us another purpose as to why we suffer.  “On of the purposes of suffering is the building of character.  Certainly Job was a better man for having gone through the furnace.  (James explained this process to us in 1:2-12.)  If words are a test of character, then oaths would indicate that there is yet work to be done.  When Peter poured out those oaths in the courtyard he was giving evidence that his character was still in need of a transformation.  For the final part of this lesson read the last two paragraphs on PG. 163.

 

2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I believe that the thing that stuck out most to me from this lesson is the part where Dr. Wiersbe said that it is Satan’s desire for me to become impatient when I go through trials, and as I think back on that it is surely true.

 

The Word of God was refreshing to me as I read and studied it this morning and it was also convicting and a challenge to my heart.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the Lord as I go see Dr. Rice this morning and to fill me with His Spirit so that as I lead the Bible study this afternoon that He will be the One speaking through me and that He will accomplish what He wants to with His Word.

 

 

 

The Patience Endurance of the Prophets (James 5:10)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                            Date:  11-07-03

 

My Worship Time                 Focus:  The patience endurance of the prophets

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  James 5:10

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.”  (NASB)  “For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.”  (NLT)

            Jesus gives and example on the prophets, and how they reacted to persecution in His sermon on the mount, Matthew 5:10-12. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  11  “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  A question that Dr. Wiersbe asked is, “what encouragements do we receive from their example?” Two things strike me as possible answers to this question.  The first one is that the kingdom of heaven is ahead for them, and also there are rewards for those who endure persecutions from the Lord. 

            We know that these prophets were in the will of the Lord, and yet they suffered persecution, and they were also preaching in the name of the Lord.  We can sight some examples from the book of Acts, as Paul suffered much persecution even though he was in the will of God.  Also the apostles were persecuted for preaching the Word of God, and even counted it joy to be persecuted because of the preaching of the Word in the name of Jesus Christ.  Job was another example from the OT who suffered while in the will of the Lord.

            “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.”  (Quote from ‘Be Mature.’”

            Other examples from the OT prophets who suffered persecution in the will of God by obeying God are Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.

            Paul wrote to Timothy in 2Timothy about this very subject.  “And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 

            Dr. Wiersbe asks and answers another question in this section.  “Why is it that those who ‘speak in the name of the Lord’ often must endure difficult trials?  It is so that their lives might back up their massages, that our patience in times of suffering is a testimony to others around us.”   

            As we look at the OT prophets we will be encouraged by their lives, however this must not me just a casual looking into their lives, but a detailed study of their lives.  Paul told us from the book of Romans that “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. “ 

The Farmer (James 5:7-9)

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

                                                                                                            Date:  11-06-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus: The Farmer

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  James 5:7-9

 

            1.    Message of the verse: “Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.  You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.”  (NASB)  “Dear brothers and sisters, you must be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who eagerly look for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They patiently wait for the precious harvest to ripen.  You, too, must be patient. And take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.  Don’t grumble about each other, my brothers and sisters, or God will judge you. For look! The great Judge is coming. He is standing at the door!”  (NLT)

            We now begin the 12^th chapter of “Be Mature,” and again we need to be reminded that we are focusing on maturity as we study James.  The outline on page 14 shows that we are in section five, “He is prayerful in troubles,”  and point two under this is “physical troubles.”  The title of this chapter is “The Power of Patience.”

            As we begin this chapter I would first of all talk a bit about worship, and how I think it ties into being patience.  Perfect worship of God is described for us in Revelations 4 and the apostle John had the opportunity to look upon this worship and wrote about it in this wonderful chapter.  This is how I believe we can tie this in to being patience.  God is showing John and us that this is how worship is suppose to be done, and this is how it will be done once God pours out His wrath on the unbelieving world during the upcoming tribulation period.  He is saying to us that we to will be able to worship God in this perfect way, only we will have patience while we go through these trials and tribulations here on earth.  James mentions the return of the Lord three times in this section.  It is good to remember that God does no always pay His bill at the end of the week, but He will pay them in His own perfect time, and we must be willing to wait for His perfect timing.  Jesus said in John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  I am sure that you remember the story about a painter who was asked to paint a picture about peace, and as he unveiled the painting many people were surprised that he had painted a picture of a raging waterfalls, and above this river was a tree limb that stuck out over it, and in the tree limb was a bird’s nest with a mother bird taking care of her babies.  This is a good picture of being a believer in this world, for as the raging storms are around us we are being cared for by the Lord Jesus Christ, and we can experience, like this verse says, His peace.

            Dr. Wiersbe says that there are two Greek words to describe patience in this section and some believe that the word used in verses 7, 8, & 10 could refer to patience with respect to persons while the word for patience in verse 11 could refer to patience with respect to conditions or situations.  “Patience means ‘to stay put and stand fast when you’d like to run away.’”

            “The question that we must get an answer to is:  How can we as Christians experience this kind of patient endurance as we wait for the Lord to return?”  James answers this question by giving three encouraging examples of patient endurance.  I.  The Farmer (5:7-9); The Prophets (5:10); and Job (5:11)                                                     

 

 

 

1.  The Farmer (5:7-9)

If we know anything at all about farming we know that it is not for a person with little patience, for crops do not grow over night.  The farmer must be patient with the weather, and also with the seed.  I can see five points that Dr. Wiersbe points out from this passage.

a.      Why wait so long (5:7).  In verse seven James says that the crop or fruit is precious and this is why it is worth waiting for.  Mark 4:26-29 give some insight into this, “Jesus also said, "Here is another illustration of what the Kingdom of God is like: A farmer planted seeds in a field, and then he went on with his other activities. As the days went by, the seeds sprouted and grew without the farmer’s help, because the earth produces crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.  And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle.”  (NLT)

b.      Christians are spiritual farmers (5:8).  James must have been listening to Jesus as he watched his ministry on earth, even though he was not a believer at the time for he to uses earthly stories to give us heavenly truths.  As “Christian farmers” we to are looking for a spiritual harvest and that harvest comes from the soil of our “hearts.”  “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts.”    Our hearts are the soil into which the seed, which is the Word of God goes into.   Jesus spoke of this in Luke 8:11, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”  As we go through the Christian life we too go through different seasons, but we must remember that the Lord is in control of these seasons, and even though there are times when His presences seems far off and He seems to have left us on our own we must not loose heart for He has said I will never leave you nor forsake you.  Another thing we must remember is that we must not have a hard heart to the teachings of the Word of God like Saul had, which caused him to sin, but even after his sin his heart did remain hard, and God does not work in a hard heart like He words in a heart that is of “good soil” like David’s heart.  God said of David that he was a man after God’s own heart, he was a man who would return to the Lord when he sinned and confess his sin to the Lord, for he had a good heart.

c.       You must have an established heart (5:8).  Paul tells us in Romans 1:11 that one of the purposes of the local church is to establish the heart.  “For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established.”   Paul practiced this truth by sending Timothy to the Thessalonian church.  “Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this.”  Paul prayed about this establishing of the heart for the Thessalonian believers as seen in 1Thes. 3:10-13, and prayer and the ministry of the Word of God in establishing the heart for the Lord, for a heart this is not established cannot bear fruit.  “Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.  Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.  May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

d.      We must work while we wait for the harvest.  As we wait for the spiritual harvest we must be going about the Lord’s work while we wait for his return.  We are not to be like the Thessalonian believers who quit working for they thought the Lord’s return was soon, and because of that they quit working.  This is wrong.

e.       We are not to fight while we work (5:9).  If a farmer was to get his work done he did not have time to quarrel with his neighbors, and we as believers, if we are going about doing the work of the Lord will not have time for quarrels either.  “Impatience with God often leads to impatience with God’s people, and this is a sin we must avoid.  If we start using the sickles on each other, we will miss the harvest!”

 

2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  These verses surely teach the old saying that patience is truly a virtue, and I know that the Lord is using the trials in my life so that I will have more patience and endurance.  The things that used to be important to me are not as important to me as I look at them through the Word of God.  To know and realize that the Lord is in control of all things and that He has promised never to leave me nor forsake me, and that what He uses me to accomplish on this earth, the short time I am here is more important than things, and money, for my help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth, He will not allow my foot to slip, He who keeps me will not slumber.

 

The Word of God was refreshing to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.

 

Memory verse for the week:  James 1:6

 

6.      But let him as in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the sea.