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James 5:7-11: Sermon · Beyond the Sermon

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  You're listening to Beyond the Sermon, the podcast First
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  Methodist Church in Collingswood, NJ.
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  On our podcast, the goal is not just to share our sermons, but
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  to go beyond the sermon and talk about what we're learning and
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  what God is doing in US and in our community.
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  The sermon you're about to listen to comes from our summer
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  2025 sermon series, Life Together.
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  In this series, we're looking at what the New Testament has to
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  say about how we live together in Christian community.
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  You can find more information about our church at
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  fumccolleagueswith.org. Thanks for listening.
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  Today's scripture comes from the book of James, and as Jeremy
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  mentioned before, the bulletin is just a suggestion.
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  However, the scripture verses are verses 7 through 11.
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  I think believe it goes to 18 in the bulletin, but we're going to
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  go to 11 today, 7 to 11. James chapter 5.
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  Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the
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  Lord's return. Consider the farmers who
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  patiently wait for the rains in the fall.
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  In the spring, they eagerly look for the valuable harvest to
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  ripen. You too must be patient.
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  Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
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  Don't grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you
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  will be judged. For look.
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  The judge is standing at the door for examples of patience in
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  suffering. Dear brothers and sisters, look
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  at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
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  We give great honor to those who endure under suffering.
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  For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance.
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  You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, because
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  the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
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  This is the word of God for the people of God.
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  Speak We are closing out our summer series Life Together,
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  where we took a look at the character of Christian
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  community. And if you would like to go
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  deeper into this theme, there is a book called One Another by
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  David Da Silva that is an excellent resource.
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  And it made me question things that I assumed I knew growing up
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  in church, but when contrasted against scripture, I needed to
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  re evaluate some things. And so I think it's a great
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  resource and potential great inspiration for others that
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  would like to continue to go deeper into Scripture regarding
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  the theme of this summer, just life together, the character of
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  Christian community. And I believe our first
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  introduction into any community is most likely going to be our
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  family that we were born in and raised up by.
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  But not all of our experiences with our families are the same.
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  In one of my textbooks, it shares the unique story of a
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  family that chose to adopt A daughter from China.
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  It was already a family of four, and the parents had decided to
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  adopt one more. The mother was the only one able
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  to go over to China to pick up their new daughter, who we will
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  call Liz. And it was a great connection
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  from the very beginning. She bonded so well with the
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  mother. They came back over to the
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  States and Liz clung on to her new mother and didn't want the
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  father or the siblings to have anything to do with her new
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  mother. She would constantly push them
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  away, tell the kids, that's your dad, this is my mom.
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  And she would constantly scream, my mommy, my mommy, my mommy.
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  And it was months and months of difficulty trying to work out
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  this division within the family. And it came to a point where the
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  kids were fighting over who could help mom with dinner.
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  And Liz won the opportunity to cook with mother.
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  And the other daughter said I don't like you, I don't want you
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  to be my sister. And Liz agreed and shared the
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  same sentiments. The mother burst into tears
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  because of this division that seemed like it was
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  unreconcilable. And after seeing their mother
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  cry, they held hands and apologized, saying, I'm sorry, I
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  do want to be your sister. But sometimes it's really hard.
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  A lot of times within Christian Church culture, especially
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  within the United States, we talk a lot about having a
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  personal relationship with Jesus.
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  Very, very important. He's not just an inspirational
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  figure or a teacher that we can learn from.
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  He should be the Lord of our lives.
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  And if he is the Lord of your life, you are adopted as a child
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  of God. But we aren't only adopted into
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  a relationship with Jesus. We are adopted into community,
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  adopted into the family of God. And families are complicated.
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  Amen. Especially when our families go
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  against what God intended our families to look like.
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  I was raised as an only child, but I have 4 potentially 5 half
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  siblings from 2 potentially 3 other women besides my mother.
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  There was a whole mess going on in my family and I'm sure that
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  when we read scriptures about being brothers and sisters,
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  about being a family, we initially think of our
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  experiences with our own brothers and sisters and our
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  nuclear families. Even when we talk about church,
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  it can get complicated. Who we consider to be brothers
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  and sisters in Christ in the Big Sea Church isn't always so clear
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  to us. I was wrestling a lot this week
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  in preparation because I didn't know how we could even discuss
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  the Scriptures and James when I know that we all hear different
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  things when someone from the pulpit mentions brothers and
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  sisters OR family or church. I hope through this series this
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  summer we've been able to gain a better understanding of what God
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  intends and expects of His church, what He expects of those
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  he adopted before there were even church buildings.
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  Paul was referring to the church as a gathering of believers.
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  Sometimes people who give themselves the title of a church
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  are not intending to be anything like God says He desires of His
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  church. So it's hard to use one word,
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  church, to describe such a spectrum of people and
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  institutions and then expect them all to uphold or even be
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  attempting to uphold what we're called to be as God's church in
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  Scripture. As we go into these scriptures,
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  I want to preface them with the reminder that they are truth.
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  These words are what we all need to strive for within the church
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  in order for us to fulfill God's will for us as His children.
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  We also need to be aware of the humanity in the church here and
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  in the global church that not everybody will be living up to
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  God's expectations nor even have the intention of fulfilling His
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  will. So the more that you draw closer
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  to the Father and know Him for yourself and allow the Holy
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  Spirit to give you discernment, the better you will be able to
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  discern who is truly a part of the church.
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  And that doesn't mean we get to discount anybody based off of
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  worship styles, spiritual gifts that they may focus in on
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  secondary theological statements or disagreements, or the
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  decorations or traditions that different churches still uphold.
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  But it does mean having in common with them the core of the
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  gospel, the creeds that we all agree on, and that we
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  individually need to personally know the heart of God.
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  So when we get to know someone else in their heart, we will be
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  able to see if it is aligning with the heart of God.
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  So now that we've recognized our differences and expectations of
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  family and church, we should also be reminded that the truth
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  of Scripture should prevail over all.
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  And before we go back into the chapter of James, I'm going to
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  pray for us. If you would like to stretch and
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  stand, you may want to do that, but you're welcome to stay
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  seated. Lord, I just thank you so much
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  for your word, for your faithful followers and for your Spirit
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  providing your Scripture how you've wanted to reveal yourself
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  to your people, to your church and ask that in this time truth
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  would be offered from this pulpit, that Christ would be
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  offered from this pulpit and that I would be put aside.
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  I thank you and praise you for this family and ask that you
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  would speak to us this morning in Jesus name, Amen.
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  James chapter 5, if we start back at verse 7, says, dear
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  brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's
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  return. Consider the farmers who
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  patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring.
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  They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.
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  I will let you know that I have a black thumb personally.
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  It is not because my mother's maiden name was black.
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  It is because I've killed every plant that I've ever tried to
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  take care of, which is only two. I learned very quickly, not my
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  gifting, but I know that many of you garden and I have reaped the
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  benefits of those delicious Jersey tomatoes, and therefore I
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  thank you. But I learned most about the
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  life of farming in my time in La Palmia, Mexico, where the main
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  economy is stimulated by the growing, harvesting and selling
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  of 14 types of oranges and three types of limes.
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  And part of the reason why we have a sponsored children's
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  project is because they don't want to pay for the schooling
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  for the kids, because the time in which the schooling fees and
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  the school supplies are needed is right before harvest time.
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  And so they're still living off the money that was collected the
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  year before. And so they are very eager for
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  that valuable harvest. It affects every financial
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  decision in those last months leading up to it.
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  And so we are called to be patient in this Scripture.
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  How many of you have prayed for patience?
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  How many of you have regretted praying for patience?
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  Most of the hands, right? We are to be eager for the
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  coming of the Lord, which is why it's calling us to be patient.
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  Our decisions now should be in preparation for that harvest.
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  We should be planting seeds, watering seeds, and trusting God
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  to make them grow. The Lord's coming is the harvest
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  of all of these things. And if this is too much plant
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  talk for some, let me clarify. When the Lord returns, we know
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  it will lead to the end of death, sorrow, crying, and pain.
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  We also know that there will be judgement for those who have not
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  repented of their sins and been redeemed by the blood of Christ.
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  So our eagerness for the Lord's coming shouldn't only be about
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  us being fully in the presence of God or the end of death and
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  suffering. It should also be an eagerness
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  to share the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ,
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  to prepare for the harvest of souls.
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  We are called to plant seeds, to share God's, to share God with
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  others through our words and actions.
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  And I'm not saying you get to pick your favorite of the two.
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  The more we walk with the Lord, the more all of our words and
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  actions should point ourselves to the Lord, point others within
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  the church to the Lord, and point those outside of the
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  church to the Lord so that he may be glorified.
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  James 58 continues. You must be patient, take
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  courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
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  If that is our responsibility to be patient for the Lord's
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  return, then this family we've been adopted into happens to be
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  a missionary family. When we come to our family
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  gatherings, we are right now. We don't show up simply to be in
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  each other's presence hoping that the pastor says something
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  inspirational or can be comforted by the music of the
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  worship team. This isn't golf.
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  We do not just watch one person participate while we stay quiet
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  and then we get loud when we're told we're allowed to be loud.
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  This is when God's children come together before our Heavenly
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  Father to worship Him, to hear His Word, to take a pause from
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  the world and receive what He has prepared for us, reminding
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  ourselves of what our family's mission is.
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  When we leave, we are not a passive family, but a family on
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  mission. And that mission is that God
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  would be glorified. And in order for God to be
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  glorified, His children need to be doing His will.
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  We need to be united as a family, not just in this
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  congregation, but as the global church.
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  This is not only the desire of my heart, it was the desire of
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  Jesus the night he was arrested in John 17, starting in verse
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  20, he prays. My prayer is not for them alone,
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  referring to the apostles. I pray also for those who will
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  believe in Me through their message that all of them may be
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  one Father, just as you are in me and I am in You, may they
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  also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent
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  Me. For the world to believe that
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  God sent Jesus, we need to be 1 together in the Lord.
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  So when you sit through all those church meetings about how
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  we can get the gospel out to the world, it seems to me that step
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  one is B1 in the Lord. I'm not saying we all need to be
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  on the same page and agree on everything.
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  And if we don't like something, we're not allowed to speak our
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  voice. But we should all strive to be
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  more like Jesus Christ. And the more we take His Word as
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  the most important instruction for the time God has given us on
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  earth before the harvest, the more we realize we cannot truly
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  fulfill His will alone. We can only do it together, in
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  community. A community as close as the
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  relationship between God the Father and God the Son.
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  And as we individually seek the desire of God's will, we will
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  become more aligned with God's heart and more unified in our
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  collective will and desires. Now, what does this life look
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  like? Well, part of it is described
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  here in our Scripture this morning.
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  If Phil could put up the slide. And James, there we go grumble
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  about each other brothers and sisters.
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  Do it quietly with your neighbor in the back of the sanctuary.
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  Judge freely in the church parking lot for you are judge
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  and jury think we have the wrong translation If you want to go to
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  the next one, never trust the slides.
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  Read your Bibles. That's the extra lesson today,
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  verse 9. Don't grumble about each other,
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  brothers and sisters, or you will be judged for look.
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  The judge is standing at the door.
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  It can be really easy, even inside the church, to grumble
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  whether it's about an outfit someone chose to wear to church,
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  a hymn played on guitar instead of the organ, or about Pastor
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  Jeremy trying and succeeding to be funny by putting up a fake
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  Bible verse. Our grumbling, according to
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  scripture, will lead us to be judged by God, and we don't like
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  being judged at all. I don't know about you, but I
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  would be terrified to come before God, to be judged without
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  the righteousness of Christ going before me.
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  One of the scriptures from our prayer sessions this past month
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  was in Isaiah 43 where God challenges His people by saying
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  review the past for me. Let us argue the matter
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  together. State the case for your
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  innocence. I don't believe any of us are
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  arrogant enough or prideful enough to truly believe we could
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  go before God the Father and plead the case for our innocence
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  based solely on our own actions. Well, Pastor Jeremy, you just
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  took away the fun of going to church if I'm not allowed to
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  grumble towards my neighbor. For that, I apologize and I
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  would like to point us to something better.
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  If we have an issue with someone, their actions, or their
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  words within the body, it should hopefully be for one of two
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  reasons. One, you don't believe that what
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  they are doing is what God desires for their life, that it
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  is sinful and it is causing separation between them and God.
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  Whether it's the way they speak about others or sinful
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  lifestyles they have outside of the church that you're aware of.
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  We should, out of love for them, want to turn them away from
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  that. If that's the case, we are
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  called to gently bring a brother or sister back onto the path,
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  whispering to our neighbor that someone's dressed immodestly
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  Will Walker doesn't help them walk in the ways of the Lord.
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  Or maybe they've sinned against you specifically.
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  They've done you dirty, right? Luckily, Jesus gives us
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  practical advice on what to do when someone sins against us.
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  Matthew 18 starting in verse 15 says if your brother or sister
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  sins, go and point out their fault.
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  Just between the two of you, just between the two of you,
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  just making sure the mic works. If they listen to you, you have
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  won them over. But if they will not listen,
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  take one or two others along so that every matter may be
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  established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
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  If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church.
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  And if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them
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  as you would a Pagan or a tax collector.
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  It can be really intimidating to try and have these conversations
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  and people always worry about it getting to that third part where
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  it goes before the church doesn't go great and you are
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  treated like a Pagan or tax collector.
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  But from all the conflicts I've witnessed within the church,
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  people that do the first step correctly within the church
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  don't end up at the last step. David, who wrote the book I'd
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  mentioned earlier one another says this.
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  The context of being a family sets the goal for confrontation
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  always as the restoration of the relationship and of peace and
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  harmony within the family. The important step of talking to
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  the brother or sister whom you believe to have sinned against
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  you gives you to the possibility of identifying A
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  misunderstanding. That's usually the case and thus
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  repairing the damage or of exchanging needed apologies and
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  forgiveness. See Scott's sermon from about
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  six weeks ago. And this is just grumbling
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  within the family of believers. There's a lot to grumble about
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  when it comes to what's going on in the world.
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  I was going to say shout things out, but I don't want to get in
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  trouble here. Scott's going to come back.
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  There's a lot to grumble about when we look out into the world,
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  a world that is so far from God that it breaks his heart, and it
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  should break our hearts as well. When we look out into the world,
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  we should eagerly desire Him to come and reconcile all things to
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  himself. And that's the hard part, being
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  patient in the suffering, whether it's patient in our own
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  suffering or being patient with a suffering that we witness.
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  And our Scripture continues in verse 10 for examples of
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  patience and suffering. Dear brothers and sisters, look
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  at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
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  We give great honour to those who endure suffering.
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  For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance.
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  You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the
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  Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.
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  It talks about Joe being a man of great endurance.
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  But when you read the questions that Job and his friends ask
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  for, chapters and chapters and chapters and chapters, questions
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  about God's goodness, God's judgment, and how God interacts
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  with the world, we see that this great man of endurance also
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  asked the question why about a variety of things.
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  And it's OK to ask why. When we look around ourselves,
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  we can find ourselves asking the same thing.
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  Lord, why are you allowing this to happen in the world?
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  Lord, why would you let your church stray so far from what I
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  read in Scripture? When we ask why, we are
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  acknowledging the limitations of our own understanding and that's
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  where our faith comes in, that we believe God when He says as
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  the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
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  than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
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  We know His ways are good because He promises that His He
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  is working all things for the good of those that love Him
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  according to the purpose of His will.
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  One of my favorite hymns growing up.
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  Trust and obey, for there's no other way.
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  Trusting God's word and His promises.
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  Trusting His plan for His Church and obeying what He calls His
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  children to do to the best of our ability, with the power of
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  the Holy Spirit within us, what has He called us to do?
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  Be patient for His return. Prepare for the harvest.
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  Do not grumble amongst ourselves.
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  Be one with Him and each other so that the world will know that
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  God loves the world so much that He sent His Son on a cross to
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  die for our sins so that we would not perish but have
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  eternal life with Him. Let us pray.
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  Lord, I just ask that you would strip away from us anything that
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  is causing division amongst amongst your children.
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  That when we gather, we see family, we see brothers and
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  sisters in Christ. That it would be holy, unlike
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  any social clubs or other things within the world.
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  That people would see Your spirit at work within us
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  separately as we walk with You and especially as a collective.
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  That even in trying times, the world can see that we are able
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  to love amongst differences, that we are able to care for,
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  that we are able to forgive and reconcile.
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  That we would be a reflection of you inside your church, outside
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  of your church, Lord. And that we would use every
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  opportunity that you give us before the harvest to be
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  planting seeds, watering seeds, and trusting You to make them
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  grow. That we would trust You with all
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  the things that we don't understand going on in the world
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  and we would be faithful with what You had entrusted to us.
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  Your children, we love you and we praise you this morning.
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  Jesus name Amen.