Morning Message Text: James 5: 13-20
The Prayer of Faith
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they 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 person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back,
20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Morning Message:
“All the goodness I have within me is totally from the Lord alone. When I sin, it is from me and is done on my own, but when I act righteously, it is wholly and completely of God.” (Charles Spurgeon). This statement, like most of Spurgeon’s statements, speaks to me. It is our human nature to be prideful; it was part of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Striving to be equal to God, taking credit for our own accomplishment, putting ourselves in God’s proper place. This seems to be the attitude of our world today; let me take credit for everything that works out and is perceived to be good, but none of the blame when I am wrong. I appreciate when people are willing to look human. If we are honest with ourselves and before God, we realize how imperfect we are. None of us, deep down inside, really believe that we are perfect, but we try to project this image of perfection to those around us. I always remember the words of Jesus when he was called good teacher, he said, “None is good, only God.” Jesus lived a perfect sinless life and yet he would not accept the title of good.
Reading and studying scripture is the secret to keeping us humble. We should all read Psalm 19: 7-14 on a regular basis. “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” I honestly think that God must look at this world and the attitudes of people and know that we are simple. God is not surprised by this. He knows the condition of man’s heart, but, well, I guess I think of God in human terms. If I were God, heaven help us all, but I would think to myself, how can they be so simple? This is not rocket science! We chose to ignore the obvious because the truth is uncomfortable. God’s law is perfect.. Period. No ands, ifs, or buts, about it. “Thou shall not murder.” Let’s get into the hard stuff today. Murder is: “The unlawful killing of a person especially when deliberate or premeditated.” Now, let me remind you that there is forgiveness for the sins that we commit, even something as terrible as murder, but let us not, as Christians, ignore the perfect law of God. Now I don’t make light of this on either side of the issue, but I do grow weary of abortion being made into a political game. For a politician to say that you don’t have to sacrifice your faith in order to agree that abortion is right is a terribly irresponsible, simple thing to say. Listen to me carefully, you don’t lose your faith when you sin, but decisions that go against God’s law are a sacrifice of a Christian’s faith.
Listen to me for a moment church. We are a forgiven people when we confess and believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, but we have a moral obligation, not to make God’s laws and statutes the law of the land and dictate them, but to allow them to sink into our souls so deeply that they are second nature to us and inspire us to aspire to the perfection of God’s holy laws. We will never attain perfection in this life, but that doesn’t mean that we should discard God’s perfect law. “By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” Have you ever looked back on your life and appreciated a wonderful warning that someone gave you? Maybe you didn’t understand at the time why you were receiving this advice, but when the moment came that you needed it, the advice rang true. God’s word, his laws, are a way for us to warn ourselves. All we must do is read them.
“But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.” Only God can give us discernment. The Holy Spirit in you helps you to see your shortcomings. Those hidden faults that we overlook sometimes on purpose. Even as Christians, we allow ourselves to be blinded by the world around us. We feel the Holy Spirit pointing out the lies and immorality of the things that are said and done, but we chose to ignore the very voice inside of us that makes us the church. Don’t allow sin to rule over you. Don’t listen to the world. Don’t take my word for things. Don’t take the word of a religious leader. Find the truth in God’s word for yourself. I will get myself into trouble here, but I must speak the truth. Recently Pope Francis, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, made a comment concerning our upcoming national election. First off, I just love when people who don’t live in this country try to give us advice about our election. But, he said we should vote for the lesser of the two evils. Because we should be against one side for believing in abortion and the other side for being against illegal immigration. Discern for yourselves the clear difference between the two.
God’s laws are perfect, but we are not. Today’s scripture from James helps us to reconcile the two and bridge the chasm between our sinfulness and God’s holiness. Prayer is the answer to every need that you, as a Christian, needs. If we pray, we will recognize our faults. If we pray faithfully, God will give us the answers we need. Prayer allows us to communicate with a perfect God, and when we draw close to His perfection, we can more clearly see our imperfections. When we spend time with God on a regular basis, he gives us the discernment to make right decisions. We make mistakes because we don’t pray before we make decisions. When we don’t pray often enough, we don’t confess often enough, and that sin affects the Holy Spirit discernment we need to make right decisions. Let me finish with this. We have an important decision to make in this country very soon. I never over emphasize this because I believe and know that God is in control and He will decide our fate as a nation, but that doesn’t mean that as Christians we should not do our part. Listen to scripture: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and heal their land.” I am confident that if you will pray and make the decision that God puts on your heart our nation can heal.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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