Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for
the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the
fall and in the spring. They eagerly
look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is
near. Don’t grumble about each other,
brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door! We give great honor to those who endure under
suffering. For instance, you know about
Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the
end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. But most of all, my brothers and sisters,
never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will
not sin and be condemned. James 5:7-12(NLT)
There is a reality that one day Jesus will break through the
Eastern skies and change everything; he will come in the clouds and in glory
and, with finality, reconcile everyone and everything in creation to the
Father’s will. This is our blessed hope
and faith. His resurrection and bodily
return, to set at right that which has been so wrong, is the center of all that
Christians hold dear.
In the church we sing, talk, and think a lot about the second coming
of Jesus, and that reunion we are anticipating with loved ones who have gone
one to be with God. Just consider hymns
we sang: We’ll Understand It Better By and
By, and Victory in Jesus. These point to that blessed moment when we
see our loved ones, and our Lord Jesus. But,
besides thinking about what’s going to happen in the future, we also have to
understand what we should be concentrating on in the here and now!
So, James gives us some Godly advice as to what to do while we’re
waiting for the return of our Lord:
Have Patience like a Farmer
James uses the illustration of the farmer. Prepare, plant, protect, nurture,
and…….wait! It’s a long process, but God
made it so. The only thing the farmer can
do is wait, because you can’t pull a crop from the ground before it
is ready; if you do, it won’t be worth anything. So, if you’re an impatient farmer you need to
develop some patience, or get a new job!
When you come to the table of living your life, bring
patience. How, preacher? I don’t know…you have to work that out for
yourself. Mainly, I would say, ask God
for it, because it is not natural. We
are all impatient.
And while you’re being patient, make certain you’re working on the
right kind of crop. Remember that
eternity is long, and whatever you grow is what you’ll reap.
I had a friend named Eddie once who was a sower. One day Eddie and I, along with a couple of
other friends went to play golf. Eddie
and Jeff were in one cart; while I rode with our other friend. My partner drove his ball to the left, and
the rest of us hit to the right side.
After we located the lone ball on the left, we drove to where Eddie and
Jeff were waiting with the other three balls.
Crossing the fairway, we saw Eddie kicking a ball into the sand
trap…then he stepped on it – hard! He
was sowing
that golf ball – he mashed it into the ground!
When we arrived, Eddie had that look on his face – like when
you’re about to get your pocket picked.
He said, as he pointed to the golf ball seedling, Preacher, your ball is
in an awful fix. I got up close to the
ball – it wasn’t mine! Jeff looked – it
wasn’t his; the only ball it could be belonged to our resident golf ball
farmer.
Dear ones, believe it when the Bible says YOUR SINS WILL FIND YOU OUT[2].
Have patience like a farmer!
What else do we do while we’re waiting?
Proclaim the Kingdom like a Prophet
Living your life in a manner worthy of eternity means you will
stand for that which will stand in eternity.
That means sharing God with people, proclaiming the Kingdom. Here are a few Kingdom principles for
proclaiming God’s reign:
Show up
To show up means being deeply involved in the things of God as a
priority, not a hobby.
Have faith – serving Christ is not a game
Besides showing up, there is raising the ante. The kingdom is no game, but people won’t take
your claim that Jesus is Lord seriously if you try to serve in just your own
strength. It is His Spirit that is in
charge…never His servants.
Proclaim – no time to be timid
When it comes to proclaiming the Kingdom, we need to remember that
farmers and prophets are not lazy people.
If there is a God to be served, His people need to learn how to throw
themselves into the work with everything they’ve got!
Have patience like the farmer, proclaim the Kingdom like a
prophet, and…
Have Perseverance like Job
Job had it all – then he had it all taken away. He went from hero to zero in an
afternoon. His wife got so discouraged
she told her husband, why don’t you just curse God and die? Job hung in there.
This Old Testament father wasn’t patient like some say; he was
actually quite ticked! Job wanted an
answer. But he did hang in there, and
that’s what perseverance is all about.
You know that God is in charge, so you play by His rules, and leave the
results to Him. Patience, Proclamation,
Perseverance, and….
Keep Purity in All Your Days
James said a word about our words.
Frankly, what proceeds out of the mouths of even Christians these days
would have made our grandparents turn in their graves.
All your words are worship, so don’t offer slop to our Lord. He is the Sovereign God of the universe, not the
man upstairs. God knows us,
and He hears our words
If God is holy it makes sense to be careful to keep our lives and
our words clean!
For
the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest
two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It
exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God.
Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we
are accountable. Hebrews 4:12(NLT)
Wrong Idea – Right Idea
In Daniel 4 we read the story of Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon. He was – to say the least –
full of himself.
God used the Babylonian king to teach Israel a lesson; he was able
to defeat Jerusalem and enslave the nation.
This was the captivity that we read about in Daniel.[3] Nebuchadnezzar was the one
who had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thrown into the fiery furnace; God
delivered them, but the king’s humility was short-lived.
He surveyed
his kingdom and imagined he had created Wonderland. Nebuchadnezzar celebrated his own greatness
by creating a gold statue of himself, 9 feet wide and 90 feet tall. Everyone was to bow down and worship towards
that statue whenever the trumpet sounded in the city. Nebuchadnezzar imagined he was God.
One day God, the real sovereign God of all creation, messed with
everything Nebuchadnezzar had. The king
wound up a madman; for the next seven years he wandered the countryside, drooling
on himself, grazing on grass like a wild animal. At the end of his days, the Lord allowed his mind to return to
normal, and Nebuchadnezzar finally gave God His due.
Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way. We can’t say too much about that because most
of us follow in those footsteps. And
that’s a little strange, because we know better. It is much better and easier on human beings
to make our plans to honor God, with a view on eternity rather than just what
we want.
And that is the simplicity of what to do while you’re waiting for
the second coming. It’s God’s way – it’s
the good way!
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Let the church say “Amen”!
