The Book of James

Chris Buttery

Sacramento Central SDA Church

The Book of James: The Everlasting Gospel

And we're closing the quarter by looking at the everlasting gospel.

What the Bible teaches regarding the gospel from the Old Testament all the way through and into the New Testament, the everlasting gospel.

I hope you've enjoyed studying the book of James as much as I have.

And I would suspect that any fears that you had regarding James and whether he really taught the gospel have been settled and that you've seen that he's done nothing but uplift Christ and has sought to encourage us to not be hearers of the word only, but to be doers by the grace of God.

And so we're going to look at the everlasting gospel, and of course we're going to, In that context, line up some of the things that James has taught in his book and see that they are compatible.

Our memory text is Jeremiah 31 verse 3, and it's a beautiful text.

It says, The Lord has appeared of old to me saying, "'Yea, well, yes, I have loved you with a, " what type of love?

"'There with loving kindness, I have drawn you.'" You know, God doesn't beat people up trying to get us to come to Him.

He loves us and with that love He seeks to draw us to Himself.

It's incredible, incredible love that God has and we'll see that as we again as we unpack the gospel here.

When you tune into mainstream media, you hear many different things.

A lot of bad news, racial tensions, astronomical national debt, government corruption, celebrity rape allegations, international instability, the Ebola scare.

We live in a bad news world, there's no doubt about it.

And we all sit on the edge of our seats waiting for good news, something that will be a balm to heal and assuage our hearts.

Studies have shown that the ratio of bad news to good news on mainstream media, and this is not going to surprise you, is 17 to 1.

That's 95% of the news you get, that I get, whether it be on your iPhone or on the internet or on your TV, 95% of that news is bad news.

But God offers us good news in a bad news world and it's called the gospel.

It's called the gospel and by the way that word gospel comes from the Old English word Godspell, which means good news.

In the New Testament Gospel translates as, or is translated from the Greek word, evangelion.

Evangelion, which is where we get the word evangel from.

An evangelist, what does an evangelist do?

An evangelist shares the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That's what an evangelist does, a preacher of the gospel, the good news.

In several different places in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4 and then in 1 Timothy 1 verse 11, the Bible speaks of the gospel as being glorious.

Glorious, that's a magnificent word and certainly when we know and understand the gospel, we come to realize that the gospel is glorious.

In Revelation, in chapter 14, let's open our Bibles there.

Only in this chapter and in this verse, in the entire scriptures, is the word everlasting connected to the word gospel.

Revelation, chapter 14 and verse 6, and perhaps you can recite it by memory.

John said, I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the what type of gospel?

The everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people." So this is the only place in the entire scriptures where the word everlasting is connected to the word gospel, interestingly enough.

In other words, this is an eternal gospel.

In other words, this is a gospel, this is the only gospel that can save men.

And the gospel will continue to be the gospel that saves men as long as there are men and women and boys and girls that need to be saved.

This is why the Gospel Rider, it attaches the word everlasting to the word gospel because it's a everlasting gospel.

It's a gospel that is around until all men, women, boys and girls that can be saved will be saved.

It's eternal and not only from the perspective of going forward, but also from the perspective of going backwards.

When man, Adam and Eve, sinned in the garden, was God taken by surprise?

He didn't say, oops, hey, hold on, we have a problem here.

I wonder what plan I should come up with to save mankind from this mess that they've found themselves in.

In Revelation chapter 13 and verse 8 we're told that the lamb, Jesus, is the lamb that was slain from when?

God didn't just say, okay, better come up with a plan now.

This is a plan that had been set in operation prior to, because God in his foreknowledge could see what was going to happen.

Now, it raises several other questions that we don't have time to answer here this morning, but suffice to say, God allowed things to unravel because of His love for the fallen angel and angels in heaven and for Adam and Eve and this human race, this lost human race, He allowed it to unravel.

And He offers this globe, you and I, the good news.

The good news of how you and I can be saved in God's eternal kingdom.

How we can enjoy the privileges that were lost in the Garden of Eden.

How we can eat from the tree of life again.

God's plan to bring us back from whence we fell.

So we're going to talk about the everlasting gospel and we're going to answer certain basic questions surrounding salvation by faith here today.

By closing the quarter with a look at how the gospel is presented in the Bible, we can better see how James fits the larger picture of God's plan to save humanity.

So turn with me to Sunday's lesson, the gospel in the Old Testament.

And turn with me to Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 2.

Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 2, notice what the writer says.

Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 2, it's very interesting.

In chapter 3, he's just finished talking about how Israel, because of their unbelief, could not enter into the promised land.

You know the story very well and it was because of their disobedience, their unbelief, that they couldn't make it in.

And so in verse 1 and 2, notice what Paul says here, Therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to have come short of it.

Verse 2, For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it." So the gospel, the good news, was not only preached, Paul was not only preaching it, not only did he hear the gospel himself, and not only was he preaching gospel, but also the Israelites had the gospel preached to them as well.

How did the Israelites have the gospel preached to them?

We think of Moses initially and how he declared the gospel.

We also have, you recall, the sanctuary and its services and that living illustration of the plan of salvation.

Every time a lamb was brought in and slain, the morning and evening sacrifices, the blood was spilled, the blood was taken into the holy place and sprinkled before the altar of incense.

Every time that took place, it was a graphic reminder of the awfulness of sin, but of the great love and mercy of God.

The sanctuary and its services typified the coming of Jesus as the lamb that would be slain once and for all for the sins of the world and as our priest and our high priest who would intercede for us in the heavenly sanctuary and so the sanctuary and its services preached the gospel didn't it?

The sanctuary preached the gospel to the Israelites.

It was the same gospel according to what Paul says here in Hebrews 4 verse 2.

For indeed the gospel, not a gospel or just gospel, but what type of gospel?

This the gospel was preached to us as well as to them.

And he says, unless the preaching is met with faith on the part of the hearer, then what is preached doesn't do the person any good.

So it's not always the preacher's fault after all.

Some folk leave church not blessed at all, and maybe it was because they didn't have their ears of faith on, if I could put it that way.

Seeking to learn and to listen and to apply the word of God to their lives.

The Book of James: Prayer, Healing, and Restoration

We're going to be delving into our study again in the book of James.

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We're going to be getting stuck into our lesson from the quarterly, from the book of James, we really, today we conclude the book of James.

We have 1 more lesson in the quarter, but we're really concluding the book of James today.

Been a real pleasure to go through this book.

And we're on lesson number 12, Prayer, Healing and Restoration.

Prayer, Healing and Restoration and you probably want to turn with me to James chapter 5, that's where we are, James chapter 5 And let's look at our memory text here together, James chapter 5 and verse 16.

It says, confess your trespasses, I'm reading from the New King James Version, confess your trespasses to 1 another and pray for 1 another that you may be healed.

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man, how much does it avail?

And so that's our key text here for the class.

Why didn't Jesus respond to certain queries that came to Him, asking Him to perform a miracle?

You recall, He was standing before King Herod and King Herod, for mere entertainment, was asking Jesus to perform some type of sign or miracle.

He didn't honor his request, you can read that in Luke chapter 23.

The scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 12 came to Jesus and they asked him for a sign and Jesus said, no sign will be given to this perverse generation.

And then of course, while Jesus was being, was in the wilderness and he had fasted for 40 days, Satan came to him tempting him and said, if you be the Son of God, take this stone and make it into bread, satisfy your hunger.

Why didn't He respond to these particular requests?

Jesus refused to perform the miracles because it wasn't in the best interest of the salvation of those who asked.

Jesus could have pardoned, performed the miracles as it's His very nature and desire to want to help and to bless individuals.

However, he desires and he wants, and what he wants most of all, is more permanent, lasting healing.

And that's really what our lesson is about this week and has been about this week and what we're going to review today.

It's about lasting healing, lasting healing.

So what do James' words here in James chapter 5, verses 13 to 20, what do they, what does it mean?

And what is the relationship between healing and forgiveness?

That's another question that we'll be asking.

And what is the significance of mentioning Elijah in connection with healing and forgiveness, this context?

What's the significance of Elijah being mentioned?

So these questions and more will be answered in the study as we move along.

I'm going to invite you to go with me to Sunday's lesson, and we're going to be in James chapter 5 and verse 13, the essential Christian toolkit.

James chapter 5, and we're going to look at verse 13.

Notice what James says here as he starts out.

Now you remember last week, previous verses, James is encouraging the believer to be patient and to wait for the harvest just as the husbandman or the farmer waits for his crop to come to fruition and reach maturity, he says, be patient and hold on, even in the midst of suffering, be patient and trust the Lord, because the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

And notice verse 13, he says, is anyone among you suffering?

And that's simply to mean someone who has suffered.

If you have suffered, if anyone is suffering, if anyone has suffered misfortune, and to suffer misfortune could be you're suffering mentally or maybe you're suffering physically.

To suggest that the Christian gets to bypass suffering is to deny the clear testimony of Scripture, history and reality.

And interestingly, James, as we've been studying, James refers to the reality of problems and difficulties in this life over and over and over again.

We won't turn there, but if you wanna scratch these down, you can.

He says, count it all joy, brethren, when you fall into divers, what?

James 3, 14 to 16, and then James 4, verse 7, and then in this particular chapter James 5 and verse 6.

James frequently refers to the problem of difficulties and trials in this life.

We've talked about temptations from within, and the devil brings temptations.

God allows difficulties and trials to come to us, not because he enjoys seeing us challenged or perhaps perplexed, but this is the world we live in and the great controversy issue must continue to unravel and ultimately God will be seen to be who he is and that is God, a God of love, and the devil will be seen for who he really is, and that is just a mean, nasty devil, right?

And so the great controversy is continuing, but this is real life, and as Christians, and living in this world, we do suffer, and So this topic has come up time and again to remind us that it is a reality.

Now some people go looking for problems and that's what we're not encouraging here.

They're going to find you, you don't have to go looking for them, they're going to come after you.

But when they come, you can know that you can trust the Lord, He'll help you, He'll guide you, and He'll bless you and keep you through those difficulties and those challenges.

This type of suffering that James is referring to goes beyond the disappointment you might expect or you might experience when your favorite team loses, or when some...

Maybe your body aches after working out in the yard or working out at the gym.

You might have experienced a financial loss, maybe a loved 1, maybe a death.

An individual might suffer, who lives for Jesus, suffer persecution, whether it be verbal or physical.

You know, we live in a very free country and the best folk can do is hurl insults at us, but that brings a degree of suffering.

Sticks and stones, we were told, may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.

They do get to us and they do hurt us at times.

Suffering comes because of abuse or disease, whether it be physical or mental.

Maybe you've experienced rejection because you've taken a stand for Jesus and your family's not quite sure what's going on in your life and you've experienced a cold shoulder or 2, and that brings a degree of suffering as well.

Notice again, is any among you suffering?

The Book of James: Getting Ready for the Harvest

All right, we're going to be studying, we're in the book of James, of course.

We're over on lesson number 11, and we're getting very close to finishing.

It's been a good quarter's study, hasn't it?

And today's lesson is getting ready for the harvest.

And our scripture or our memory text is in James chapter 5 and verse 8.

And the writer says this, he says, you also be patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at, what friends, it's at hand, that's right, coming of the Lord is at hand.

And so, you want to be over in the book of James here, we're going to be studying it and looking at it in detail here as we move right along in our study.

You know, it's no secret, you know, that I'm from a commonwealth country originally, and coming from a Commonwealth country means that you often get a visit from the Queen, from even the Prince and his bride, and this would happen occasionally.

The preparations are extensive for a royal visit.

Streets and shops are cleaned, made impeccable, the town is decorated, musicians and bands ready themselves to meet the royal pageantry.

Security is also upped a notch and massive preparation happens when royalty, when a monarch is getting ready to arrive.

Now, if we're excited and oftentimes Commonwealth countries do get excited, I know there's some Canadians here in the midst, in our midst today.

When you're living in a Commonwealth country, you get excited when monarchy, when royalty appears and comes.

And so how much more excited should we be and how much more extensive the preparations, how much more they should be when the King of the universe has said He's coming back, He's coming, royal, heavenly royalty, the King of kings, Lord of lords is coming back.

And how much more extensive the preparations?

So the questions that we're gonna be answering here this morning is how do we make those preparations?

And especially when we don't know the day or the hour of Jesus' coming.

And what does it mean to be patient and endure or establish our hearts?

And then how does that relate to the subject of the early and the latter rain, which James references here in these verses that we're going to be reading together.

And so all these questions will be answered here this morning.

And perhaps you already have your answers because you've studied your lesson and here we are reviewing it together.

I want to read the verses for you that we're going to be studying, reviewing here with you, and it's James chapter 5, and we're going to be looking at verses 7 through 12.

James chapter 5, verses 7 through 12, just to give us an overview, and then we'll take it verse by verse and break it down.

It says here, James chapter 5, verse 7, it says, Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Do not grumble against 1 another, brethren, lest you be condemned.

Behold, the judge is standing at the door.

My brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience.

You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

But above all, my brethren, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no, no, lest you fall into judgment.

So there it is, we're going to be reviewing these verses together this morning.

So we'll pick it up and we'll begin, of course, naturally at the beginning at verse 7.

James chapter 5 verse 7, Therefore be patient brethren until the coming of the Lord.

The theme that James is drawing on, the theme that he wants to speak to us about here is the coming of the heavenly monarch, the king of kings and lord of lords, the coming of the Lord.

And he says, see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and the latter rain.

So, James encourages us to be patient, therefore, or if you have the New King James, like I'm reading from, therefore be patient.

You'll notice, and you have noticed as we've studied together the book of James, that James uses the word patient or patience several times.

As a matter of fact, he uses it about 6 times in his writing to the church back then, and to you and to I, and me rather, and the word patience or, and patient denote a hopeful endurance or bearing long or being long suffering.

And so, he's inviting the believers to therefore be patient and wait, he says, therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.

Why be patient under provocation and not lose courage?

And of course, the preceding verses in chapter 5, which we looked at last week, talk about the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, the oppression of the rich, money trouble, and just problems on planet earth.

And of course, God's people would be in the crossfire, the crosshairs of all of this challenge and all of this trouble.

And so he says, because of this, you need to be patient.

Because Jesus is coming back, that's why.

Jesus is coming back, and he says that he's coming back soon.

So he wants us to be patient because Jesus is coming back, and when Jesus comes back, what's he going to do to the righteous?

He's gonna prop them up and say, you know, here you are, you've done what is right, you've been faithful, you've endured till the end, and so just be patient until I come, because when I come, I'm going to set things, I'm going to make wrong right, I'm going to set things in order.

And of course, when Jesus comes back, the wicked are going to be put in their place.

You know, the perception or the perspective of the shortness of earth's challenges compared with the eternal happiness and glories that the Bible promises God's people has always been a source of encouragement to the believer.

And it ought to be for you and I today as well.

We studied a couple of weeks ago about numbering our days, counting our days, because our days are like, how did James put it, he said, it's like a vapour, it just vanishes.

And when you compare simply our 70-some years of existence with Adam and Methuselah who lived 969 years of age, 70 years is nothing, is it?

But then you compare that to eternity, infinity, and there's no end.

And so keeping things in proper perspective has always been a source of encouragement to God's people, and I trust that it'll be a source of encouragement to you as well.

Keep in mind, Jesus is coming back, and when Jesus comes back, He's gonna set things right.

I mean, of course, there's a thousand years and then, of course, the executive judgment and then God will make all things new, I get that.

But James is encouraging us to look forward to the second coming of Jesus when Jesus is going to set things right.

Be patient, therefore, until the coming of the Lord.

And the coming of Jesus is compared here in James chapter 5 verse 7 to a harvest.

Back to Menu

All Teachings

The Book of James: The Everlasting Gospel

58m

The Book of James: Prayer, Healing, and Restoration

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The Book of James: Getting Ready for the Harvest

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War With the Red Empire

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They Killed the Witnesses

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Truth Triumphant

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Dyslexia to the White House

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The “Night” Before Christmas

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The Book of James: One Lawgiver & Judge

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The Book of James: The Humility of Heavenly Wisdom

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Answers to Objections About the Spirit of Prophecy

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Proper Use of the Spirit of Prophecy

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