BE PATIENT LIKE THE FARMER – JAMES 5:7-8

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Are you a patient person – both on the outside and on the inside? Do you mind standing in long lines? Are you unperturbed when listening to long commercials on your TV or radio, or long, automated ads on the telephone? Are you content when put on hold for an undetermined amount of time? If your honest answer is “yes”, you are, by far, an exception to the rule!

In 2006, a survey of more than 2000 adults revealed that most people take an average of 17 minutes to lose their patience when waiting in line. Also, most people lose their patience in only 9 minutes when on hold on the phone. Impatience is a common trait; wouldn’t you agree?

James has finished his verbal chastening of the selfish, unrighteous rich people, and is continuing where he left off in his address to the churches. We see the transition in verse 7, where James now calls his readers and listeners “brethren”. He is writing once again to his brothers and sisters in Christ.

I. THE EXHORTATION (vs. 7a)

He has been telling the wicked rich people what to do before they meet their Maker. Now he is telling his fellow believers what their attitude should be in their present circumstances in order to prepare to meet their Lord and Savior. He reiterates what he said in chapter 1, verse 12: “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” In this letter, James has brought to their minds many passages from the Old Testament, and I believe he is doing so again. One Old Testament passage of Scripture that closely parallels his words is Psalm 37. In verses 7-9 of Psalm 37, King David writes: “Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret for him who prospers in his way, because of him who carries out wicked schemes.” Then David says in verse 9, “For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.” This exhortation is repeated several times in Psalm 37. I encourage you to read the whole psalm to get the full effect of what David is saying there under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

James also gives this encouragement in verse 7 in order to protect his readers and listeners from their own selfish plans and boastful attitudes (James 4:13-17). Some of them have been setting up their own timetable for what they want to accomplish for themselves, and have been boasting about it to others.

When James uses the words “until the coming of the Lord”, he may be reminding himself of the Lord Jesus’ words to him and the other disciples: “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3). That’s a wonderful promise for us to cling to as well, in these troublesome times! The early church believed that Christ could come at any moment, and that was a source of joy and encouragement in their trials. Twenty centuries have passed, but Christ could still come at any moment. Are you excited about that possibility? It could become a reality at any moment!

II. THE EXAMPLE (vs. 7b)

James says, “take a good look at the farmer as an example of patience (long-suffering)”. The farmer has a lot of work to do, and he also must wait for things to happen in his fields and orchards. Plants take time to grow and fruit takes time to ripen. As his readers and listeners know, in Deuteronomy 11:13-14, God made a promise to the nation of Israel before they crossed the Jordan River and entered the promised land. “And it shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain . . . “. In Israel, the early rain, or autumn rain, comes in October and November, after the ground has been prepared and the seed has been sown. This rain enables the seed to germinate, produce sprouts, and grow to almost full height. The late rain, or spring rain, comes in March or April, when the buds have formed, and enables the grain to mature for the harvest. It’s important that the farmer follows this timetable set forth by God if he wants an abundant harvest. There is a time of patiently waiting for the autumn rain to arrive, for the spring rain to arrive, and for the harvesting to begin, but the farmer is kept busy preparing and repairing the equipment and the barns, and getting the laborers ready for the coming harvest. The time goes by quickly because the farmer is committed to his tasks and excited about the harvest to come.

III. THE EXHORTATION (verse 7b)

James encourages his readers and listeners to have the same attitude of perseverance and expectancy as the farmer that he has just described. There are, and have been, times in our lives that have tested our patience and posed a threat to our devotion to God and service for Him. There have also been times when we have wanted to get things done in a hurry just to get them over with! 19th-century preacher A.B. Simpson offers this advice: “Beloved, have you ever thought that someday you will not have anything to try you, or anyone to vex you again? There will be no opportunity in heaven to learn or to show the spirit of patience, forbearance, and longsuffering. If you are to practice these things, it must be now.” Each day offers countless opportunities to learn patience. Let’s not waste them.

A PERSPECTIVE FROM ABOVE

I’m going to carry this illustration of the farmer a step further because both the Old and New Testaments do so. It is a clear, powerful, and exciting realization and motivation for us today. I have already shared scriptures concerning the early and late rains as found in the old testament. But there is another image that James may be trying to convey, and this image may be coming to the minds of his readers and listeners. It is the image of God as the patient Farmer, the Cultivator, the Planter, the Nurturer, the Pruner, and the Harvester in the lives of His people.

King David says to God is Psalm 65:9-10: “Thou dost visit the earth and cause it to overflow; Thou dost greatly enrich it. The stream of God is full of water. Thou dost prepare their grain, for thus Thou dost prepare the earth. Thou dost water its furrows abundantly; Thou dost settle its ridges. Thou dost soften it with showers; Thou dost bless its growth.” He describes God as doing the whole work of the farmer.

Psalm 121 gets more personal. “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is the shade at your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from every evil. He will keep your soul.” As the farmer takes good care of his land and crops, so the Lord takes constant care of His people.

A song that I sing to myself almost every day is the hymn, “God Will Take Care Of You”. Now I’m beginning to realize why this song is so special to me. The words. “God will take care of you” are repeated over and over again with different melodies. Singing the song brings a smile to my face and an assurance that those words are really true. It reminds me that when I was a little child, my mother used a similar method to calm me down and help take away the fear or the pain I was experiencing. She would hold me close, rock me in her arms, and say, “It’s OK, Tommy . . . It’s alright . . . I love you . . . You’re going to be alright . . . It’s gonna go away . . . You’re going to be OK.” Does that bring back memories? Those repeated words brought comfort to me, and helped take my mind off the problem. In a similar way, God tells us over and over again in the Scriptures that He loves us and will take care of us.

Isaiah 30:18 reflects the patience of a farmer. “Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you. And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.” “For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His delightful plant.” If God is waiting, that means He is also watching, and with joyful anticipation!

The Lord Jesus echoed the words in the psalms and prophets when He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. . . . by this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:5,8).

We believers in the Lord Jesus are God’s vineyard, God’s field. We are the fertile ground that God has prepared. He has planted the seed of His Word in us, watered it, and caused it to germinate and grow. He has provided for everything, filled us with His Spirit, and taken care of everything in our lives. Now He is waiting patiently for you and me to cooperate with Him so that we might bear much fruit before He comes again. The seed is in that fruit to bear more fruit. God wants us to depend upon His enabling, follow His example of working and waiting on Him, and so prove to be His disciples. You are equal to the task because He is the “Lord of the Harvest”, and He has called you to be His laborers. The coming of the Lord is very soon!

“For you are God’s fellow-workers: you are God’s field” (I Corinthians 3:9). May you experience the Lord’s care for you, and may your lives bear much fruit for the Lord!

I’m moving on to a new construction site: James 5:9-11. Hope to see you there once construction begins! This work-in-progress must go on until He comes! Or until I go to Him – whichever comes first! May the Lord of the Harvest bear fruit in your life today as you abide in Him! (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control).

NEW YEAR’S DAY – ARE YOU READY?

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New Year’s Day is the closest thing to being the world’s only truly global public holiday or day of celebration. It may be celebrated on different months and different days but the new year is celebrated in almost every nation and culture. Most countries use the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar, and New Year’s Day is observed on the first day of January.

The month of January originally owes its name to the deity Janus, the Roman god of gates, doors, and beginnings. Janus had two faces, one looking forward and the other looking backward. January 1 represents the fresh start of a new year after a period of remembrance of the passing year. In our country, we celebrate New Year’s Day with New Year’s resolutions, parades, football games, and fireworks.

The past year has been a very eventful and alarming year in many ways. It has been a very stressful year for many who have lost jobs or who have lost family members in very traumatic ways. Thoughts of the end of the world have filled the minds of many of us. Have you given your fears, concerns, regrets, and disappointments from the previous year over to God? Pastor Ray Steadman once told his congregation, “On New Year’s Eve we realize more than at any other time in our lives that we can never go back in time. We can look and remember, but we cannot retrace a single moment of the year that is past.”

Looking ahead, are we ready to move on into the new year? As we’ve waited for, and been warned about, the end of the Mayan calendar and the predictions of the end of the world, are we ready for the calendar of events God has revealed to us in the Bible? According to the Scriptures, the next thing on the world’s calendar is not the end of the world. That won’t occur for over a thousand years. The next thing we need to be ready for is the rapture of Christians. By “Christians” I mean those who have repented of their sins and have invited Jesus Christ to be their Savior and Lord, and their changed lives bear witness to the fact that their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ is real. I Thessalonians 4:15-18 and I Corinthians 15:50-53 tell us that all genuine Christians will suddenly disappear. They will be caught up to meet Jesus Christ in the air and be taken to heaven. Are you ready for that moment? If not, you will be left behind, and there will be seven years of Tribulation – the wrath of God upon the earth. Please make a New Year’s resolution to come to a personal knowledge of, and commitment to, Jesus Christ.

Dr. Dennis DeHaan shared the following message in the New Year’s Eve Daily Bread brochure in 2004. 16th-century Venetian artist Titian portrayed Prudence as a man with three heads. One head was of a youth facing the future, another was of a mature man with his eyes on the present, and the third head was that of a wise old man gazing at the past. Over their heads, Titian wrote a Latin phrase that means, “From the example of the past, the man of the present acts prudently so as not to imperil the future.”

This has not been an easy year to look back on, and the coming year may not be an easy one to look forward to, but we are not alone. In the Old Testament book of Joshua, chapter 1, after Moses died and God told Joshua to enter the land of Canaan and conquer it, He also gave this promise: “As I have been with Moses, so I will be with you. . . . Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Let’s dedicate ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ so that we might enter the coming year with courage and joyful excitement!

THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT – Philippians 4:10-23

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INTRODUCTION:

A deacon in a church once said to his pastor: “We Christians are either thermometers or thermostats”. A thermometer doesn’t change anything around it. It just tells the temperature. It’s always going up and down. But a thermostat regulates the room or building it is in. When you turn up the thermostat, the heater comes on and the room gets warmer.

The apostle Paul was a thermostat. Instead of having spiritual ups and downs as his situation changed, Paul went right on, doing his work and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Here in Philippians 4:10-23, Paul gives the reasons for his contentment, and gives the glory to God.

I. PAUL’S CONTENTMENT (verses 10-13)

In verse 10, the apostle Paul rejoices that the church at Philippi had become concerned about his needs. He had been praying for them. Now Paul rejoices at the way God had answered his prayers and provided an opportunity for them to be of service to him while he was in prison at Rome. Then Paul says in verse 11, “For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” The word “learned” means “learned by experience” Paul had to go through many difficult experiences in life in order to learn how to be content. When Paul wrote these words, he was deprived of almost everything – except contentment.

I may have shared this illustration with you before , but it’s so appropriate for this verse. Leaning on his fence one day, a devout Quaker, who believed in simplicity of life, was watching a new neighbor move in next door. After all kinds of modern appliances, electronic gadgets, and plush furnishings had been carried into the house, the Quaker called over to his new neighbor and said, “If you are lacking anything, neighbor, let me know, and I’ll show you how to live without it.” That Quaker and the apostle Paul had at least one thing in common – they had learned the secret of contentment. We may not always be able to choose our circumstances in life, but we can choose our attitude toward them.

The opposite of contentment is dissatisfaction or greed. I’m sure we’ve all met greedy people, but people aren’t the only ones who are greedy. An animal that is almost impossible to capture is the ring-tailed monkey of Africa. But the Zulu people have a method that’s both simple and effective. It’s based on this little creature’s love for a particular melon that grows on a vine. The seeds are its favorite food. Knowing this, the Zulus cut a small hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to put his hand inside to get the delicious morsels. The little fellow reaches through the hole and grabs as many seeds as he can. But pulling his clenched fist out of the melon is impossible because now it is larger than the hole. He will pull and tug and scream and struggle to get free, but it’s no use. As long as he holds on to his prized seeds, he is trapped by the melon – and the Zulus have captured one more ring-tailed monkey.

All too often we also become the victims of our own selfishness and greed. Lured by the attractiveness of material things, we strive to get more and more. Then one day we realize that what we have been living for is the cause of our frustration and unhappiness. Our hand is in the “hole” and we can’t seem to get it out because we won’t let go!

Happy is the person, whether wealthy or poor, whose greatest satisfaction is in the Lord Jesus Christ! That person can say with the apostle Paul, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”

Paul’s motto is found in verse 13: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” A father found his little boy one day trying to lift a heavy stone. The youngster pushed, pulled, and struggled to get the boulder to move. Then, as he was just about to give up, his dad said, “Son, are you using all your strength?” “Sure am”, he answered. “No, you aren’t”, the father responded. “I’ve been standing here all the time and you haven’t asked me for help!” How often have we tried to do things without relying on God’s strength? We use up all our energies, and then, because the task seems impossible, we’re tempted to throw up our hands and give up. Remember, we are not using all our strength unless we are drawing upon the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in us.

II. PAUL’S GRATITUDE (verses 14-18)

In verses 10-13, Paul expresses his gratitude to the church at Philippi for their many gifts, especially for their most recent gift. In verse 15, Paul says “No church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone.” They showed their devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, and their love for the apostle Paul, by giving sacrificially to Paul. Let me share with you another example of sacrificial giving. In about 1490, two friends, Albrecht Durer and Franz Knigstein were struggling to become artists. They were very poor and a lot of training was involved. So they decided that one would work and support both while the other pursued art classes. They cast lots and Durer won. Before leaving, he assured Franz that he would return and help him so that he could develop his talent. He did come back to keep his promise, but to his surprise, he discovered the enormous price his friend paid. Hard labor had caused his slender, sensitive fingers to become stiff and twisted. They would never be able to perform the delicate brush strokes necessary in fine painting. On one occasion Durer found Franz kneeling, his gnarled hands folded as he prayed for his companion. Quickly the great artist sketched that scene, and from it he produced his masterpiece, “The Praying Hands”. The world is richer because of Albrecht Durer, but much credit must also go to his faithful friend.

In verse 18, the apostle Paul thanks the Philippian church for their most recent gift. He calls it “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.” Thank you notes give us the opportunity to make permanent our feelings of gratitude for our friends or loved ones. Paul sent a thank you note to the Christians at Philippi. They were the only church that had supported him financially on his missionary journey, and Paul did more than just say thanks. He told them specifically what good they had done by helping him. Thank you notes work both ways. They help the sender to express appreciation, and they help the receiver to know what he had done to assist. Does someone you know deserve a note of thanks?

III. PRAISE TO GOD (verses 19-20)

In verses 19 and 20, Paul gives praise and glory to God, and says, “You met my need, and God is going to meet your every need.” A needy widow in Chicago lived by the motto: “The Lord will provide.” Even when severely tested, Mrs. Hokanson never lost her smile and her deep faith. Casting all her cares on God, she found that He always took the burden and supplied the needs.

Mrs. Hokanson was the sole support for her mentally retarded son. Eventually, chronic arthritis confined her to bed. When a church youth group went over to Mrs. Hokanson’s house to cheer her up,, they were amazed to discover that she was not depressed. When she was asked, “What will you and Arthur do?” She gave her usual quiet, confident response, “The Lord will provide.” When Mrs. Hokanson died, many people wondered what would happen to her son. But when friends and neighbors went home with Arthur after the funeral, he proudly showed them his collection of stamps. Instead of tearing the stamps off the envelopes, he had taken and kept over a hundred letters intended for his mother and left them unopened. Many contained substantial gifts – enough to care for the boy for the rest of his life.

When we cast all our cares on the Lord, we’ll be amazed at the wondrous way He provides! Our needs can never exhaust God’s supply.

God’s promise to provide for our needs covers the little things as well as the big ones. The same God who helped Elisha retrieve the borrowed axe head in II Kings 6, and who supplied flour and oil for a faithful widow in I Kings 17, will meet all our needs as well, not only the physical needs, but also the emotional, social, and spiritual needs. We worship a God who is greater than any of our problems.

Have you learned the secret of contentment in your life? If you are still searching and want answers, please go to my ABOUT PAGE, especially to the section entitled QUESTION. If you have more questions or want to know more about a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, please leave a comment and I’ll respond to you. Thank you for your attention, and may God give you the joy and contentment you desire as you respond to Him.