Being The Body In Times Of Trial and Joy, Audio Part 1

Being The Body In Times Of Trial and Joy, Audio Part 2

Being the Body in Times of Trial and Joy – Part 2

 

To review:

·        There should never be fear that a body of believers is without a leader, because Christ is to be the head of the church – and that is what we are seeking at NLWC – Jesus is the head of this body.

·        We are all parts of the body – each called to a specific role– each one essential and necessary to the health of the body.

·        Part of what grows us from a spiritual babes into a mature body of Christ is the desire, willingness, ability, and practice of Speaking the Truth (gospel of Christ) to one another in love.

·        We must be determined to do this if we are going to grow in unity and maturity as a Body of Christ.  To go forward, we must seek for God to check us personally about our speech – both about what we say about or to one another and about what we left unsaid.  We must make a conscious effort to do this in order to grow in spiritual maturity.

·        When we are in trouble, we go to God and ask if we’ve brought this on ourselves.  We ask Him if there is anything we’ve done which has displeased Him.  We make sure we are right with Him – first.  Then, we ask Him to make the situation right.

·         “Is anyone happy, let him sing songs of praise” helps us realize that by praising God, we are letting others realize that we know our happiness and joy is from God.

·        Then, the person in need asks the elders of the church to come and pray over him/her – and to pray in faith and anoint them in faith for their wholeness.

·        The elders themselves are to be in the position of being “right with God.”  There should be no question there.  Those in this type of spiritual leadership should be praying earnestly for God to reveal any unrighteousness in them and to convict them of it and lead them to quick repentance.

 

Moving on, let’s look at the continuation of that passage and see what else it shows us.

 

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses^[e] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. 19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul^[f] from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

 

In the King James and the NKJV, there is no use of the word “therefore” to begin this passage.  That’s an important thing to note.  Because if it had been there, it would imply that this is the rationale for doing what comes next, rather than a continuation of the directive James is giving here.

 

The lack of a “therefore” shows that instead, this is another building block of what James is telling us to do in this passage.  I don’t want to belabor this point, but it is an important one.    We are to do what comes next as individual members of this body – this is not just directed to the elders.

 

“16 Confess your trespasses^[e] to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

 

Confess – meaning to recognize, admit, acknowledge verbally – trespasses to one another.  While there is no written “your” in the Greek, it is implied.  Especially when you look at the directive in the context of the whole passage.  Whose sins or shortcomings are we talking about here – whose faults are we addressing – whose troubles or struggles are we looking at?  Our own.

 

This takes us back to the truth we are to be speaking – I am a sinner saved by grace.  As I repent, God redeems and restores.  The more I understand of that, the less likely I am to stumble and fall back into that same sin. 

 

How do I better understand that I am a sinner saved by grace?  I am truthful about my condition with my church body of believers.  I confess my faults when God asks me to do so or when the Spirit compels me to through the power of conviction.

 

Why do I do this?  So that you know how to pray for me – and that so I will be healed.

 

Do you know what the ancient Jews used to do?  Have you ever heard of someone with a disease walking through a village crying out “unclean, unclean?”  I’ve always thought that was a ritual designed to prevent the spread of disease so that others would stay away from the person – that it was a Scarlet Letter sort of thing – I am a person defined by my condition and it tells you to avoid me.

 

But after reading a commentary by Adam Clarke – a holiness theologian – I realized that the ancient Jew would walk through a village crying out “unclean, unclean” because he or she was coveting his neighbors prayers for his or her restoration.  It was the way of announcing “Pray God heals me,” and it would almost joyfully be announced, because the person shouting “unclean” knew that AS THE PEOPLE PRAYED, GOD ANSWERED!

 

Imagine the impact on a body of believers if, when we are in trouble, we first go to God ourselves.  Then we seek the involvement of the elders if the situation is still not involved.  Next, we constantly go to each other when we realize our sin or our faults, seeking prayer and accountability.

 

Now you may be wondering why in heaven’s sake would you want to openly confess your faults or sins or struggles to each other?

 

Look at the middle of the verse and it will tell you why – so you’ll be healed!

 

Now, the word used here for “healed” is not “sozo.”  Instead, it is “iaomai” which means healed or made whole. Why this word?  Well, its use in other places implies that it is a healing which is in the process of happening. 

 

Think about that.  As we confess to one another our faults, our sins, our troubles, we pray for each other, and the healing is already in the process of happening.

 

Why?

 

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

 

What type of prayer – one which is effective and fervent – in the Greek this is one word and it implies something which is happening.

 

Whose prayers are effective and fervent? Those of a righteous man (or woman) – one who is actively doing what James has already directed us to be doing –asking God to examine his own heart, seeking to be right with God, going to the elders and seeking prayer with unresolved issues – one who is willing to confess that he or she has sinned or has things which he or she struggles with.

 

And what do these effective and fervent prayers do?  They “avail much.”  “Ischyo” is the Greek word for avail.  Listen to what it means: 1) to be strong in body, to be robust, to be in sound health

2) to have power as shown by extraordinary deeds. It also means to exert, wield power, to have strength to overcome, to be a force

 

When we do what James is asking, then the result is a body who prays for one another and is strong, robust, in sound health – a body who has power which is evidenced by extraordinary deeds, accomplished with power, sustained with strength to overcome – a body which is a “force.”

 

How do we know this is for us?  How do we know that this is what James means?

 

His reminder of what Elijah took the people he was writing to back a time before Jesus.  A time before David.  A time when Elijah was God’s man on the scene.  And Elijah’s prayers caused the rain to dry up, then the rain to come down.  Elijah’s prayers demonstrated the power of God and brought blessings to His people and to their land.

 

What will the power of the prayers of a righteous body of believers do?  They will make their way to heaven, just like Elijah’s did, and dry up whatever needs dried up – and bring down whatever needs brought down – and demonstrate the power of God and bring blessings to His people and to their land.

 

Wow.

 

But we’re not done yet.  James leaves us with two more short verses – still filled with directives and great promise.

 

19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul^[f] from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

 

This is a prescription for those among us who are not willing to do what James has already told us to do. 

 

Those of us who are already earnestly seeking God individually, then going to the elders, are actively asking each other to hold us accountable are very likely not going to find ourselves in this position.  But those who are not doing that may “wander away from the truth.”

 

First, let’s consider the warning there – some of us may wander away from the truth.  That in itself should be enough to drive us to our knees on each other’s behalf.  The danger of not seeking truth about our spiritual condition is that we can be led away or seduced spiritually into believing something which is not true. 

 

The implication here is not that we may grab hold of some screwy doctrine here, but rather we may being to embrace something other than the essential truth – that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that we are all still capable of sinning today, that we are all in need of a Savior and that Savior is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.

 

But if that happens, James shows us what can happen.  Notice that James does not say that we have to go to this person.  Instead, James uses a carrot and a stick approach.  Don’t look at the difficulty in doing this – in going to a brother or sister who is wandering away from the truth.

 

Instead, focus on what may happen – you may “turn him back” in the right direction.  The Holy Spirit may speak truth through you which leads to conviction and repentance and restoration.

 

Whee ha!

 

Carrot and a stick.  Keep your eyes on the vision of that person kneeling in repentance if the Lord is leading you to speak truth into someone.  Keep your eyes on the vision of the redemption and restoration if the Lord is asking you to be the body and remind someone of their need to go to God and ask if there is something in their life which shouldn’t be there.

 

Don’t do it judgmentally.

 

Don’t do it vengefully.

 

Don’t do it in your own power or strength.

 

Don’t do it thinking that it might work – do it because God has told you to do it – and leave the results to Him

 

The results are that the person who receives that truth and turns back to God receives the “sozo” restoration.  They are saved, healed, delivered, protected, preserved and made whole.

 

By repenting and turning back to God, they are covered by the blood and again restored to a righteous relationship with Him.

 

God accomplishes this through the Body as the Body He has called together chooses to become the Body He intends it to be.

 

Imagine the faces of those people who have walked through these doors in the time you have been part of this fellowship. 

 

Now, imagine the faces of those who are no longer here.  Some have physically moved away.  Some God has transplanted into other bodies of believers.

 

But there are many who have just drifted away.

 

And maybe, just maybe, there are those who have drifted away from the truth.

 

There have been some of those faces that I have gone to and tried to do this for them.

 

But there are many others who I have not.

 

God forgive me.

 

God forgive us.

 

This is something we must do for each other.

 

Look around this room.  No one is expendable to this Body.

 

God has called us together to accomplish what He wants to do among us.

 

But in order to be what He seeks us to be, we must be willing to ask God to reveal to us the sin or deception in our own lives first and foremost.

 

But it starts with me – it starts with you. 

 

Are you willing to be that transparent Body part – that part that is willing to go to God and beg Him to show you any wrong thinking, any deception, any way at all that you are relying on something other than Him or living for something other than Him?

 

Then, we must be willing to go to the elders and ask for their anointing and prayer if there is something which is still unresolved or not right in your life?

 

We must be willing to be transparent with one another – to confess our sins - and to do so in a way which builds and does not tear down the Body of Christ.

 

We must be willing to speak truth into each other’s lives all the time – not just when the truth is pleasant and pretty.  We must be willing to hold one another accountable.

 

And, when we are the healthy Body God desires us to be, then we will be in the position to go to one another, should the day ever arise, where one of us strays from the truth.

 

Then we are also in the position to be the healthy Body that God intends to use to reap the harvest and restore those who have wandered away.

 

But we have to be healthy first.

 

Right now, go to wherever you need to go to do that. 

Make sure you are a healthy body part.

 

Make sure you have asked for help if you need it.

 

Make sure you have spoken the truth to those who need to hear it.

 

God wants this Body to be healthy and whole.

 

But first and foremost, God wants this Body to be righteous and holy.

 

 

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