Everlasting God, O Lord My Rock and My Redeemer, Firm Foundation, Great Are You Lord

What is that one “impossible” thing in your life that you are continuing to trust God for even if you are not seeing much breakthroughs in that area at the moment?

7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. 10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. 12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish 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 earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. 19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

As we conclude our Sunday message series on the Book of James, we’ll look at how real faith experiences God’s power. A fake Christian will never fully experience the power of God. But a genuine believer will be empowered by the Lord to help us live life and live in a godly way (2 Peter 1:3). God empowers those who genuinely believe so we can live victorious lives. God empowers us and tests our faith as well. The Lord allows various trials and difficulties into our lives — from temptations to prolonged pain, and everything in between (difficult relationships, health problems, work and financial challenges, etc.). When pain and trials stay for years, we need to know more than ever, that we will experience God’s power in our lives if we have real faith. How does God allow us to experience His power?

PERSEVERE

Our perseverance is part of experiencing God’s power, because we cannot persevere without His empowerment. Our willpower can only give us temporary perseverance; only God can enable us to persevere the way He wants us to. If your faith is real, then your eyes are fixed on Jesus as you wait on the Lord. Fixing your eyes of Jesus means that you trust Him, you know His promises and believe that God always keeps His promises. This also means that you will keep His ways. Jesus is our greatest reward; we are to be patient until Jesus comes again (James 5:7). The Second Coming of Jesus is the one thing that we should be most looking forward to. It is only when Jesus returns that all of our problems will be solved! Real faith means we are excited for Jesus more than anything else. Jesus’ return is near, and when He comes again, He will be the Ruler over everything, our King, and our Great Reward (James 5:8). There are many who claim to be Christians but couldn’t persevere because their hearts are too attached to the world. If our longing is for what is temporary, we won’t be able to persevere. But if our longing is for the Second Coming of Jesus, and our motivation is His Presence, then we shall persevere because the Judge (Jesus) is “right at the door” (James 5:9). Like the prophets in the Bible, don’t complain or hurt others back, focus on Jesus, the Judge who is coming soon (James 5:10). Jeremiah suffered greatly from physical attacks to “failure” in ministry even as he remained faithful to God’s calling (Jeremiah 20:1-3, 26:7-9, 16:1-2, Lamentations 3:14, Jeremiah 38:1-16, 7:27, 20:9). Jeremiah complained to the Lord and almost gave up hope (Lamentations 3:18).

Yet the central passage of Lamentations show that Jeremiah regained his hope in God as he recalled the Lord’s unceasing lovingkindness, unfailing compassions, His great faithfulness (Lamentations 3:21-23)! The Jews greatly valued inheritance passed on from their fathers and Jeremiah considered the Lord as his inheritance and therefore hopes in Him, seeks and waits silently for the Lord to come and save him (Lamentations 3:24-26). James gave Job’s example of endurance through numerous sufferings for us to follow (Job 1:13-19, 2:7-8, 19:13-19, 3:11, 25-26). Job almost gave up to the point that he wished that he was never born until he encountered God (Job 42:1-6). Perseverance is the natural response when we encounter God’s goodness and glory.

PRAY

There is no power in prayer; the power of prayer lies in who we are praying to. Make sure that you are praying to the true God! If my faith is real, it will be seen in my prayer life. My prayer life shows how dependent I am to God. A lot of Christians who only pray before they eat, or when things become so tough. We should always be in prayer for all things; be desperate for God and go to Him every day. But go to Him without demands or manipulation — that’s not genuine dependence on God (James 5:12). Prayer doesn’t bend God’s arm to do what we want. It bends our hearts and knees to do what He wants. James instructs us regarding prayer (James 5:13-14). We are to pray when we’re hurting, happy, and pray for those who are sick. We are to pray in faith — believing that God can do what we ask and trusting that His answers are always perfect (James 5:15). Prayer in faith is surrender to God, in humility, dependence, and trust in God. We cannot demand from God to do what we want. But we also cannot deny His power to answer “impossible” prayers when we’re right before God (James 5:16). We hinder God’s powerful work in our lives when we live in sin. Perhaps unanswered prayer is because of unrighteousness in our lives, such as in how you treat your spouse (1 Peter 3:7). Ordinary people will see great answers to earnest prayer (James 5:17-18). The prophet Elijah experienced God’s power through miraculous answers to prayer (1 Kings 17:1, 18:42-44, 17:17-21, 18:36-38, 2 Kings 2:8). God will surely show His power to a righteous person who earnestly prays.

PROCLAIM HIM

James closes his letter with this most important truth: that the most powerful act of God is saving us from death through His Son, Jesus (James 5:19-20). Jesus died for our sins and rose again after three days — the most powerful work of God. Eternity is way beyond any answered prayer here on earth (Acts 4:10-12). The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). This is why we share our faith because we all need Jesus, the only Name that can grant us eternal life (Jude 1:22-23). No amount of miracles on earth can replace the miracle of having eternal life in Jesus. Share your faith in Christ to those who still need to know Jesus and trust in Him as their all-Powerful Savior and Lord.

Pray earnestly for more people to have real faith that experiences God’s power in their lives that leads them to Jesus.

Show genuine care for others by sharing your faith to them.

Live out and talk about the gospel of Christ wherever you go this week.

• Worship God for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do in our lives.

• Upright and moral governance of public servants; repentance and salvation for government leaders and citizens for a Christ-centered Philippines.

• For legislators to promote and support bills and laws aligned with God’s Word.

• Pray for persecuted Christians in Sudan and Nigeria) — many have been beheaded and murdered; earnestly seek God’s intervention to stop the bloodshed. Pray for freedom from oppression, that God’s word and His people bring them comfort and hope.

• PRAISE God that all Israeli hostages have been restored to their families! Continue to pray for Israel’s war with terrorists to end according to God’s purpose and for His glory. For Jewish people worldwide who are experiencing a surge of antisemitism. May this lead them to the Messiah, Jesus as they turn to God for help and comfort.

• For nations in turmoil (e.g., Ukraine, Iran, Syria, etc.) to experience true freedom in Christ and become centers for massive spiritual revivals in their regions. For new Iranian leadership to rise up that will be for the people of Iran, will promote freedom of worship that the Iranian believers will be able to reach out to the rest of their countrymen and the people of the Middle East.

• That CCF Members would honor and love God and make disciples.

• For elders, pastors, dleaders, and families to become holy, humble, harmonious, happy, and heart-working.

• Ministries and churches expand worldwide.

• Worship and Training Center

• Prayer Mountain

• Deeper intimate relationship with God.

• Righteous living.

• Salvation of family and friends.

You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.