The Judge is standing at the door.

John Farley
Pastor-Teacher
Sunday,
June 4, 2017

 

the mission of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is sharing the love of Jesus Christ through aviation and technology…

…so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed.

 

MAF operates a fleet of 51 light aircraft from 17 bases in six countries in Africa, Asia, Eurasia, and Latin America.

Each year, they fly over two million nautical miles to speed the work of some 600 Christian and humanitarian organizations.

MAF flights support indigenous churches and local evangelists, create access to medical care, provide disaster relief, ...

…and make community development projects possible ... in some of the most remote places on earth.

Adoption Programs

• Adopt a plane
• Adopt a missionary
• Adopt a country

Short term mission trips

Countries

• The Congo
• Haiti
• Indonesia
• Lesotho
• Mali
• Mozambique

 

Practical Christianity:
The Judge is standing right at the door

The two great themes of James in his final exhortation are patience, and prayer.

JAM 5:7-12

James is urging his congregation to be patient until the Lord comes, …

….because at that time their persecutors will be dealt with by the Lord, the Great Judge.

James is also reminding the brethren that they too will come before the Judge when He returns.

sins of the tongue: complaining against one another (in verse 9),
and swearing an oath (verse 12).

The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at the conclusion of the Tribulation.

At that time the Lord Jesus Christ will conduct two separate judgments.

The first judgment will be the judgment of the Gentiles (“nations”).
JOE 2:30-3:3

The second judgment will be the judgment of Israel.
EZE 20:33-38

In chapter 5, James points to both judgments, each of which will occur at the coming of the Lord.

JAM 5:3,7-9

We see in verse 7 the image of the early and late rains.

The land of Palestine had two rainy seasons each year.

The early rains came in the autumn, and the late rains came in the spring.

The Old Testament prophets spoke of the spring rain in connection with the Second Coming of our Lord.

HOS 6:3
ZEC 9:14-10:1

James uses one more image here that also refers to the Second Coming of our Lord.

It is the door.

JAM 5:9

In the gospel of Matthew, our Lord speaks of THE door in describing His Second Coming.

MAT 24:29-33

JAM 5:10-11

Next, James gives two examples to encourage his people to patiently endure suffering, until the Lord returns.

As an example of suffering and patience, he points to the prophets.

The prophets bore the suffering from the stubborn and hostile unbelieving people of Israel and Judah.

MAT 5:11-12

As an example of endurance, James points to Job.

Job faced extreme pressure under the adverse circumstances brought on by satan.

JOB 1:8-12, 20-22
JOB 2:7-10

Even after his health was destroyed by Satan, Job kept his integrity before God.

In the end, he was rewarded for his patient endurance, which shows that the Lord is merciful and full of compassion.

JOB 42:10-17

JAM 1:2-8

JAM 5:12

We have seen how often James echoes our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount.

MAT 5:33-37

The passage in Matthew adds elements that help guide our interpretation of what both are saying.

A man of integrity can be counted on to do what he says without seeming to back it up with an oath.

Swearing an oath implies that everything else a person says when not “under oath” is fair game for lying.

They are hoping that the oath will add the credibility that they lack.

He’s “in” on everything about us, always overseeing every aspect of our lives!

PSA 139:1-12