Steps Three and Four

In the last weeks in our study of James we have seen several steps to having the balanced Christian life that we must strive to have in our environment in which we live today. Paul reminds us of that environment Ephesians 6:12.
Step One is to guard your tongue – it is very powerful.
Step Two is to not be judgmental but to do good.

Today we will look at the final two steps in this book of instruction to those who claim the name of Christ as their savior.
1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will

testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the

harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and murdered innocent

men, who were not opposing you.
And a final word to you arrogant rich: Take some lessons in lament. You'll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries

are a cancer in your gut, destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you've piled up is judgment.
All the workers you've exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the Master Avenger. You've looted the earth and lived it up. But all

you'll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you've done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons, who stand there and take it.
Step Three: Do not; under any circumstances allow wealth to be your psychological or spiritual foundation. Why?
A. Because things will change.
B. It can turn you into someone that does not fit the mold of Christ. In other words selfish.

It is very important to understand that James is not teaching against someone being wealthy. It’s not like the misquoted Scripture “money is the root of all evil” because that is not what it says it says “the love

of money is the root of all evil”. He is saying in keeping in context to this whole book…when you love money more than Christ…your actions, your works will show it. And he gives examples…you get greedy,

you take advantage of employees…it will catch up with you.

7Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm,

because the Lord's coming is near. 9Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's

perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the

name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each

other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its

crops. 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a

multitude of sins.
Step 4: Persevere. How? Pray, sing and come clean.
Why shouldn’t you trust in your wealth, why should you persevere, pray and sing and come clean? Why should you follow all of these steps that I have given to you? Why should you have works to vindicate

your faith?
Because…Jesus Christ is coming again…and it could be anytime.
It is very important that you understand the time of this writing and what has already taken place. Jesus has been crucified and resurrected from the dead.
If this is not true, James would not have written this book because he was not a believer in Jesus as the Messiah. But because he eye witnessed the resurrected Christ he believed. Also, Pentecost had

already occurred…which is the audience he is addressing. So what you need to see here is that James is making it plan that he believes in a literal, bodily return of Jesus Christ. The promise of the return is

not on the hopes of a resurrection, nor the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost because these things have already happened when James writes this letter.
Acts 1:3-11 After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4On

one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with

water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
6So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (this is a political question, when is God going to take over?)
7He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. (political answer, authority is mentioned)
8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
This is not a political statement but spiritual one.
You will be my witnesses, not rulers, not kings, not presidents, not Prime Ministers…and that’s what James is talking about in his letter…being witnesses that are the real deal…not game players, not people

who straddle the fence…not club members…but actual living, breathing, little Christ.
9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This

same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
This same Jesus, not the Holy Spirit, not a movement called Christianity, but the same man who left is coming back.
So, James, the same writer who tells us how to talk the talk and back it up with the walk also tells us that Jesus Christ is coming again…and it could be at any time.
Why is that important? Why is that a substantial motivation to live rightly? Because it gives us a future orientation that goes beyond that which is in the past. In other words it is a tangible promise because it

talks about something that will be seen.
For those who wish to preach a alternative gospel, those who wish to belittle Christ to the level of Buda and Mohammad…who want to teach that there are many ways to God…the book of James blows all of

that out of the water when he states that Jesus is not only alive but returning. No cult on this earth can proclaim nor promise that.
The literal return of Christ as a political power, strikes fear into the hearts of world leaders…why? Because He is true freedom…and that has always been feared by those who wish to control wealth, land and

people.
Jesus Christ offers that freedom to every man woman and child…when we receive that into our very beings we are forgiven, made whole, and then we have the ability and desire to follow the steps we talked

about in James.
You are free when you are in Christ….no matter what happens…you always have your faith…the person of the Holy Spirit of God in you…and the knowledge of the promise of the return and straightening out of

this world by Jesus Christ.
Folks James and Acts contains Scripture to motivate us to live rightly because what Jesus Christ has done for us. However, they also give that part within us that longs for things to be right in this world, which

we all have, a promise that it will be righted! And that promise is a whole lot more than spiritual, it is physical, material and political. We will look more into that in the days to come as we approach a tie of

thanksgiving and the first coming of our Lord.
The goal of these studies is to help us be Christians on earth, the kind that our faith makes a difference in what we say and do and how we treat each other. Now we will begin to move into the area of our future

and how exceedingly bright it is.
For a believer in Christ must know that this life is as bad as it gets for them and that death is only a step in a future that has been provided for.
So, there should be no reason for anxiety nor fear, for we know who holds tomorrow and it will work out. I promise