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Patiently endure tensions and opposition. Actively pursue unity within the church family, and trust that our master is coming again soon and will make all things right. Join me, Pastor Richard, as we look at James chapter 5, verses 7 to 11 today. Church, as a young child, there was one day in all the year that I struggled with patience more than any other. When I was a young boy, one day in all the year, it was Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve, I was filled with impatience because I knew the next day my sister and I were going to be opening presents. And as a young boy, I tell you, there was nothing else on my mind on that day. Could not focus on anything else. I'd have trouble getting to sleep. How can you sleep when the next day is Christmas? And there's going to be gifts under the tree. And so uh I'd wake up early the next day, too early, earlier than I should have woken up, and I could not get back to sleep. And it was always, I think, a challenge to my parents because you know my father's off from work, it's Christmas day, they want to sleep in, but I never gave them an opportunity to sleep in because I would I would wake up and I'd rush out and I'd have a peek. We would have a Christmas tree and the gifts under the tree, I'd have a look, and then right to the parents' bedroom door. And so they they'd have no p peace on Christmas morning. And so they would make a compromise so that they could at least get a little more of a slow start in the morning. We had the Christmas stockings, if you know what I'm talking about, and they would be hung up, and so while my sister and I were sleeping, they would fill them with uh candies and goodies and small little things wrapped up. And so the compromise was we could go and we could take down our stockings and see what was there, but for the gifts we had to wait until after breakfast. And so uh I'd go and I would tear into that stocking and find everything in it, and the excitement was there, and I would be satisfied for about two minutes. And then I would be impatient yet again. And so uh breakfast was maybe something a little more special because it's the holiday, maybe waffles with whipped cream and fresh fruit sliced on it. Honestly, I can't remember because that wasn't the focus. And it would seem like it was taking forever for my father to drink his cup of coffee. And the impatience was welling up and welling up and welling up until finally breakfast was done and we would head off to open presents. Patience is something that uh even today I sometimes still struggle with, if we're honest. I get impatient waiting for the bus at times. Uh I can get impatient waiting for a package to be delivered. You order something on perhaps Shopee, you can see it's out for delivery. You can see it's there. What is taking it so long? Uh and so patience is something to be still struggled with at times. I can even get impatient. Uh trying if the whole family's trying to go out the door together, sometimes I will still get impatient. It it's uh it's not easy to get everyone going. Um, every evening I will have a bedtime routine with my children uh to pray together and to read a little bit of scripture. And then when that's finished, they're meant to go to bed. And yet sometimes I can feel some impatience there because this one needs to go for a long toilet, this one needs a drink of water, this one suddenly, oh, I have homework. Oh, I don't know how she forgot the homework all this time, but uh so patience is something that can be struggled with even as an adult. Um, and I do still struggle with that sometimes. I wonder, do any of you sometimes struggle with impatience? I think if we're honest, we we do la, yeah. Today we have uh in verse 7 from our reading today, it says, Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and the late rains. And to illustrate patience, James is giving us the example of uh the farmer, right? We know that farmers are hard working, they are up before sunrise, they are out under the sun. It is hard work, it is not easy. And yet, when the planting is done from the planting season, no matter how hard they're willing to work, they they cannot make things grow. They have to be patient, they have to wait for the rain to come. Patience is required. There might be a tension, there might be a need for that crop to really come together. Uh, it's got to be a good harvest. Perhaps financially there are challenges, whatever it may be. Uh, perhaps it's needed for food on the table. It cannot be rushed. There must be patience for it. Uh and I believe we all experience the challenge of remaining patient. For some of us, it's to remain patient uh with children and waiting for their character to mature, uh, trying to instill in them good habits. We we tell again and again and again, wash your hands before the meal, and we must continue to say again and again, we must be patient with them. It doesn't happen so quickly. For others, in the workplace, uh, we must practice patience, sometimes even on a daily basis, with difficult coworkers or or could be a supervisor. We just have to remain patient. For students, uh, they may need to struggle to stay patient with a teacher who sometimes they are long-winded and they they just can't seem to get to the point fast enough for them. And so all of us, I believe, we face uh the challenge of patience in different areas. Through the writings of James God is telling YCCA this morning, be patient until Jesus returns. Because that's that's part of our passage there. Be patient until Jesus returns. Patience is difficult, but if we see a great enough reward, we're gonna we're gonna hang in there. We're gonna maintain, we're going to be patient as long as it takes. And so we need to be careful that we don't let our attention wander. We don't get ourselves sidetracked. We don't invest all our time and our money into things that aren't going to produce any fruit. We don't want to invest in something that won't bring a real return. We don't want to get uh let our hobbies consume us. We must be patient until Jesus returns. Just like the farmer waits patiently for the rain to come, we need to wait patiently for the return of Jesus. Would you turn to your neighbor right now and say, let's wait patiently for the Lord? Amen. Patience, it requires a tension or an opposition, right? Uh without these, there can't be such a thing as patience. Just as if you no one can be brave. It's not possible to be brave unless you're facing a fear. If there's nothing to fear, there's no bravery involved. There's nothing for me through fear when I get a glass of water out of the fridge to drink. There's nothing to fear there, so I can't be brave about that. It's only when there's something I'm apprehensive about, there's some tension, there's some opposition, then we are able to uh enact patience, right? Uh and so James in this letter he goes on to talk about Job. He says, as an example of suffering and patience, tying these together. Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider them blessed who remain steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job. The prophets, if you know your uh your Old Testament at all, you will know that the prophets had difficult lives. Um they were faithful in proclaiming the word of the Lord, they were faithful in proclaiming the truth, they were faithful before God. And did they they get a condo and a nice car and a private jet for it? No. I guess they didn't have the prosperity gospel back then. Um for them, they suffered, but they were faithful. They remained faithful to the Lord, and they were patient, they didn't get to see the result. They said again and again and again, this is what the Lord says, this is what's going to come about. And yet for many of them, they didn't get to see it come about in their lifetime. They were patient and they endured suffering. We can look at uh perhaps Job as well. And I know some of you here, uh, you're perhaps struggling with health issues, perhaps even serious health issues, perhaps even long-term serious health issues. But we can take heart in Job's example. Job suffered while he was innocent, and he endured probably some of the worst uh pain that we can imagine, and it wasn't for a short time, we know it was for at least months. This was something that he faced day after day. It was quite difficult. And in the course of one day, if you know the story, he lost everything. He lost his children, he lost his wealth, he lost everything, and then his health was taken from him too. And yet Job remained faithful to God. In the midst of suffering, Job remained faithful to God, who remained reverent towards God, he never turned his back on God, instead, he appealed to him again and again, not as an adversary, but as someone that was on the same side. How did Job do it? For those of you who have gone through or are going through long-term health issues, how did he do it? How did he remain loyal to God through that? You see, Job knew that only God could deliver him from his misery. And so he didn't move his eyes off of God. He knew only God could be the answer. Only God could deliver him. And so Job he held on and he was proved steadfast in the sight of God, and God restored him. And so, if you're seated here this morning, or if you're joining us on the live stream, or perhaps if you're listening to this on the podcast later, I want you to know if you're struggling with a health issue, listen closely to God's first word for us this morning. Don't despair, remain steadfast, trust in the Lord. That is God's word today. Isaiah chapter 40, verse 31, it says, But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. I don't know if God is going to deliver you of your health issue on this side of eternity. I can't say. Perhaps he won't, perhaps he'll heal you this very hour. But I know this if you remain patient, if you remain steadfast, the Lord will renew your strength day by day. Amen. One day he's going to return for his own, and dear friends, I pray that he will find us faithful and waiting for him, eagerly anticipating him. If you think of the parable in the Gospels about those who, the virgins waiting for the master, and there was those who kept their oil, they had enough oil for the lamps and those who didn't. There are those who are ready. Even when things seemed dark, even when things perhaps seem to be dragging on, they were ready for the master's return. And I pray that we will be ready for the Master's return because he's going to restore us from all decay, he's going to restore us from all illness, from all infirmity, from everything that has taken a toll on us physically. He will renew us, he will restore us, and he will transform us. And that is our hope, my dear friends, for all of us who have faith in Christ. So let's aspire to be to be steadfast. Let's follow in the footsteps of Job, who continued to cry out to the Lord. Let's imitate Noah, who was obedient to God to build the ark, even though those around him were mocking him, even though there was no natural indication that there would be waters from the sky and a flood, and yet Noah trusted God. He believed that God had provided a way to deliver him. He was patient, he was steadfast, and he stayed the course. And that's true for us, church. As we stay the course, God will come for us. In the middle of today's passage in verse 9, it says, Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge is standing at the door. And so this is from this, I want to speak to us about unity. Um, as a parent, there are many things I can turn a blind eye to. I can let things slide if I need to. Must choose your battles, all right? We must choose our battles. But there's one thing that I cannot turn a blind eye to when it comes to raising my children, and that is when they tear one another down verbally. I cannot stand that. I cannot let it slide. We cannot let that continue. I cannot let that continue. They are family. Whether they want to be family or not, they're family. They didn't get a choice in the matter, they are still family. They need to have each other's back, they need to be on each other's side, they need to stand up for one another, they need to encourage one another. When it's needed, they've got to be there for one another. Uh maybe they didn't choose to be in that situation, but that is the situation they are in. They must be there for one another. And if I, as a certainly imperfect father, feel that way, how much does our heavenly father feel that way about us? Church, my dear brothers and sisters, as we're looking at the word today, you've got to be there for one another. It doesn't matter what has happened, it doesn't matter if someone has let you down in the past. It doesn't matter if there's something you've you've seen the imperfections in others here in the church. You need to be there for one another. You have got to stand up for one another. We cannot be just grumbling about one another and allowing offenses to uh remain there. Church, you gotta be there for one another. When you see someone who's having a difficult time, encourage them. Maybe you didn't choose this family, but this is the family you're in. You're in the family of God. We are called together, adopted together. We are brothers and sisters. Uh we just have to stick with one another because that is God's will for us, that we will support one another. Right through the Old Testament, under the Old Covenant, all the way up to the New Testament, and the New Covenant that is summed up love God and love your neighbor, you'll see that to God it is important, it is vastly important that we have unity, that his people be in unity. And I think of uh 1 Corinthians, where there's the illustration that we are one body but many parts. Every part is needed. They're not all the same, but they are all needed, and they must work together. And if God cares about unity so much, we should too. So this is the second thing that God is speaking to us today, church. We must actively pursue unity in Christ. Actively, not passively. Amen. If someone here's disappointed you or let you down or torn you down even, uh, we don't get to reject them. We have to put in the hard work to maintain unity. We have to keep pressing in. Finally, I just want to talk about trust. See, how did Job persevere even when everything was stripped away? How did Noah continue building that ark over a long period of time, even when the people around were mocking him? How did Joseph endure being thrown in a pit by his very own brothers, being sold into slavery, enduring prison when Potiphar's wife falsely accused him? How did David remain faithful to God when King Saul was looking for ways to kill him again and again? How did Paul continue forward despite enduring lashings five times? He was beaten with rods three times, he was stoned to death, and yet somehow he didn't die. Three times he was shipwrecked, and he was often hungry and thirsty. How did the original apostles, except for John, remain faithful even to the point of being martyred for their faith? For the young people, how are you going to maintain your faith despite the temptations that are especially challenging for youth? For us adults, how are we going to remain steadfast when honestly, as adults, it's much easier to hide our sins and our failings? For those who retired, already, how are you gonna maintain and hold the course even when your energy level has perhaps dropped quite a bit and it's easier to just rest and relax and take it easy instead? Church, how are we gonna continue showing respect to one another in maintaining our unity when we see glimpses of selfishness or pride or other areas of weakness? The answer is threaded into today's passage, and it's the Lord's answer for us today. We must trust in the Lord and we must believe that he is coming again. We must trust in the Lord and agree that one day we're all going to come before him on the day of judgment. There is such a thing. We must trust that when we fall short, when we stumble, when we fail, when we sin, the Lord will be our righteousness. We must believe that only He can save us. We must believe that only He can do a transformative work in our lives. We must trust in the Lord. All this we must trust in the Lord. It is the only way. To remain patient, we must trust in the Lord. To maintain our unity, we've got to put our trust in the Lord. We have to look to Him. A.W. Tozer, in his book, The Pursuit of God, he wrote this. Has it ever occurred to you that 10 pianos, all tuned to the same fork, the tuning fork, are automatically tuned to each other. They are of one accord by being tuned not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So 100 worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become unity conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. As we look to the Lord, the Lord is able to work all these things out. And so, church, the Lord, even as we sung this morning, the Lord is coming soon. I know as a youth, when I heard that said, I I probably uh wasn't so honoring to the Lord in my thoughts. I thought, yeah, people have been saying that for hundreds and thousands of years. Why do you say he's coming soon? Church, I don't know when he's coming. I don't know if it's going to be tomorrow. If he comes tomorrow, praise the Lord. I am so ready for him to return. Or it may not be in my lifetime. I just don't know. I feel the urgency. I feel as I look around the world, I feel that he must be coming soon. I don't know. According to God's timetable, he is coming soon. And as we don't know, we must encourage each other. He is coming soon. And so we've read what James was writing at that time in history. I wonder what would God be writing to YCCA this morning. I believe he would be saying or writing, be patient in waiting for my return. Remain faithful. Don't let your attention wander. Don't become sidetracked with the unimportant things of life. Don't hold grudges against one another. I will set all things right in my own time. I will come again for my people. I will be the one to work justice among the unjust. Trust in me. So if I can just sum everything up this morning into three short declarations from our passage. It's be patient, remain united, but trust that the master will return. Church, I believe this is God's word to me and to us this morning. That we be patient in waiting for his return, that we hold to unity together, and we keep our eyes fixed on the Master. And so I don't know the situations each of us are facing today, but I know that he is able to carry us through.

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