A Daily Walk

John Randall: Last time on A Daily Walk. James says if you are suffering, what should you do? Pray. That's the first thing. He didn't say stress, try to figure it out, call all your friends, or see if you can Google it. No, he said pray. Pray.

Guest (Male): Welcome to A Daily Walk with John Randall. Today, Pastor John will bring us the final message in his series through the Epistle of James. Now, as we mentioned at the beginning of this series, James is one of the most practical books in the Bible. It speaks of taming the tongue, the importance of putting our faith into real action, and dealing with the hardships of life. Today, we'll be encouraged as we consider the power of prayer with our final look at James. Here is Pastor John.

John Randall: Does God have the ability to heal? Yes, He does. He is able. He's all-powerful. God can do whatever He wants. Nothing's impossible for God. Yes, God can heal. Yes, God does heal. Does God heal everybody? Obviously, no. God, as it relates to healing, is completely up to Him. He decides. I'm going to pray in faith and believe that God can do it, but if God doesn't heal here, if you're a Christian, He's definitely going to heal there, and there is no more sickness.

But God can heal. And so, I don't doubt it. Some say, "You just didn't have enough faith to believe." I don't believe that. That's false. Sometimes you hear people say that they just didn't have enough faith and they just needed to claim it or whatever they say nowadays. I disregard it. But I do know that God heals, and I do know that we're supposed to pray for people who are sick, and we are to believe that God can do it, and we leave the healing in the hands of God.

If anybody is among you who is sick, then you should pray for them. This should be our first resort. When our kids were growing up in our home, prayer was always the first option. My wife or myself would always lead the children to pray first. Kids would allow you to pray for them. We get a little bit older and we need to get some medication. I'm not opposed to Tylenol or medication. Don't be weird. I'm not talking like that, but what I'm saying is also pray. Invite the Lord into that.

The Lord is concerned about a head cold as much as He's concerned about cancer. He's concerned about all of it. He loves you. He loves me. And so I want to pray. If you're sick or you're suffering, pray. This is really important. God can heal, He does heal. He doesn't heal everybody, but as a Christian, you have the confidence that one day you're going to ultimately be healed in His presence. God not only heals physically, He heals emotionally. He heals mentally. He does it all. He can do any of that, no matter what your situation is.

Maybe tonight you need God to heal you emotionally. He can do that. He's near to the brokenhearted, the Bible says. God has ways. I don't know how He does it, but He does it. I would encourage you, and I'm not opposed to you sitting down with a godly counselor, as long as they point you to the Scriptures and point you to Jesus, but there is nobody who can counsel like Jesus. There are things that Jesus alone can do. God can use a counselor and people like that to walk you through it and I praise God for people like that in the body of Christ who have that gift and can walk you through it and help you through it, but it's only Jesus through that person.

Jesus is the one that does the healing. And maybe that's something you need and God is able to do that even for you tonight. You might think, "I don't think I can ever be healed of that." Oh, hey, God can do it. God can do it. It might be for somebody here tonight. But God heals. Then He goes on to say, notice as we continue talking about prayer in the midst of suffering and sickness, calling for the elders of the church to pray over them, anointing them with oil.

In verse 15, "the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." There seems to be an implication here that some of the sickness that someone was experiencing was a direct result of some sin that they were involved with. Now, that was not always the case. Do you remember when the disciples of Jesus asked Jesus when they saw the blind man, was it his parents' sin or his sin that he was born blind? Jesus said no, that the glory of God might be revealed in him, and He healed him. There was this idea that if you're sick, you must be in sin. That's not always the case.

But there are other occasions where some sin that you're involved with can lead to some sickness. Example of this would be when Jesus was in the home of Peter on Galilee, on Tiberias, and there was a man lowered down through the roof. They ripped off Peter's roof and they lowered the man down. What did Jesus say to this man they wanted healed who was paralyzed? Jesus said, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." That is the first thing. It would seem in that connection that this man had done something and the sin he was involved with led to his paralysis.

Jesus didn't always say that, but He said it to that man. The Pharisees said, "Only God can forgive sins." Good point. Jesus said, "That you might know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, now I say to you, take up your bed and go home." His sins were forgiven and then his body was also healed. So sometimes sin can be a direct consequence of sickness. Not always, but sometimes. It talks about them being healed and being forgiven, and I think that's so comforting.

I am so glad that the Lord has forgiven my sins because they are many, and He has forgiven me. He has washed me and cleansed me. For you, too, if you are a Christian, if you have confessed your sin, He forgives and cleanses. He is merciful. Verse 16 says, "Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed." And the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. So we are told that if you are sick, go to the elders and have them pray, but it also says pray for one another.

I do not have a direct line to God. You have access to Him just like I have access to Him. You can pray and so can I. So you can pray with your brother or sister in Christ; pray for one another. For the church to truly be effective, we need to be a praying church, but that includes praying for one another. It is such a blessing to see people praying for one another and lifting the needs up. To walk through the church and see people in different areas just praying for one another is the sweetest thing to see.

When it comes to confessing your trespasses to one another, this isn't saying you need to go into a little booth and tell this person on the other side all of your sins. That's not what this is talking about here. This isn't a proof text for confession, but in the context, it seems to be implying making amends with those who you have wronged or those who have wronged you. This has to do with going to another person, confessing your faults to one another, making amends where there has been wrong, misunderstanding, hurt, or sin against another person.

James gets right to the point. Here is the deal, folks: if we allow bitterness to linger and hate to remain and fester without clearing them out through prayer, forgiveness, and confession to one another, do you know what ends up happening? It ends up consuming you. You can get sick from that. You can get ulcers and lose sleep; it can make you miserable. James is saying confess your sins to one another. I think this is extremely important in light of the text. We can go a long time and be bitter. We can go a long time and justify unforgiveness.

You can find strength in your bitterness, which really isn't strength; it's just tearing you apart. People live that way for a long time—hurt, bitter, angry, and unforgiving. You might say, "You don't know what they did to me." I don't, but Jesus does. Jesus understands. He has been there. Confess and pray for one another that you may be healed. I do also think in light of this text that there is a blessing in having someone in your life that you can confide in, pray with, and can hold you accountable. There is something blessing about having somebody who's like-minded with you.

If you are a man, having a brother in Christ that you trust, who you can pray with and you can share with is valuable. Those relationships are so valuable to me. But also for you ladies, having a lady in your life that just understands what a woman understands, that you can confess to, talk to, and pray with. It is also really important, friends, if you're married, to have your spouse be that person in your life as well. Granted, there are certain things that you would say to a brother that you might not say to your wife, and there may be certain things you say to another woman that your husband wouldn't get or understand, but you need to be transparent and honest with one another.

The Bible says on the heels of repentance comes times of refreshing from the Lord. When we repent of our sin, when we confess our sin to one another, when we apologize, when we admit that we're wrong, and when we stop being bitter, that's when God does His best work. As long as you hold on to it and fight it—God can still work, He's good, He's gracious, and He's long-suffering—but it's hindering you. Is there anybody in your life tonight? You say, "Why'd you have to go there? I don't want to talk about that."

Confessing your sins to one another is in order that you may be healed. That's interesting. By confessing it, you find your healing in that. Without it, if you're not healed, then something's wrong. Man, what freedom there is. Now again, let me preface because someone's going to say, "What about-?" This always happens. Maybe you have a situation where you're not able to talk to that person because it is unhealthy, it is toxic, or it is just not there. To be in the same room would not be a good situation. Not because you're not open to it, but it's just not the Lord.

So maybe it's a letter. Maybe it's just between you and the Lord. I don't know; the Holy Spirit will speak to you. Let the Lord show you what you're supposed to do and how He wants you to deal with that. But I find that there is healing that comes when there is repentance, confession, and forgiveness that you may be healed. "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." Again, James brings it back to the importance of prayer. There's confession, there's the prayer of faith, there's repentance, and there's healing.

Then he gives us an example. He looks at Elijah. He tells us that Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't rain on the land for three years and six months. In verse 18, he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth produced its fruit. The effective, fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much. Not the weak, "don't really get around to it when I feel like it" prayer. No, it is really engaging in prayer. Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons in the arsenal of the believer.

It's something that we have direct access to the throne of grace anytime, and the entire purpose of prayer is to see God's will accomplished. But sometimes I think we don't realize how powerful it is because we don't see anything happening right away, or we can't see where this prayer is going or what this prayer is doing. So we don't engage in it as often as we should, but it avails much. Elijah was one of the most powerful prophets of the Old Testament. But here it says he was just like us. He had a nature like you and me.

What happened with Elijah? First Kings chapter 17 and 18 tells us his story. He shows up in the courts of King Ahab and he has this sermon. It's very brief. He says, "As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years except at my word." He left and hid for three years, being fed by ravens and given water by the brook Cherith. Then he prays again. Next time you see him in chapter 18, he is told to go and meet the king after three and a half years.

Now they are on Mount Carmel and they are having this showdown. It's this amazing scene there on the mountain. The false prophets of Baal build their altar and they are sacrificing on it and they are crying out to their god. The god that answers by fire is going to be the real God. They are crying out, cutting themselves, and dancing around, and Elijah starts making fun of them. That's where I know he's a man like me. He's got a nature like mine. He said, "Maybe your god's on vacation. Call a little bit louder. Maybe he's taking a nap."

But then after he says, "Alright, that's enough," he makes his altar. He digs around the trench, repairs the altar, and pours water and water and water so the thing is completely soaked. Then he prays. Fire comes down from heaven, consumes the sacrifice on the altar, and takes up all the water. Immediately everybody falls on their face and says, "The Lord, He is God." This simple prayer God answered by fire. Then in chapter 18 of First Kings, it says that right after that Elijah says in faith, because the Lord had revealed it to him, he tells King Ahab, "You need to go and eat and drink for there is the sound of the abundance of rain."

It hadn't rained for three and a half years and Elijah says "there is the sound." No one has heard rain, but Elijah heard from the Lord. Elijah then began to pray on top of Mount Carmel. He got down on his knees and he began to pray, and he said to his servant, "Go look and see if there is any rain. Do you see anything?" The servant came back the first time and he said, "I don't see anything." A second time, "Nothing." Third time, fourth time, up to the seventh time.

What if Elijah would have stopped at six? Six times, nothing. "Forget it, Ahab, never mind." No, but he said one more time. The seventh time he prayed, he said, "Go again." And it came to pass that the servant came back and said, "There is a cloud as small as a man's hand rising out of the sea." Elijah said, "Go up, prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you." The point being, simple prayers from a nature like ours, but prayed in faith and God answered. If we would pray like that. The disciples said to Jesus at one point, "Lord, would You teach us how to pray?" And He gave them a model for prayer.

The power of prayer. How important it is. What have you given up on when you should be praying about it? What have you stopped praying about? When we pray, God may say "wait," He may say "no," or He may say "yes." If He said "wait," that doesn't mean stop praying. Keep on praying. It was a man by the name of Leonard Ravenhill who said concerning this particular passage, "We know Elijah was a man of like passions as we are, but alas, we are not men of like prayer as he was. One man praying stands as a majority with God."

"Today, God is bypassing men, not because they are too ignorant, but because they are too self-sufficient. Brethren, our abilities are our handicaps and our talents are our stumbling blocks." He went on to say, "Elijah prayed not for the destruction of the idolatrous priests, nor for thunderbolts from heaven to consume rebellious Israel, but that the glory of God and the power of God might be revealed." How are we praying? Do we pray in faith? When you are suffering, pray. When you are sick, pray. When you need to get right with somebody else, do it. Confess it to the Lord, confess it to them, get it right, and watch the healing that will begin in your heart.

In verse 19, "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins." Here James exhorts those believers in the church. Remember, in the context, many were suffering and when you're suffering, there is the tendency not just to question God, but some people just give up on God. They just start wandering. There have been a lot of people wandering in the last 10, 11 months, wending their way like sheep.

If you see someone wandering from the truth, what are you supposed to do? "Good riddance, see you later, good luck." No, he said if you turn them back, the heart of God is to turn people back to the truth. I love that picture of Jesus as the Shepherd. Remember when He tells the story of the Shepherd who leaves the 99 and goes after the one that's gone astray? It could have said, "Oh, it's just one, I still got 99, they'll reproduce, we'll be back to 100 in no time." But the Good Shepherd leaves the 99, they are cared for, and he goes and he searches for that one that he can bring back.

If you see someone who you know is backsliding, going back into the world, drifting back in, what should we do? We need to seek to turn them. Give them a call, take them aside, share your heart with them in love, reach out to them. The one who turns a sinner from the error of his way saves a soul from death. It might be death to their marriage. It might be you save them from death physically. Who knows? But that is the heart of God: to bring people back, to reconcile people to God. Do you know anybody like that right now who is wandering?

They are just going their own way, they are doing their own thing, and you hear things about them. Maybe it is time to text them and say, "I'd love to get together for lunch. Would you be open to that?" Then maybe just look for that opportunity to share the love of God, to encourage them, to bring them back, to ask them questions. What has happened? What is going on? Sometimes we're fearful of that because we're afraid of what they might think of us. We are more concerned about how they are going to see us rather than where they are headed and where they are going.

Do we really love them? The Bible says that "the kisses of an enemy are deceitful, but the wounds of a friend are faithful." Faithful are the wounds of a friend. If you see somebody like this, you who are spiritual seek to restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. When you seek to restore them, don't hammer them, but with a spirit of gentleness and love. It is His lovingkindness that draws us back to Him. Who am I to condemn anybody? If not for the grace of God, I would be wandering.

If not for the grace of God, I would still be stuck in the life outside of Christ before He found me. So I come with that sense of humility and reverence and reaching out to them with gentleness and compassion but truth. I'm not going to water it down for them, but I'm going to tell them the truth because I love them. You're going to be saving them from so much pain and so much heartache. Who was it that came into your life when you were wandering and said, "Hey, come on back"? Who was it that came after you? Who did God use in your life?

Be that for somebody else. Be that person. Maybe the Lord's speaking to you tonight about somebody specifically. So what does James tell us in the conclusion of this letter? The importance of prayer. If you are suffering, pray. If you are sick, pray. If you need to get things right with somebody else, do it. Confess it to the Lord, confess it to them, get it right, and watch the healing that will begin in your heart as you are obedient to the Lord in these things.

Guest (Male): That wraps our series in James. Today on A Daily Walk, we were encouraged to pray in the midst of suffering and sickness, and maybe that's just what you're going through and needed to hear. Pastor John Randall and all of us here would like to pray for you, so email your requests when you visit our website, adailywalk.org, and then click on Contact. That's also the place to turn for a replay of our message. Again, adailywalk.org. You'll also find us at oneplace.com.

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