April 24, 2016 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.

James 5: (16) Get God involved… Pray!

Examine: The author is believed to be James the Lord’s half brother. Jesus had brothers and sisters according to Mt. 13:55-56 and Mark 6:3, and one of His brothers was named James. Early in the ministry of the Jesus his family did not believe in Him Jn. 7:1-5, yet we find them present in the upper room praying with the disciples in Acts 1:5. What is interesting is that in I Cor. 15:7, We find Jesus appearing to James after the resurrection. Also in Gal. 2:9 Paul called James “a pillar” of the church at Jerusalem and we find James in Acts 15 moderating the church conference there. James must have been a very spiritual man to gain leadership in the Jerusalem church.

When we look at what James wrote “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad (1:1b), which seems to be Christian Jews, we can tell that he must have paid attention to the teachings of Christ while yet a unbeliever. Particularly to what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. James 1:2-Mt.5:10-12 James 1:4-Mt.5:48 James 1:5-Mt.7:7-12 James 1:22-Mt.7:21-27 James 4:11-12-Mt.7:1-5 James 5:1-3-Mt.6:19-21

Lastly, it seems that James wrote because Jewish Christians were having problems in their personal lives and in their church fellowship. These topics show this to be true. Impatience in difficulties-1:1-4 Talking but not living the truth-2:14ff No control of the tongue-3:1ff Fighting and coveting-4:1ff Collecting material toys-5:1ff Spiritual maturity is the number one problem most churches face today as it did then. Point being, God is looking for mature men and women to carry on His work and mission here on earth. We are those He is desiring to be mature servants.

Explain: This is why James writes about the Marks of a Mature Christian (1:4b). 1) Patient in testing-chapter 1 2) Practices the Truth-chapter 2 3) Power over the Tongue-chapter 3 4) Being a Peacemaker not a Troublemaker-chapter 4 5) Being Prayerful in Troubles-chapter 5 *Economic troubles-5:1-9 *Physical troubles-5:10-16

*National troubles-5:17-18 *Church troubles-5:19-20 Experience: Our focus verse today, which is verse (16) in in the midst of the section on being prayerful in the midst of troubles. A very important lesson for us. That’s why I entitled this lesson- Get God Involved. In James 5:13-20, James encourages us to pray by describing four situations in which God answers prayer. 1) Prayer for the suffering (5:13). Troubles or difficulties. 2) Prayer for the sick (5:14-16). Sick because of sin. Probably James is describing a church member who is sick because he is being disciplined by God.

3) Prayer for the Nation (5:17-18). Elijah is mentioned and the text in the old Testament is I Kings for further reading. The point of these verses is that prayer is Powerful. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (5:16). 4) Prayer for the straying (5:19-20) These verses deal with our ministry to a fellow believer who strays, (to wander) from the truth and gets into sin. Prayer, it’s something we do, but exactly why should we talk to God? These verses tell us why. Restoration (v.15), Forgiveness (v.15), Healing (v.16), Our nations problems (vs.17-18), Salvation of a soul (v.20), Covering of sins (v.20). Why should we talk to God in all these situations? Really! Why do you pray?

*Robert Law said this and I think we need to be remind of it. “Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven. It’s getting God’s will done on earth.” * A member of a church was praying with others about the world in a prayer meeting and one of the men was praying but was going around in circles. Finally the man said spoke out and said, “Ask Him Something!” Tell Him what is on your heart, He is listening.