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What up Witton fam? We are gonna finish the book of James finally. Today, but before we do that a couple little updates. We have a Witton app finally. We have Witton Baptist Church Memphis. We have our own app if you would download that doesn't matter if you're a member here if you're from here.
Doesn't matter where you're at. Get the app look through that's gonna try to be our one of our main channels of communication here. You'll find a bunch of our media stuff podcasts previous videos links to YouTube Sermon notes Events all types of stuff on there.
Anyone can download it of course so Witton app. It's trying to push that to try to help get the message out a little better. Okay. So We left off actually in verse 7, but I'm gonna do a live Bible study of verses 7 through 11 of James 5 because it's probably one of my favorite passages of the book of James.
So we're actually gonna skip verse 7 through 11 at some point soon. I'm gonna do a live Bible study on that so for today. We're gonna finish 12 through 20, okay? So let's read it first, and let's get to work.
But of all above all my brothers do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any oath. But let your yes be yes, and your no be no so that you might not fall under. Condemnation is. Anyone among you suffering let him pray.
Is anyone cheerful. Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord and The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed sins He will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for another that you may be Healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah Was a man with the nature just like ours.
And he prayed fervently that it might not rain and for three years and six months. It did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again in the heaven gave rain and the earth bore its fruit. My brothers if any one of you Wanders from the truth and someone brings him back.
Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. All right, so let's take a look at what we got again for those you have perceptive.
We skip verse 7 through 11. I'm gonna do a Facebook live Bible study on that soon. So first off swearing. Not so much talking about bad words here or more talking about oath-making. While this is not a universal ban Of all types of oath as the Bible is rightly is full of rightly done oaths.
This is a ban on Flippantly making an oath. Okay on just saying yeah, I swear blah blah me blue James seems to be once again referencing back to the Sermon on the Mount for Matthew chapter 5 verse 33 through 37 Where Jesus said something very similar about what your ESP s and you know, you know.
This is the second time we've seen in James where it seems as he's referenced a sermon on the mount. Since James was written almost assuredly before the book of Matthew was as James may be the first New Testament book written.
Could be written In the 40s and Matthew may not mean to the late 50s early 60s what that tells us is It's very possible James could have been there up sermon on the mount in Galilee. Now. He was not a believer then but he is now Jesus appeared to him after the resurrection.
What's amazing is God may be using Something James heard when he was an unbeliever and was kind of like whatever and now using it to help him, right? Book of James. Let your yes BS and your no be no so think about this this way you should live your life so honestly with so much integrity with so much reliability and Trustworthiness that you shouldn't have to say.
Oh, I swear I make an oath all the time. You should be able to just say yes, and It's as if you've making an oath. But just by saying yes, because you live your life so honestly that when you say yes, I'll be there or yes I'll do that.
It will be done when you say no, it won't be in other words It's as if you are making an oath just by letting your yes be yes, and you're no be no. That's how honestly you live your life, that's what God is calling us to do a Little side note here.
This was the verse when I was in college that Convicted me to quit being late all the time. Now, I know that may sound strange to some of you, but I mean let your yes BS. You know be no. If I say I'm gonna be there at this time, I need to be honest about that.
I need to be truthful about that. This verse is what really Helped me quit being so selfish about being late all the time and consider other people's time as well. All right now section 13 through 18.
Whether we see that someone is sick, well, sad, happy, their focus and direction should be on God either as their helper or their healer sustainer of joy. Kind of a pretty cool little section here. Is anyone among you suffering?
Let them pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let them sing praise. This right here. This is why we at Witten anoint people when they come forward for Healing not because it's any magic oil or special holy sanctified.
As God said so it's really what it boils down to. Come forward we anoint their head with oil. We pray over them because the Bible tells us to that that really it's really that simple. There's no mystical Reason we shouldn't read the prayer of faith as any unusual prayer specific type of prayer.
But more as a mode of prayer as in a prayer of faith a faithful prayer believing what you say when someone comes forward and is Sick, we should pray that God will heal him or her and it's up to God if he does or not.
But we should believe that God will. That he can and he will. Sometimes Illness is caused by persons specific sin like in first Corinthians 11. Sometimes it's not owing anything at all that person did wrong.
It's simply a result of a fallen sinful world in either case. There is still a divine purpose for the suffering in Either case there's a divine purpose for the suffering just for a moment. Let's let's look over at John chapter 9.
This is Jesus as he passed by he saw a man blind from birth and his disciples asked some rabbi. Who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind? Jesus answered. It is not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him the works ergo of They who the works of God might be displayed in him.
So in other words Jesus said a little bit is this guy saying is this guy blind because of his sin or his parents sin and Jesus says neither. It's a lot. It's for the purpose. So that henna my favorite Greek word Why is he blind?
So that the works of God would be banner of a would be Shown displayed light would be shown in him. So the reason he's blind it has been born blind since birth. He's been blind this whole time his whole life so that the works of God could be shown in him guys.
Do you think that blind man knew what was the purpose of his blindness growing up? During that suffering. No God didn't reveal it to him till later in life. Sometimes God never reveals it to us. It's for a future generation.
But we should trust that God always has a plan even when we can't see it. Even when we can't see it. Confession of your sin to a priest is not required by the Bible. We confess our sins one to another.
One to another to other believers. This is part of our healing process. Now pay attention. Part of our healing process is confessing our sins one to another and praying for one another. This is how God set it up guys spiritual growth if you believe.
That you are sanctification that your spiritual life your Christianity is between you and God. Problem is God disagrees with that. He set it up to be a corporate body of believers an entire body of Christ.
The the man says in his heart X Y Z, but there's counsel. There's wisdom in the counsel of many. Friend loves all times and a brother is born for adversity. Bear one another's burdens lift each other up.
Do not forsake the assembling of ourselves. Confess your faults one to another. The Bible is very clear on this. Christianity was never meant to be a gist between you and God. God does not see it that way.
You disagree with God if you See it that way. Confession to each other is a biblical practice. It's part of our healing. Not just prayer. Notice. Prayer is so powerful because we serve such a powerful God.
Elijah was a man just like us. Yes, he was an Old Testament prophet. But he prayed and God did not have rain fall on hit the land for three and a half years. Prayer is powerful not because of the man praying because of who we are praying to.
My brothers if any one of you wanders from the truth. This could be as far so an apostatizing saying I no longer believe or it could be someone saying. Someone just being in rebellion when it wanders from the truth lay the ass.
And someone brings him back. Let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his Wandering will save his soul from death. And I tell and will cover a multitude of sins. Martine. Even If in that wandering if there's genuine repentance and return to the fold God will forgive those sins.
Now, of course, this is not saying that the believer who who brings correction to this person has the power to save that person. Well all of us not just pastors are to try to bring back the wandering sheep into the fold.
This is why guys this is why whenever someone says well, I don't want to judge them guys. We're supposed to judge believers. That's what the Bible says not on the outside. But on the inside and you're not judging them as if you are the final judge and cover this earlier.
You're judging them in the sense of this is what the book says. I don't make the rules. I just declare them and your actions are not living up to the standard. You're claiming to live by. The way you're living your life is not lining up with what you're saying.
Guys if you love somebody you will do that. Because you're trying to save their soul from death and you can't do the saving you're trying to be the light the tool God used. To show them the truth. That's the purpose of it.
So minus one Facebook live of verse 7 through 11. We have finally finished the book of James. Okay in our in-person Bible study we will be finishing prayer this coming Sunday. So we've got to catch up here because we've got a couple weeks on prayer and then we're done with that.
We're starting the book of Matthew. Love you guys as always like share subscribe make comments suggestions. I'm open to opinions. Don't forget the new Witton app download that Witton Baptist Church, Memphis.
Love you guys very much and see you soon. God bless.