Morning Moments

JAMES Devotional Outline

V. Miscellaneous Messes 5:1-20
A. External Pressue 5:1-12
1. Treasure 5:1-3
2. Treatment 5:4-11
a. Exploitation 5:4
b. Existentialism 5:5-6
c. Exhortation 5:7-11
3. Truth 5:12
B. Internal Pressure 5:13-20

For those of us who confess our faith in Jesus Christ there are not merely the external pressures from the world to face but the internal pressures too. It is the battle within - the stress that struggles with the rest, my image of Him as oppose to His image of Him in me, who He is in me as opposed to who I want Him to be in me.

Think of it this way: A biological father expects and demands certain things of his son and rightfully so, but that son is growing toward independence and their wills collide and conflict at times. That is normal and natural and it is what we are used to in life. BUT it is just the opposite with our Heavenly Father for we are growing more and more dependent upon Him rather than independent. That is the rub for many in Christian maturity. It is supernatural - NOT natural and so, as in the verses we are about to consider, we tend to shy away from dependence upon Father and lean to our own understanding in certain areas.

1. Condition 5:13-14a

5:13. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14. Is any sick among you?...

Keeping with the context, prayer is a proper use of the tongue and so when "afflicted" he should use the tongue to pray. When one is "merry" he should use the tongue to sing psalms. When one is sick he should use the tongue to call for the church elders to pray over him and anoint him. We will explain all of this, but for now I simply want us to understand that the context is the use of the tongue for the believer.

Regardless of one's denomination or doctrine, we must agree that Jehovah was, is, and always will be Jehovah Rapha (the Lord our Healer). I have discussed this in other writings where I have shown that He heals medicinally, medically, and/or miraculously. In other words, the Lord can use medicine, surgery (medical treatment), and/or miracles. He is sovereign and when we exclude any one of the ways he can use, we are limiting Him.

We shall see that the context of these verses has more to say about this one who is calling for the elders of the church. But for now, let me remind the readers once again that the "church" or "assembly" or "synagogue" to which James refers should not be confused with what comes to our minds as the "Church" today. These were believing Jews that had been scattered in the early first century, known as the "Diaspora". This is very important in understanding the place of and importance of the "elders".

The early churches did have "elders" who were men who met the qualifications described by Paul in 1 Timothy 3. Elders were not new to Jewish believers. They were the spiritual leaders of the assembly.

Our text deals with three conditions of believers:

a. Suffering - Afflicted - In suffering PRAY
b. Joy - Merry - In joy - PRAISE
c. Sickness - Sick - In sickness PETITION the elders for help

We shall look very carefully at the text and context of this sickness portion because I believe it is so misunderstood. I don't wish to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel, nor do I desire to limit God's ability to heal at any time in any way through any instrument. But I do think there are those who certainly take much of this out of context and impose guilt upon those who are anointed and not healed. We shall cover this in detail.

BLESSINGS!