Opening Illustration: Sounds of Activation.  Last week, I enjoyed giving you all a quiz about how well you wait or not wait. So, I want to give you another quiz called “name that sound”.  Name the sound (they get harder as we go):

• Dial Up
• AOL
• THX
• Windows 95
• Dot Matrix Printer
• Sega

Here’s one more question: What do each of those sounds represent?  Those all are start up sounds. Each of those sounds let you know that something is about to begin. Each of those sounds let you know that you are about to engage in an activity, that at the time, had a lot of power behind it. Every day of our lives, we are connecting our lives with something that has power behind it. From your alarm clock, to your car engine starting, your phone, your computer – we are constantly seeking to use the power available to us. The problem is that there is a power available to us that is far greater than your phone and computer – and we rarely engage with that power. That power is the power of prayer. As we close out the book of James, we end with a truth: God wants to move in your life.  I think – at least I hope – that everyone believes that truth. Our God is an active God who wants to move in the life of His children. The reason we don’t see God move in our lives is not because God isn’t moving, but I believe it’s for two reasons:

1. You don’t know how to make yourself available
   • Hopefully, today’s passage will help with that
2. You don’t want God to move in your life
   • You’re afraid to let God move because you know He might take you to a place that makes you uncomfortable
   • Let me remind you of something: it’s better to be uncomfortable in the center of God’s will than comfortable in the center of your will.

Let’s look at these final 8 verses in James’ letter and let’s see how God wants to move in your life. Read James 5:13-20. Pray. We’ve reached the end of the book of James. At first glance, it could appear to be an anti-climatic end. But as I studied the passage this week, I am convinced the final eight verses of the book of James are the climax of the book. James’ letter is about your internal faith manifesting into external works. It’s about your faith being visible to a world that needs the hope of Jesus. If we are going to have a faith that endurance trials, that seeks wisdom, that keeps our mouth shut – then we need to be completely dependent on Jesus. And how do we keep that dependence? So, James ends his letter with a send off. Here’s where we start: Be consistently dependent on God. 

1) Be consistently dependent on God. (vs. 13-15) Up until verse 13 of chapter 5, do you know how many times James uses the word “pray” in his letter? Zero. Now, if you were look at your Bible, you would notice something repeated starting in verse 13. What is repeated? “Pray” or “prayer”. From verse 13 to 18, James talks about prayer in every verse. Do you remember the rubric you would get in school when writing an essay? It would tell you what you would need to do include to write a proper essay. It’s not like James pulled out the rubric that Jesus gave him and went, “Oh, no. I forgot to mention praying in my letter. And it clearly states a good letter to a church includes prayer!” That’s not why we see the strong emphasis on prayer in the end. I’ll say this again, James has been building his letter and this is the final impetus that must happen if we are to make our faith visible. It’s as if James knows that without this final section, his entire letter is going to be very difficult to live out. Let’s look at verse 13: ¹³ Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Do you remember what we studied last week? We are to wait like Jesus is coming back. And what was the main reason that James was calling the church to patience endurance? They were going through injustice. This goes back to the first verses in chapter 5. The start of verse 13 is a rhetorical question. James knows they are going through hardships.

But just in case, there were other people that weren’t in the same boat as those going through injustice, James asks more questions. In verse 13, are you happy? In verse 14, are you sick? ¹⁴ Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. In verse 15, have you sinned? ¹⁵ Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. I would venture to say that if I asked you those same questions, that everyone would raise their hand at least once. What’s James point in asking the questions? Because he wants us to see that no matter what season of life we are in, God must be in that season of life. Every season of life for the Christian must be marked by a complete dependence on God. We will not be an activated community of Christians if we are not consistently dependent on God. Do you all remember the hymn that says…

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in endless praise,

Give God each moment. If you are going through injustice, pray with God. If you are happy, praise God. If you are sick, pray with the elders. And in verse 16, if you are in sin, pray with others. Quote: “[We are] to discover there is no greater joy than to cast ourselves into God’s care and ask Him to fulfill His purposes in us and through us.” – Alistair Begg.  Don’t try to walk this life on your own power.  Illustration: I throw out my back picking up the 16-foot ladder. All I had to do was not pick up the ladder on my own. All you have to do is not live this life on your own power. Be consistently dependent on God.

We’re powerless on our own. But with the Holy Spirit and through prayer, that changes. When we are consistently dependent on God, it changes our expectations. Here’s what we see next: Expect power in prayer.

2) Expect power in prayer. (vs. 14-18) I want to go back to verse 14. There is a lot going on in verses 14 through 18. These verses are proof texts for some different theological leanings. While it’s important to look at those, my goal is that you don’t miss the main thing in these verses, which we’ll see in verse 15. Let’s go back to question and answer in verses 14 and 15. ¹⁴ Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. You could read these verses and be like “those elders have the magic touch!” The reason that James says the elders should be called is: 1) It’s part of the calling of an elder – to take care of those in need in the church; 2) The “term pray over you” indicates this is a person in the church who is unable to attend the gathering – someone who is unable to get up. Where prayer is part of the gathering of believers, prayer sometimes needs to be taken to those who can’t gather.

And what about the oil? I’ll be brief on this: there could have been an element of medicinal purpose, but most likely the oil was symbolic. The oil was to set apart the person for special attention and care. Are the elders the only ones to pray and do they have special superpowers to heal? Let me be clear: the elders do not have special superpowers. Well, we didn’t until we added Jody earlier this year. I’ll let him reveal his superpower to you all in due time. James eliminates the idea of special superpowers in verses 17 and 18: ¹⁷ Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! ¹⁸ Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. Elijah, while a prophet, was just as human as everyone else. God used Elijah’s faith and Elijah’s prayers in a miraculous way. But Elijah, himself, wasn’t a miracle worker. Elijah was an example to follow – for everyone to follow. What James is saying is that powerful prayers for divine healing is not limited to the elders. God can use anyone’s powerful prayers for divine healing. Look at verse 16: ¹⁶ Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. It doesn’t say “righteous elder,” it says, “righteous person”.

You all have these ideas happening in this verse: The calling of the elders to shepherd and pray. The anointing of oil. The model of prayer from Elijah. The earnest prayer of a righteous person. But all of that can’t be lost on what is said in the first part of verse 15: ¹⁵ Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. What is it about the prayer that can heal the sick? It’s offered in faith. In this example, if the elders go to the sick, pray over them, anoint with oil, but do not have faith, healing won’t happen. What James is emphasizing is not the gift of healing, but rather the gift of faith. God wants to give the gift of healing to those who want the gift of faith that God can heal. We need to expect God to work in and through our prayers. Illustration: The 3:30pm explosion at the church. Are you exercising a faith that believes in the power of God? Are you demonstrating a faith that says, “I have the faith that God can give the gift of healing to someone so that healing will be seen.” God wants to use your faith-based prayers. I want to be careful as not to imply healing will always happen. Our faith yields the will of God. Let me put this in a formula: Prayer + Faith = Yielding to God’s Will to Heal. The problem is that most of our prayers lack faith. Illustration: Early on in my ministry, I saw God heal in a way that changed the way that I pray for healing. Have I prayed for people with faith to be healed, and saw no healing? Sure. Physical healing isn’t always God’s plan. But here’s what I do know: I will always pray for the faith that God can and will heal.  God wants to move in your life. Be dependent. Be expectant. And finally, don’t lose sight of what matters the most. 

3) Don’t lose sight of what matters the most. (vs. 19-20) These final two verses serve as a warning and a reminder. We see the warning in verse 19: ¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, Do you remember the last verse in Come Thou Fount?

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.

Our hearts are prone to wander and to leave the God we love. Why is that? James already wrote about the battle that is taking place in our hearts. That our pre-Jesus life wants to take back control of our life with Jesus. Everyone will slip up and everyone will sin. But what James is dealing with here is bigger than that. We know the Bible says that once you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you can’t lose it. So when James says, “Someone among you wanders away from the truth,” James is talking about someone in the church who never truly believed. One of the greatest evidences of faith is not the profession of faith, but the perseverance of faith. This person who was among the truth, never believed the truth, wander away from the truth, but then comes back to the truth – what happens? Look at verse 20: ²⁰ you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. This person who now truly believes is saved from sin and hell.

Don’t miss this: James ends his letter with what matters the most. What matters most is God moving in your life so that someone else can know Jesus as their Savior, Lord, and Treasure. Quote: “It has been said that those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves; and certainly those who bring the lives of others to God cannot keep God out of their own. The highest honor God can give is bestowed upon him who leads another to God; for the man who does that does nothing less than share in the work of Jesus Christ, the Savior of men.” – William Barclay. When you are consistently dependent on God and expecting His power through your prayers, you won’t lose sight of what matters the most. 

I’ll close with question: What sounds in life motivate you? Is it that Monday Night Football intro song? The voice of Jesse Palmer welcoming a bunch of single people into a big house? Or for me, the voice of Jeff Probst saying ““26 days, 16 people, 1 Survivor!” Is it the proverbial sound of money hitting your bank account? Is it the sounds of someone giving you praise for your accomplishments? What sounds in life motivate you?

Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see.
“Here I am, Lord, send me”
“God, your will be done.”
“God, forgive me.”

What about the moment when someone realizes they need Jesus and confess their sin and begin a relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you want God to move in your life? The greatest privilege we have in life is to be used by God for God’s glory. I hope you want to see God work. I know I do. I want God to work in this church. I want to see hearts begin to stir like they’ve never been stirred before. I want to see chains of addiction, anxiety, fear, pride, and sin broken. I want to see people stop suppressing the truth of God and surrender to Him. I want to see healing. I want to see restoration. I want to see the Holy Spirit move. I want to see God move. I want to see the hope of Jesus beautifully wreck lives. God can do it. God will do it. Let’s be expectant. Let’s pray.

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