The longer it takes to get out of a trial, the greater the harvest at the end of the season. Dr. Tony Evans says we need to remember what God is growing in us. When the growing gets tough, the tough go to their knees and say, Lord, I want the harvest for my soul. I'm waiting on you.
This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. Patience is one thing when you know the finish line is in sight, but when the struggle seems to have no end, waiting on God can feel like a whole different challenge. Today, Dr. Evans turns to James chapter 5 to show us how to remain faithful when life is testing our patience.
Let's join him. I want to try to explain it to us. in a way that we will really grasp it. Because everybody here is going to face it, has faced it, and will face it. And that is adversity.
One-on-one. When God allows things to come into your life, For his sovereign purposes tied to our spiritual development. He says three things in verses 7 through 12 of James chapter 5. First of all, in verses seven through nine, he describes the essence. of patience.
B Patience. He instructs B Patient. In verse 7, he says, yes, I know times are rough. Times are hard, but I want you to... B Patient.
The Greek word for patient means to be long fused. Long temper. It means to set the timer of your life. Four. Extra time.
Because your time and God's time are often not the same time. He says, be long fused, because when we're going through a tough time, our fuses get short. Yeah, these He says, be patient or long. Excuse me Brethren, because he's talking to Christians, and notice what he says three times in this passage, until the coming of the Lord, verse 7. For the coming of the Lord is at hand, verse 8.
The judge is standing right at the door, verse 9. Until the coming of the Lord, the coming of the Lord is at hand. The judge is standing right at the door. He says, because of the imminent coming of Christ. Don't quit.
The question is, what does he mean by that? Does he mean that I'm waiting for Jesus to come back from heaven?
Well, if so. Then I can never hope to have a solution to my problem on earth. What does it mean?
Well, I would like to submit that he's not talking about the second coming of the Lord when he comes for his saints as in the song. He is talking about the temporal coming of the Lord when he comes to deliver you out of the trial. That the coming of the Lord here is not eschatological coming, which is one we should anticipate because that is ultimate coming, but intermediate coming that is him invading your situation to bring deliverance out of what you're facing why because it's time for the crop of your spiritual harvest in your life to grow and if you're not planting any seeds in order that you might grow then the growth will not occur even though you may have been waiting a long time for there has been no spiritual investment in the soil so what must you do verse eight He tells you in verse 8 to strengthen your heart. Strengthen your heart. In order to have patience, you must strengthen your heart.
Why? Because a weak heart doesn't go very far in difficult trials. If your heart is weak, Or to put it another way, if you have an anemic spiritual life, You're not going to do too hot. You're not going to do hot at all when this trial shows up. You must listen to me.
Strengthen yourself spiritually to handle the external pressure of the trials that attack you. Many of us fall apart in trials because we've not done any building up in the meantime.
So when the trial hits us, It demolishes us. He says to strengthen your heart. That is why when Martha and Mary were, Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet strengthening her heart, Martha was busy in the kitchen doing stuff, Jesus told Mary, you've chosen the better part because what you do is gonna help your heart.
Now, what are you doing to help your heart? What are you doing to strengthen your walk with the Lord?
Now, this is where the local church comes in. For example, in Romans chapter 1, verse 11, Paul says that the gifts of the body are there to strengthen the heart of the believer. In 1st Thessalonians 3, 1 through 3, Paul sends Timothy to the church at Thessalonica, and his pastoral job was to strengthen the hearts of the saints there. And then in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, verses 10 to 13, Paul prays that the hearts of the believers would be strengthened.
So it is the gifts of the body, believers ministering to believers. It is the pastoral leadership of the church, and it is the prayers of the saints that strengthen the hearts of the believers so that they are equipped. For the spiritual trauma that they are inevitably going to face.
Now. He tells a negative in understanding patience. Here's what you can't do. Do Not Complain. Brethren.
Hello. Goodbye. Do not Complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged, be called the judge. is standing right at the door.
Now this is D. Watch what you say out of your mouth when you're going through a trial. Watch what you're talking and who you're talking about when you're going through a trial. As children in a classroom look out the door to see whether the teacher's coming, verse 9 says, The judge is at the door. Here comes the judge.
God is at the door of your life, listening to your conversations. Don't bother to throw a temper tantrum with God when you're going through a trial. You have kids like that? If you have young kids who when they don't get what they want, When they want it, go off.
Okay, may I have some candy? No, not now. But why? Because I said so. But I want some candy and I want it now.
I said no. But why won't you give me some candy? You never give me no candy. Mm-h Just go. off.
Start crying before you've even discussed it. Why? In hopes that a tantrum will get me to do what I just said I wasn't gonna do. If you're going through a trial, God wants you to handle that from the position of a strengthened heart, not as a position of a Christian throwing temper tantrums. There are things that you can praise God for, and if you spend more time praving than we do complaining, we get out of our trials faster.
Point two, the examples of patience. He says, as an example, brethren. of suffering and patience, because the two work together. Take the prophets who spoke in the Lord's name. They spoke in the name of the Lord.
Elijah spoke in the name of the Lord. And Jezebel and Ahab came after him to take his life. But he spoke in the name of the Lord. You will find God provided one supernatural intervention after another. The widow of Zarephath provided him food when he was down to his last meal.
God came and provided him comfort. God told him about 7,000 that hadn't bowed their knee to Baal. God came and he would dip it. He didn't totally remove his trial, but he would zip it and give him encouragement as he waited to come out. And if you don't complain, and if you look back at the prophets, you'll see God did that.
Daniel was being tried in an unjust situation by an ungodly man named Nebuchadnezzar. But God didn't keep him out of the trial of the lion's den, he just joined him in the lion's den. God may not take you from the trial, but if you're responding right in the trial, that is the difference between a miserable Christian and a happy Christian when both are going through the same trial. Why is one miserable and one happy? Because one has strengthened their heart, the other one hasn't.
One is complaining. The other one isn't. And one is looking to the word in the life of the prophets to find encouragement. The other one is looking at folks on television to find encouragement. Who are you looking to?
Jeremiah was the weeping prophet. He was put in a pit, but God would find people who he would bring along at strategic time, even in the midst of his tears. Joseph, 13 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Why? Because God was preparing him to be second in command in Egypt.
And God wanted him to be prepared through 13 years of prison life. He praised God even in prison, and he was a witness for God, even to the other ones he was associated with. Read Hebrews chapter 11, and it gives you the long list of people who, even when they didn't see any solutions, even when they didn't see any answers, said, I am going to follow you, Lord, and I'm going to honor you. Noah had to wait 120 years before he saw a cloud with rain in it come across the sky. He had to keep building an ark by faith, being Criticized by that generation.
Hannah had to wait a long time before she could get pregnant, and then God gave her a beautiful prophetic son in Samuel. Ruth had to wait a while before she got Boaz to be her husband. But God came through in the nick of time, even after she had waited and was fulfilled in the Lord. Habakku had to wait before he got justice, but he didn't know God was preparing justice a long way away in a place he couldn't see to bring about the justice that he was praying for. He says, look at the Old Testament and you'll discover.
They waited while they suffered. But they also witnessed. They were talking about the Lord. If you're going through a hard time, talk about the Lord more. Praise the Lord more.
Share Jesus Christ with others more. doctor Evans will have more on the practice of patience when he returns in just a moment. Stay with us. Yeah. Bible study is like gold mining.
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Now, before we get back to today's lesson, I want to tell you about a special resource package we put together to help you grow in your faith during life's difficult seasons. It includes Dr. Evans' 30-day devotional, Trusting God in Turbulent Times, a daily guide filled with scripture, encouragement, and practical challenges designed to help you find strength in God's faithfulness. And along with the devotional, we'll also include all 16 full-length lessons in Tony's current two-volume series, James Time to Grow Up. You can choose the audio collection on CD, USB flash drive, or instantly available digital downloads.
We'd like you to have this complete package as our thank you gift when you make a contribution to support our work here on the air and around the world. Get the details at tonyevans.org before this limited-time offer runs out. That's tonyevans.org or call one. 1-800-800-3222. We're a friendly member of our resource team.
We'll be happy to help with your request. I'll repeat that contact information after part two of today's lesson. Here's Dr. Evans again in James chapter 5 as he makes the biblical case for practicing patience. And then he gives the quintessential.
Illustration. Verse 11. But we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job. and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings.
that the Lord is full of compassion. And it's full of mercy. Yeah. is going through a trial. He says, As bad as things are, there's only one thing left and that's for me to die.
Okay, because he had been stripped of everything else. He had sores from the palm of his feet to the top of his head.
So there's only one thing left to die. Let me tell you why Job didn't die. Know why Job didn't die? Because God had his hand on the thermostat. He told Satan, you can do this, this, this, this, but you can't touch his life.
Did you know in the trial you're going through, God has his hand on thermostat, and it can only get as hot as he allows it to get?
Okay? But Job didn't know how hot that would be.
So guess what Job says? Job says, though he does the only thing left that can be done to me, slay me, even in that I'm going to believe God knows what he's doing. Instead of complaining, that's what God wants. He wants you to be honest, but then at the end of that honesty must come, but though you slay me. Though things even get worse than they are right now, I'm going to trust you because you're God.
Finally. Verse 12. The evidence of patience. But above all, my brethren, Do not swear. Either by earth or by heaven.
or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes. And your no-no so that you may not fall under judgment. Or to put it another way, when you're going through a trial, you may say stuff you don't mean. Like Lord, if you get me out of this this time. Hello, somebody done said that.
If you get me out of this this time, I'll serve you for the rest of my life. Lord! Get me out of this sick bed. This time. And I'll never do that thing again.
If God held you to those lies, that we have told the room would be empty. Yeah. Swear not. means to declare to declare something That is beyond your scope to produce. Mary Martha said, when Lazarus said, Brother died, Lord, if you would have just been here.
You know why Jesus wasn't there? He delayed. intentionally, on purpose, didn't show up. Anybody in here feel like that God then delayed and didn't show up and he knew you were dying? And let me tell you the secret of patience.
Watch this now. The longer it takes. To get out of a trial. When you're strengthening your heart in it, let me say this again. The longer it takes, watch it now, to get out of a trial.
When you're working your way through it the best you can. The greater The harvest. Yeah. At the end. Of the season.
The longer the trial, see, if God lets you out too soon, The fruit will be underdeveloped. If he lets you stay too long... then the fruit will be overly ripe. He has just the right amount of time to produce the greatest amount of fruit. You don't want it.
to come through too soon. Because the fruit won't be ripe. You don't want him to stay too long. Because then you'll be too old to enjoy the fruit. You want to be like Caleb.
Who said, Give me this mountain. It took him many years to get the mountain. But guess what he said? I'm as strong now. As I was when he told me I was gonna get it.
I didn't know how long it was gonna take, but I know he kept the blessing for me and kept me for the blessing. I'm here to tell you: wait on the Lord. That doesn't mean do nothing, it means do the right thing. Ugh. A bumper sticker one time red when the...
Going gets tough. The tough go shopping. And that's what a lot of Christians do. When the gore gets tough, let me get out of here, take me to the mall. Let me get this stuff off my mind.
But when the Christian understands it and the going gets tough, the tough go to their knees and say, Lord, I'm waiting on you. I want the harvest for my soul. I'm waiting on you. And I'm not going to swear and I'm not going to curse. I'm going to trust myself to a Father whose throne is in heaven, where earth is his footstool, who counts the hairs on my head.
And I'm going to evidence it in my speech, what's in my life. I'm going to let what comes out show that I've established my heart. You say, but what am I going to do? Pastor, because I'm still waiting and I don't know if he's going to come through, if he's going to come through in this life, how long it's going to take. Let me close with Isaiah 40.
Here's one good scripture to meditate on this week in our solemn assembly. If you're Going through a trial. The last few verses in Isaiah 40. will be our closing verse. The Jews were more on their way back.
And I didn't know how they were going to make the long trip. They said, oh God, my way is hidden. The justice due me escapes my God. And the prophet says, Oh, you don't know. Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, He's not limited by time, the Creator God, He's not limited by power, does not grow weary and tired. His understanding is inscrutable. You're wasting your time to try to figure it out. But in the meantime, even though you can't figure out what he's doing, he gives strength to the weary. And to him who lacks might, he increases power.
If you're weak, he'll give you more strength. Yeah. Though young people grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, those who wait on the Lord. Do what they're supposed to do while they're waiting for the rain to come. We'll get three things.
One of three things. They will get new strength. Not yesterday's strength. They'll get New strength today. Because yesterday's strength is used up yesterday.
And they will mount up with wings of eagles. For some of you When your right time comes, God is going to stretch out eagles' wings and He's going to swoop down with His intervention. He's gonna supernaturally, you've been looking for a job, he's gonna just swoop down. and fire you to the job. That's we eagles' wings because eagles would bear their babies up on their wings, but some of you.
Mm-hmm. On the day you don't go job hunting, you're going to get a phone call. He's going to swoop down. On the day that you give up ever hoping to be married, Don Juan will swoop in. For some of you.
He's gonna intervene. in a miraculous way. On eagles' wings. For others of you, he says, you will run and not get tired. For some of you, he'll swoop down and lift you out.
For others of you, he's going to make you run. He's just going to run with you. He's going to say, You keep on keeping on, but I'm going to jog with you. That's his. Interaction.
Eagle's wings are his intervention, but when he runs with you, it's his interaction. You're just running and wondering where this strength is coming from. You're just single and having the best time of your life. Never think, don't want to get married because this run is sweet, like it is. I like running by myself.
This is nice run.
Okay? You just run and take a change. Just having a good old time. Because he's running with you. That's his interaction.
He's talking to you along the way. Keep going. You're going to make it. You're going to get there. But then there's some of you who are just tired.
You can't run anymore. He's got something for you too. Because he says they will walk. And not become weary.
Some of you We'll be too tired to run. You won't get gods. intervention You won't run alongside of God with interaction. You'll just get from him. In there.
action. That's where he comes in and because you're too tired to run. He'll just walk with you. He just put his arm around you. He said, I know you're tired.
Let's just walk. You've been running for Jesus a long time. Let's just walk for a while right now. Mrs. Walker.
Let's walk. But you know, in either case, it's new strain. You're going through a trial, be patient. That doesn't mean do nothing. means plant seeds.
But you let him determine. The latter. and early rains. If you're just now coming to the realization that you don't have the power to keep living on your own strength, it's time to turn to Jesus. And ask Him to give you a whole new life, full of hope and a future that lasts forever.
Find out more by visiting tonyevans.org. On the homepage, look for the text link at the top of the page that simply says Jesus. There, Tony explains what it means to become a Christian and will help you walk through the process of putting your life in the hands of the one who loves you most. Be sure to check it out. That's tonyevans.org.
And that web address is the same place where you can take advantage of that special resource package I mentioned earlier. You can request all 16 full-length messages in Tony's two-volume series, James, Time to Grow Up, along with his 30-day devotional book, Trusting God in Turbulent Times. There are thank you gifts when you make a contribution to support Tony's ministry. Together, these resources will help you understand what it means to grow in spiritual maturity and remain anchored in God when life gets difficult. Get the details at tonyevans.org or call us at 1-800-800-3222.
Once again, that's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. You know, all the electrical outlets in the world won't do you any good. if you never plug anything in.
Well, doctor Evans says there's a spiritual parallel to that problem. one that can leave Christians living far below what God intends. Be sure to listen tomorrow to learn how to access the power God has made available to each of us.
