For Those in Need (Part A)

The prayer of faith is what does it there's the answer there, but the oil the prayer of faith. What is the prayer of faith, one that seeks God's will all the time. Once God's will knows that God is fully aware of what is going on and is loving and merciful, but also at some point. Sometimes beyond our understanding.

My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. As the heavens are above your this is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher. Rick asked Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Rick is currently teaching through the book of James. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching, but for now let's join Pastor Rick in the book of James chapter 5 as he begins his message for those in need. We are in James chapter 5 this morning. You have your Bibles turn their will take verses 13 through 20 beginning at verse 13 is anyone among you suffering let him pray. Is anyone cheerful let him sing psalms is anyone among you sick let him call for the elders of the church, let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord prayer of faith will save the sick Lord will raise him up, and if he is has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months and he prayed again in heaven gave rain. The earth produced its fruit brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth. Someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. Well, this section deals with or is for those in need, and we look right at now in verse 13 is anyone among you suffering let him pray as anyone cheerful let him sing psalms world is the enemy's territory.

It is enemy territory for us and there is a lot of suffering, but in God we can see it all at one time, but he does. Jesus speaking of the devil referred to him as the ruler of this world. He is dealt with in that sentence is been past the execution of it. We all wait for right now. Until that that sentence is executed. We have work to do so. He is covering now suffering in the body of Christ amongst believers, suffering is trouble.

His affliction and he is direct in those who are afflicted or in trouble, to God to go to the Lord.

He says let him pray. Prayer is obedience to God. That alone is victory we serve. When you suffering we want relief. Obedience is really not at the top of off list of thoughts, relief is but the fact remains that we the people of God ought to pray when we pray we are obeying the Lord and we are exercising a defiance against those things that are against us. I try to avoid saying well all I can do now is pray because prayer is as I mentioned godly defiance against that which is unholy prayer is defiance against that which is unholy and unrighteous and not good and impure. It is battle this war. It is against that which is wrong and harmful and the devil's people won't won't do it according to God's way. There many confused souls in this world have not not a clue about how prayer is to be offered up, and that's where we come into expose as many people as God will allow us to proper prayer through Jesus Christ. Those outside of Christ have no prayer. Life really not not according to God's offends many but the truth is offensive to those who are against it. God gives an answer to prayer some things that he will not give apart from prayer. They're just something she not going to get unless you pray for them. James said that in earlier in this letter you received. Not because you asked not and when you ask you don't mess with the right things the right way.

Genesis 25 we have this illustrated in the life of Isaac read there in verse 21.

Isaac pleaded with Yahweh for his wife because she was barren, Yahweh granted his plea and Rebekah his wife conceived. Job of course we been referencing Joe quite a few times throughout our consideration in James my servant Job shall pray for you God speaking to those friends of Job that had come to really criticize and they did not bring comfort, they brought attacks.

Waves of attacks. They were so sure of themselves as they were bludgeoning him with criticisms my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him last. I deal with, you according to your folly. Yahweh restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends what would've happened if you didn't pray. So there are again those things that God will give but not apart from prayer and it is up to us to be attentive. We as Christians are supposed to be led by the spirit is in everything we do. I am so looking forward to when we can get back to the book of acts speaking to a pastor friend of mine lives in Brooklyn. He was assessing what I'm starting acts soon and I felt a wave of of envy. I want to start acts but I have my orders and I rather carry those out and have the answer for disobedience.

So prayer never present. Response to suffering in the lives of those who walk with Christ and second Chronicles chapter 32 we read in those days. Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to Yahweh. Yahweh spoke to him, gave him a sign. We talked about that this past Wednesday how Hezekiah writes about.

I poured out his heart.

It was fervent prayer to God. God listen to him and so we unfortunately often times have to fail before we learn how to pray.

We have to feel the weight of failure, even shame. Sometimes pain teach us to pray David that great psalmist in Psalm 109 speaking about those who were coming against him.

He gives us what his response was going to be in return for my love. They are my accusers, but I pray that's how it said translators have inserted but I give myself to prayer that is accurate, but in the Hebrew. It is simply what I pray they are against me. The surrounding me, but I pray and not not well all I can do is pray. Is anyone cheerful.

James goes on to ask rhetorically cheerful spirit sometimes has to be taken. Your moods have to be overruled. Sometimes it is good for Christians to force themselves to sing songs on to the Lord to break through the barrier of the mood, whatever it may be overruled. The mood it is it becomes an art become something you develop and get good at, the more you do it.

He says let them sing psalms that Greek word therefore psalms means psalms to sing with instrument. It is in the Bible. Some say well in the New Testament, there is no singing with instruments the wrong is here it is in Colossians… A song is to sing with musical instruments not only what essentially sing praises to God, you can sing without instruments. Of course Paul and Silas when they were in jail beaten for the gospel. Acts chapter 16 verse 25 but at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Spiritual songs to the Lord. We can switch this around.

We can transpose what James gives us with these two precepts, we can say is any among you suffering let him sing songs as any in good spirits. Let him pray works are the way verse 14 he says, is anyone among you sick let him call for the elders of the church, let them pray over him, anointing him with oil and in the name of the Lord. James understands that Christians have their ups and downs like everyone else.

And so he says, is anyone suffering is anyone cheerful. Is anyone sick you see goes up and goes down the cost of person goes down then it goes up and goes down again. Is anyone suffering is anyone cheerful. Is anyone sick, let him call for the elders of the church. The idea being the person is too sick to come to church to come up to elders the spiritual leaders and asked for prayer.

Notice that he doesn't say if any of you are sick call for the faith healers. I believe in divine healing. I do not believe in divine healers. I believe in faith healing. I do not believe in faith healers professional faith healers think about if someone had that power and they're not out emptying the hospitals relieving human suffering. They would be guilty of gross negligence. Do I believe in God gifts Christians with the ability to heal, yes, but I am not so sure a permanent basis. Even the apostles. After a while we don't read of them healing. Paul left one of his beloved friends sick could not heal him we going to have to be very careful about these things before we just go extracting from Scripture those things that are high and lifted up and wonderful and don't think them through. Nonetheless, he still have to think being emotionally impressed with something is no license to shut down. I don't have to think. Now I really like this trap so when suffering and we must allow ourselves to be ministered to some too proud to do that some they don't mind praying for you, but they don't want you praying for them, as though it were some form of weakness as though they would sort of tip their hand that they had needs. We all have needs some don't call for the pastors to come pray for them. Let us know you're in the hospital they get offended when we don't show up.

That does not happen often, but it does happen some illustrations from Scripture about this request to be ministered to Moses. Of course he benefited from the elders coming along side of him holding his hands up, without which they likely would've lost the battle. Exodus 17 but Moses hands became heavy. Have your hands become heavy in prayer can hold it up anymore so they took a stone and put it under him. Of course the stone symbolizing the Lord, and he sat on it and Erin and a man named her supported his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun until he finished the work, our Lord himself when facing the cross. He recruited support to be with him. Matthew 26 he said that the Lord Jesus. He said to them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful. That means it's off the chart, even to death.

Stay here and watch with me. My Lord can say that about me. It is our duty to call the pastors of the church beyond other Christians to say why is iPad so it's a prayer that's fine that's good, that's important. I'm glad you did that but what does it also say illustrated and flat-out declared. Go to your pastors and asked them to pray when you're faced with some overwhelming need when the sickness is upon you. We have many people who do come up and avail themselves because of what the Bible teaches about these things he says and let them pray over him that the pastors pray over that individual was Elijah and Elisha and Peter. They were summoned they were requested.

Come pray, come help us out. Those who are in need of course the Lord.

Remember the century and sent his servants to get the Lord to come. Pray for his servant when Jerusalem face destruction at the hands of the Assyrian armies. Hezekiah send for Isaiah the prophet, calling as much spiritual artillery into the theater as he could possibly gain.

He says here, anointing him with oil well this is going to be controversial at skip it. Well, you have the era you have the fact that you have the truth.

The era is in. This is mostly when you have someone who comes reversed like this in the get emotional over and they locked into a new Nevin prime off of it is certainly not of the should never be a divisive verse you don't agree with that fine is not that serious of an issue is not an essential but there is the era and the air is a fact because if it were so simple where he says, anointing with oil in the name of the Lord will be healed. Then we would see this happening all the time. We don't see that happening.

That's a fact.

So the truth that's what we are after the incorrect interpretation springs from absence of the intended meaning at the time.

James wrote this James did not say this is sort of up's a Christian lucky charm you put this on the person boom.

You get what you want from God is not what he was thinking at all. There is no spiritual power in oil to heal. The power is in God alone alone their significance to this, especially for the people that he wrote to at this time. All healing is by God.

Psalm 103 verse three.

Speaking of Yahweh, who forgives all your iniquities who heals all your diseases.

It is God we have in this verse coupled together medicine and prayer that is part of the idea, not necessarily healing medicine but soothing also the use of oil was used when folks were hurting the good Samaritan what he do to the man he found on the side of the road was badly beaten. He poured oil and wine on the wounds of that man. Isaiah chapter 6 from the soul of the foot, even to the head. There is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. They have not been closed or bound up was sued with oil see the ideas that in those days they used oil on wounds, not every single wound with many of them as Mark when he mentions that Jesus sent the disciples out to heal one occasionally go out with oil and the other occasionally do not.

This Greek word here for anointing him with oil Allee Paul it means to rub in as opposed to the word translated anointing, which we find in for instance, Luke's gospel Creole from where we get the word Christ. That's a separate kind of anointing that the spiritual anointing that has to do with the spirit. Where is other people has to do with just start rubbing in more natural things physical things. When Jesus said the spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to preach that word translated anointed in the Greek is Creole. It is only given to the Lord in the New Testament and that has to do with spiritual property. So there's a distinction found in the very language Peter and Paul healed. Throughout the book of acts without oil I mention the use of medicine and faith together well and Paul said to Timothy listen that water you're drinking and SEs bad for you. You need to mix it put some wine in the water in the context of the bad guys out of the water that you drinking in the arena to first Timothy 523 no longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake, and frequent infirmities. So God through prayer of faith, not oil brings the healing the dead have been raised sick of been healed. The lepers have been cleansed. The blind have been given their site throughout Scripture without oil sorry have to spend so much time on this, but it's it's poor Bible study bed exegesis. It's was poor extraction of the meaning from the Scripture to say no, this is what we do know years ago there was a child that was very sick in the hospital and the mother was just at her end and she asked me to come up and anoint the child with oil and pray I wasn't going to say while theologically you're not right.

I went up to the hospital with oil.

Because of that poor woman is hard I rubbed it on the child's head and I prayed and the child got better.

The child got better because of the medical assistance those available given by God.

The child was healed by God. All healings come from him.

Whether you are believer or not. All he has to do is turn to speak it off and nobody gets well dispensed airline to earth and that's it. Take away gravity every good gift comes from the father. He holds the controls and if I were pressed again in another situation like that I would do the same way because I understand what's going on and I want to spend anymore time on this than I have already but the conclusion of the matter is that the sick are to be prayed for and cared for, or should I say it this way there to be prayed for with care who want someone that's insensitive. Praying for you Shari.

I bless you my son. My next you.

You want the person to be part of what is going on in the presence of the Lord and so he says in the name of the Lord. There's no other unseen authority that we recognize as authority of righteousness and good. We understand there are principalities and powers in spiritual wickedness in high places. We understand that, but that's not our authority. That's wicked authority.

When Jesus offended the congregation.

Many of them said that said wearout finding another church. Jesus looked at his disciples said you going to Simon Peter, six where we going to go. John six for 68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go.

You have the words of eternal life. James is saying if you going to heal, heal with care minister to the body and the spirit in the name of Christ. The Jews would've understood that when he wrote this to them, they would've understood that that the oil was part of the healing process. To this day we as well. You know you have maybe an inner wax buildup that we be talking about that Sunday morning to go to the pharmacist you say you have the extra sweet oil and he'll don't drink it you can it's olive oil, and you put in your here and you can hear me better when I'm preaching on Sunday mornings. That's the whole purpose behind it.

Of course I'm sure that verse 15. Now let me stop there.

Now there's anyone here that you insist that the oil is to be put up on okay fine. Don't argue with me about it. It's not an essential all will do is and I disagree each of you distribute me and then in a bank and you do that this fine verse 15 and the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. So the prayer of faith is what does it there's the answer there, not the oil, the prayer of faith. What is the prayer of faith. The oneness seeks God's will that all the time, wants God's will, and knows that God is fully aware of what is going on and is loving and merciful, but also at some point, sometimes beyond our understanding.

My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. As the heavens are above your have a courtier from Dave Hunt. I like to share.

Dave Hunt was a great man of God and if you can read as much of many of his books. As you can get you do yourself a good thing but he's dealing with those who name and claimant insist on there will be done, not God's will because there are actually those in some churches that go out and say it's sweet to say that I will be done on the insane.

Jesus himself said, not my will be done. Thanks for joining us today as we took a deeper look into the book of Jean here on cross reference radio cross reference radio is the daily radio ministry pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia were blessed to bring you God's word with each broadcast. If you'd like more information want to listen to additional teachings from Pastor Rick please visit our website cross reference radio.com if you've been blessed by this program would love to hear from you when you visit the website. Simply click on the contact us link the top of the page and leave us a message that website again is cross reference radio.com. Please join us again next time. As we continue our study through the book of Jane right here on cross reference radio