What To Do When It Hurts

SERMON OUTLINE

• I. The Individual
• II. The Elders
• III. The Congregation

TRANSCRIPT

From time to time, we will experience trials, troubles, and afflictions of all sorts. Perhaps this morning, you are sick and not able to attend this physical worship service, and you have to tune in to our live streaming. Or you may be struggling with some emotional issues, family matters, or medical conditions. In such times, what can you do? This is what we want to learn from today's passage in James 5:13-18. The title of our message is "What to Do When It Hurts."

Before we begin, allow me to say something about this passage. This passage has been debated for decades because some groups have tried to use it for their own particular beliefs. For example, the Roman Catholics have used this passage to support their teaching regarding the sacrament of extreme unction. Extreme unction is when the Roman Catholic priests anoint a sick, dying person with oil for the purpose of administering the forgiveness of sins and strengthening the soul for death. Charismatic faith healers use this passage as a guarantee that all sick believers will be healed. Others would use this passage as a basis for anointing the sick with oil.

Many questions have been raised from this passage. Are the prayers of the pastors and elders different from the other believers? Do pastors and elders still need to anoint the sick with oil so that they will be healed? Does the faith that we have in our prayers surely restore the sick? To answer all these questions, we need to understand this passage in its context.

If you remember, the Book of James was written to Jewish believers who were persecuted and had to flee from Palestine. James began this epistle in Chapter 1 Verse 2 with an exhortation to "count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations," which means when you face different trials. He knew that the believers were facing tremendous hostilities, and here, when he comes to the concluding Chapter 5, he returns to talk about trials. The first six verses describe the persecutions that the poor believers were facing. They were suffering at the hands of the rich and wicked, even to the point of death. Then, from verses 7 to 11, he encouraged the believers to patiently endure the trials and persecutions by looking to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the context of this passage is about suffering. In discussing this matter of suffering, it would be strange for James not to mention anything about prayers. A strong commitment to prayer is the vital key to endure affliction. So, this passage is in the context of trials and suffering, and the emphasis is on prayer. In fact, it is not just the suffering believer who needs to pray, but everyone - the leaders, the congregation, the whole church ought to pray.

You can see in verse 13 that the individual believer needs to pray. In verses 14 and 15, the elders need to pray. Then in verse 16, the congregation needs to pray. This will be the outline for today's message: the congregation, the elders, and the individual.

I. The Individual

Firstly, let us consider the individual, beginning with verse 13: "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms." The word ‘afflicted’ means to undergo hardship or to suffer trouble. When you and I are afflicted, what is the thing we need? We need to be uplifted, we need to be delivered, strengthened, and comforted. We need grace to endure. And who is the one who is able to help us? God. Therefore, we must pray. The only way to deal with affliction is to pray.

When the Apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh, what did he do? He prayed persistently. Three times, he asked the Lord to remove it, and God said, "My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Corinthians 12:9). When the prophet Jonah was in the stomach of the great fish, what did he do? He prayed. "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple" (Jonah 2:7).

The phrase ‘let him pray’ is in the present tense. It suggests a continuous pleading with God. When times are hard, when it hurts, when we are troubled, we must pray, and we must pray continuously. This is the basic truth that most believers will know. But it is one thing to know it, and it is another to apply it. Only those who put this knowledge into application and pray will benefit from this wonderful truth.

Remember the beautiful hymn we always sing, ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’. It says, ‘Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear.’ We often forfeit peace, and we often carry unnecessary pain. Why? ‘All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.’

Dear friend, are you afflicted? If you are, you know that you are not in control of the situation or your predicament. You are not in control of life and death. Why do you want to carry this unnecessary burden - all the worries and anxieties? You should let your burdens be carried to the Almighty God, who is in control of all things. So, James says, "Let him pray.”

Then he moves on to say, "Is any merry?" Those who are merry are those who are in good spirit, cheerful, or having a joyful attitude. "Let him sing psalms" - those people who are able to sing praises are those who are merry, and those who are merry are those who have experienced the merciful hand of God.

Do you realise that praise and prayer are closely related? Praise is actually a form of prayer. Both the afflicted and the merry are to pray. The one who is afflicted prays by pleading with God for mercy, and the one who is merry prays by praising God for the mercy already received.

Maybe you have prayed in times of afflictions. You cried out to God for mercy, no doubt about that. But when God answered your prayers, when you experienced His goodness, were you thankful in your heart to give praise to Him? We are all familiar with the ten lepers whom our Lord Jesus healed. Only one returned and gave thanks to God. We are quick to point fingers at the nine lepers - they were so ungrateful, unappreciative, unthankful. We are quick to compliment the one leper. But the question we need to ask ourselves is: what about me? Am I like the nine lepers, or am I like the one leper who remembers and gives thanks to God?

II. The Elders

Turning from the individual, James moves to the elders of the church in verses 14 and 15: "Is any sick among you? 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

The word ‘sick’ here can mean physical illness or spiritual weakness as a result of suffering. Without understanding the context of this passage, at first glance, it appears that when the elders pray for the sick believers and anoint them with oil, they will surely be healed. Remember, James was speaking to the persecuted believers. They had been physically abused and had lost the ability to endure the suffering. They were exhausted and depressed, perhaps even fallen into sin. They might be so physically and spiritually sick that they wanted to draw strength from prayer but they lost the ability to do that. Having hit rock bottom, they were not able to pray effectively on their own. In such times of affliction, they would need the help of stronger brethren to help them. And who could they turn to, but to call on the elders of the church to pray for them.

The elders of the church are those who are supposed to be spiritually strong, spiritually mature, and spiritually victorious, and they are the ones whom the weak believers can turn to for help, to pray for them. Now this is in line with what Galatians 6:1 teaches us: "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness."

In our responsive reading, Acts 6, the church elected the deacons to serve tables. Why did they do that? So that the elders would give themselves continuously to prayers and to the ministry of the Word. It is one of the responsibilities of the elders to pray for the congregation. If I may put it this way, when you are afflicted, you must pray individually, as verse 13 says, but there may come a point whereby you are so exhausted, weak, troubled, and depressed, both physically and spiritually, that, even if you want to, you cannot pray effectively on your own.

So, what do you do? Of course, all of us believers have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to help us to pray. As Romans 8:26 says, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." But God has also given to us pastors and elders to help us in moments like this. Sadly, today, weak and struggling believers would rather turn to secular counsellors and psychologists than to the leaders of the church, and oftentimes the pastors and elders are the last people to know of their struggles. It should not be that way.

What about anointing the sick with oil? Should our pastors and elders also anoint our sick brethren with oil? Again, we have to understand the context. There are several different Greek terms used for the word ‘anointing.’ Sometimes, a special Greek word is used to refer to a special anointing or consecration, like in the Gospel of Luke 4:18, where the anointing is for the preaching of the gospel to the poor. The best example of such a meaning is our Lord Jesus Christ, who was known as the Anointed One, the Messiah, the One who was set apart for God's salvation plan. He was specially set apart for God's purpose.

At other times, another Greek word for anointing is used, like in the case of the women who went to the tomb of Jesus. Why did they go to the tomb? To anoint His body with sweet spices. That word for anointing means to spread or to apply. The women went to the tomb to spread the sweet spices on Christ's body. Here, in verse 14, James used a different Greek word for anointing, which means ‘rubbing’ - the physical rubbing of oil or ointment. You see, in the Middle East, oil has often been used for medical purposes, and olive oil is abundant in that region. The people would use the rubbing of oil to soothe tired, sick, and weak bodies. In other words, it can be translated as ‘rubbing him with oil in the name of the Lord.’

So, depending on the Greek word used for anointing, it can mean a special anointing or consecration, it can mean spreading or applying, or it can mean rubbing, as in this case. In those days, the persecuted believers had suffered physical injuries on their bodies. Medical and modern science was not in existence at that time, and there were very few trustworthy doctors. So medicated oil was often used to rub on those wounds, those injuries. For the elders to do that was an act of love. They rubbed oil on the wounds of the afflicted believers who had been beaten and then committed them into the hands of the Almighty God. So oil served a purpose as a medication; it has no supernatural power. The divine strength and power come from the prayer, not the oil.

Today, do pastors and elders still anoint the sick brethren with oil? If it is necessary - if you sprain your ankle and you need me to help you rub medicated oil, I will do that for you. But it serves only one purpose: it is for medication, it has no supernatural power. Then I will pray for you that God will give you His strength and His power. Notice that the elders do it in the name of the Lord. To do something in the name of the Lord is to do what Jesus would have done in that situation. Just as to pray in the name of the Lord is to ask for what Christ would want, to serve in the name of the Lord is to serve on His behalf. Most certainly, Jesus would have done the same thing. He would have rubbed oil on the wounds of those afflicted believers, just as He stooped down and washed the feet of His disciples.

The result is that ‘the prayer of faith shall save the sick.’ Again, the emphasis is on prayers, which means the elders' prayers will restore or deliver the suffering believers. And, of course, by the grace and mercy of God. The prayer of faith comes from faith in the Almighty God, who will sovereignly carry out His will and purpose. When you and I pray in faith, we pray believing that nothing is beyond our God. He can heal anyone, at any time, and in any circumstances, and He does all things to His glory.

If it is the Lord's will for you to be delivered from your sickness, well, James says, "The Lord shall raise him up." Not all suffering is the direct result of an individual's sin. Just because someone is sick, it does not mean that he has sinned. Sometimes, initially, when a believer experiences an affliction - perhaps he could suffer a heart attack, or he was diagnosed with a terminal illness - it might not be because he had sinned. But subsequently, in the midst of that affliction, he might have sinned. In those trying moments, he might have murmured and challenged God, or he might become angry and bitter, or he might have made a foolish decision and dishonoured the Lord.

In such times, the elders of the church can encourage the believer to do the right thing. When he has sinned, the only solution is to confess his sins, and the Lord will forgive. Remember, 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That is why James says, “If he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:14).

Dear friend, we must never take this passage out of context as a blank cheque, like the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel preachers do. They say that if you perform all these necessary steps - if you are sick, ask your elders to anoint you with oil and pray - you will surely be healed. Many Christians who were sick have been deceived into believing this wrong teaching. They had done everything they could, as prescribed to them, and yet they died. Sadly, many of them went to their graves believing, ’I must have done something wrong, or there must be something that I have failed to do, or there is something that I've done, and because of that, God is holding back from me. That is why I’m not delivered.’

But no one ever told him that it is the sovereign will of God for him to die and be with the Lord forever and ever. In times of affliction, our attitude should be, ‘I must pray, and if I am too weak to pray effectively, I will want my pastor and elders to pray for me. I will want the church to pray for me. If it is the Lord's will for me to be healed, praise be to God - I will sing praises to Him. If it is not the Lord's will for me to be healed, I will still praise Him, and I will prepare myself to meet my Creator.’

III. The Congregation

So, firstly, James focuses on the individual, and then moves on to the elders. Finally, he turns to the congregation as a whole. Look at verse 16: "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Here, James was exhorting the believers to continually confess their sins one to another, and not to wait until it is too late. Do not wait until those sins drag you to the point of total spiritual defeat.

Dear friend, do you know when sin is most dangerous to the believer? Sin is most dangerous to the believer when he is isolated. What sin wants to do is to remain private and secret, and what God wants is for sin to be exposed and dealt with. And oftentimes, God would use the loving fellowship of the believers to do that. Part of fellowship is this: mutual honesty, mutual confession, mutual accountability. We pray for one another, we keep one another in check so that we will not live sinful, secret lives, because that is what sin wants to do - keep it private, keep it in secret, and then you go on and on living sinful, secret lives. God does not want that to happen to us, so He has placed us in the Church, in the fellowship.

Take a moment and consider this: what is the first thing a person would do when he or she falls into sin?—runs away from church, stays away from the fellowship. He may give all kinds of reasons, but that is what Satan wants them to do, to be isolated and to continue in that secret sin. But God wants us to be in the Church, in the fellowship, where there is mutual accountability, and it will help us to confess and forsake our sins before it is too late.

So, in the Church, in the fellowship, there is mutual accountability where we confess and forsake our sins. That is how we are spiritually protected. As the emphasis is on prayer, James went on to say, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). The word ‘effectual’ is from where we get the English word for energy. ‘Availeth much’ means ‘accomplishes much.’ In a literal sense, it means it is strong. Weak prayers come from weak people; strong prayers come from strong people.

Do you know why the prayer of a righteous man is strong? It is strong because his prayer is effectual; it is energised by the Holy Spirit. When you are weak and struggling, you, ask a righteous believer, someone who is walking right with God, someone who is spiritually mature and righteous, you can be rest assured that he will pray. He will pray by trusting in the Almighty God, that He alone is able to restore you to spiritual health.

To further demonstrate that the prayer of a righteous man is strong, James gave an illustration of one of the most popular Old Testament characters, Elijah. We often teach our children about Elijah. The Bible says, "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are” - in other words, Elijah awas not a supernatural being. He was just like us. He shared the same emotional, physical and spiritual struggles, just like us. Yet, when “he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit" (James 5:17-18).

Elijah's prayer resulted in the devastating drought - three and a half years of drought. Interestingly, 1 Kings 17 does not tell us the duration, but here, James tells us that it was three and a half years. Both were linked to Elijah's prayer. Elijah prayed, and the rain did not come; and Elijah prayed again, and the rain came.

Dear friend, just like Elijah, you and I do not have supernatural powers in and of ourselves. We are weak, but our prayers can be strong. Our prayers can accomplish much. Why? Because they are energised by the power of God. In other words, it is not in the person, it is in God Himself. We pray to the Almighty God, and when He hears, He answers. Elijah was just like you and me, with like passions, yet his prayer was effectual; it was energised by the Spirit of God. It was powerful.

Afflictions will come into our lives. Like it or not, they will come. As the saying goes, ‘When you least expect to fall sick, you always fall sick.’ What to do when it hurts? We must pray. As an individual, we must pray. The leaders must pray. The congregation must pray. And all of us must know this important truth: that we must commit our prayers to the sovereign will of God, and we give thanks for all things.

The only way for our prayers to be effective is that they must be effectual, and the only way for them to be effectual is that they must be energised by the Spirit of God. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). This is how you and I must pray, and this is how we must function as a Church. When we are afflicted, we pray individually, but there may come a point whereby we are so weak, troubled, and depressed that we cannot pray effectively. We want the elders, the pastors, to pray for us, and we want the Church also to pray together. May the Lord remind us and help us about this importance of prayer. What to do when it hurts? Pray. Let us look to the Lord in prayer.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to consider this portion of the Scriptures. Indeed, it is so important for us to pray, and oftentimes we forget. We look to our own strength, thinking that we are able to handle the pain, and then it overwhelms us. And again, it overwhelms us until it comes to a point where we know we can do nothing unless we turn to Thee. Sometimes, Thou would allow trials into our lives to make us run to Thee. We know that, and yet as humans, we always forget. We are so ignorant. Thou hast reminded us of the importance of prayer - what to do when it hurts.

When we are troubled, when we are afflicted, we must pray as individuals. The leaders must pray, and the congregation must pray. And we hold one another accountable, for we know that Satan, the devil, wants our sins to be kept secret and private, but You will not permit that to happen. So You hast placed us in the Church, in the fellowship, so that there is mutual honesty, mutual accountability, to keep us from living sinful, secret lives. Praise be to Thee. May Thou continue to preserve us and help us so that all of us will not just know Thy truth, but we will live out Thy truth in our lives to the glory of Thy precious name. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

THE BOOK OF JAME

Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]

Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]

James 1:1-4

Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]

Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]

James 1:1-4

The Need For Wisdom In Times Of Trial

The Need For Wisdom In Times Of Trial

James 1:5-8

Trial Is No Respecter Of Persons

Trial Is No Respecter Of Persons

James 1:9-12

How To Deal With Temptation

How To Deal With Temptation

James 1:13-15

Remember Who God Is And Who We Are

Remember Who God Is And Who We Are

James 1:16-18

Be Receptive To The Word Of God

Be Receptive To The Word Of God

James 1:19-21

Doers of the Word

Doers of the Word

James 1:21-25

Be Responsive To The Word Of God

Be Responsive To The Word Of God

James 1:22-25

Are You Transformed By The Word?

Are You Transformed By The Word?

James 1:26-27

The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]

The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]

James 2:1-4

The Sin of Partiality

The Sin of Partiality

James 2:1-13

The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]

The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]

James 2:5-13

Show Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You Mine

Show Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You Mine

James 2:14-20

Faith In Action

Faith In Action

James 2:21-26

A Warning To Want-To-Be Teacher

A Warning To Want-To-Be Teacher

James 3:1-2

Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)

Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)

James 3:1-13

The Power Of The Tongue

The Power Of The Tongue

James 3:3-6

The Taming Of The Tongue

The Taming Of The Tongue

James 3:7-12

The Danger Of False Wisdom

The Danger Of False Wisdom

James 3:13-16

The Blessing Of Heavenly Wisdom

The Blessing Of Heavenly Wisdom

James 3:17-18

Dealing With Conflict In The Church

Dealing With Conflict In The Church

James 4:1-6

What Constitutes True Salvation

What Constitutes True Salvation

James 4:7-10

Speak No Evil

Speak No Evil

James 4:11-12

God’s Plan Or My Plan?

God’s Plan Or My Plan?

James 4:13-17

Physically Rich But Spiritually Poor

Physically Rich But Spiritually Poor

James 5:1-6

How To Be Patient In Times Of Trouble

How To Be Patient In Times Of Trouble

James 5:7-11

Simply Speak The Truth

Simply Speak The Truth

James 5:12; Matthew 5:33-37

What To Do When It Hurts

What To Do When It Hurts

James 5:13-18

The Value Of The Soul

The Value Of The Soul

James 5:19-20