Patiently Waiting For His Return | James 5:7-11 | 6-14-26 | Sunday PM

**Pastor Andrew Montoro** (0:00)
Let's turn to James 5 tonight. Turn to James 5, we're gonna continue in our series, Growing Into Christ Likeness, Becoming More Like Christ, Letting the Lord Work in Our Lives. And so this, where we were last week, and this is kind of one unit, but just to take the time to try to work through it, James is teaching the believers the need for a mature faith for the trials of life.
And so let's pick it up in verse number 7 of James chapter 5
He's writing to Christians who are going through trials, who are going through difficulties, and James says, Be patient therefore, brethren. Verse number 7, chapter 5, Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husband man waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it until he received the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient, establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned. Behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Take, my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering, affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy, which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and tender of mercy, and of tender mercy. What James is getting across is, Brethren, be patient. Don't give up. Keep trusting the Lord. Keep serving the Lord. Be patient because the Lord is returning. That's our title tonight. Simply this, patiently waiting for his return. Patiently waiting for his return. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for tonight. I thank you for your word, even just the challenge and the Lord, just how you speak through your word. I pray that you would bless, help us Lord to not just hear what you're saying, but Lord apply it to our lives, apply it to our life situations. Lord, I pray that you'd give us your guidance, give us leadership, Lord, give us clarity. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Patience is one of those things that it's wonderful when other people have it, but we don't like to do it. We love patient people, right? When people are patient with us, when people take time, but one thing we struggle with is being patient in return, being patient with those who are causing problems. And one of the most difficult areas to be patient is when you're suffering wrong and you've done nothing wrong. One of the hardest areas to be patient, one of the areas where we need a mature faith the most is where you know you're trying to serve God, you know you're trying to do right, but you're still encountering difficulties. You're still encountering problems and even attacks and difficult situations because you're trying to do right. And you're saying, I'm trying to do right, why am I going through this? Because there is the promise of God's word, God will judge the wicked, God will bless those who are serving him, right? That is a timeless principle in God's word, but at the same time, what James is getting across here is God will be faithful to his own, but we don't always see those blessings now, is it okay? So there's a blessing, there always is a blessing, God will always, what we saw this morning, God will always take care of his own, but sometimes the care and the blessings that God has promised is something that is going to take place in the future, is not necessarily something we see right here and now, and here's where we struggle, we struggle to keep enduring, to stay patient when things aren't going easy, when things aren't going well, when we're facing the affliction, that takes a level of maturity, Christ-like maturity to not give up, to not get discouraged, to not get frustrated, when things aren't going exactly the way, when things are difficult, not even going exactly the way we want, when things are plain, unjust, unfair, and we're seeing unrighteous difficulties, when we're trying to serve God, that is when we desperately need a Christian maturity, a Christ-likeness, the example of Christ looking unto him, the author and finish of our faith, that we need to live for God faithfully until we meet him. James is writing to believers. They were experiencing great hardships and afflictions because of their choice to follow Jesus. Not because they were being wrong, not because they were breaking the law, but because they were serving God. If you remember all the way back in the beginning, James begins his letter by addressing the trials and temptations. My brethren, count it all joy. How many remember that? When you fall into diverse temptations, when you fall into all kinds of problems, knowing this, that the trying of our faith worketh patience, but let patience have our perfect work, that you may be complete and entire, wanting nothing, that there's trials and difficulties. James did not pretend that the struggles and wrongs and injustices they were facing were not real. He didn't say, just get over it. He didn't say, you're being a sissy, don't worry. No, he said, he didn't ignore what they were going through, but rather, one of the main purposes of this letter is to call these believers to have a mature, a Christ-like response in those trials, in those difficulties. Throughout the letter, James has been calling these believers to see and identify areas they need to grow and mature. It's very easy for us to look at a lot. Yep, I'm doing pretty good. But what James does in his book, in this letter, under the inspiration of God, he says, all right, let's look at this area. Let's look at how you're treating others. Let's look at the trials of life. Let's look how you're responding in this situation.