Have you heard the expression, “Can I get a witness”? The question has been asked in at least a handful of pop and R&B songs, as well as by contemporary Christian recording artist Nicole C. Mullen in her song, “Witness”. When someone asks or sings out that question, they are looking to see if anyone else has had a similar experience to theirs, whether it is in a Christian context or not.
What then does it take to be a witness? A witness must have seen or heard something, and he then testifies to what it is that he has experienced. Beloved, John said, “The life (of Jesus Christ) was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness“. Has your life been impacted by the living Savior? Then take heart - you too are a witness! So…can I get a witness?
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There was a story out of Salt Lake City this past week about a 9-yr. old boy named Grayson Wynne. He had been on a weekend hiking trip with his family when he got separated from them. And when it happened, his thoughts gravitated to television.
Grayson is a fan of the Discovery Channel show “Man Vs. Wild”. On the show, the host purposely strands himself and explains different survival tactics to get through a given scenario. Grayson utilized some of the tactics he’d learned, and authorities believe this certainly helped save his life during his 18-hour separation.
Beloved, while we are separated from our heavenly home as it were, our Father has given us “survival tactics” to more than see us through this earthly sojourn. James encourages us in this final portion of his epistle how we can press forward. Take heart as you hear James’ exhortations - because our Father preserves us, we can and will persevere!
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When I was growing up, I remember singing the hymn, “Bringing In The Sheaves”. I’m sure I asked myself more than once when we would sing it, “What on earth are sheaves?” I really didn’t know, and maybe you’ve sung that hymn and had that same question as well.
The hymn gets its message from Psalm 126:6, “He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” To put it simply, this was a picture of a great harvest - even in the face of tremendous adversity. In our text today, James writes to challenge and comfort believers to anticipate the true riches that come to those who patiently sow the seed, even in the midst of tears. Beloved, keep patiently sowing, for we shall come again with rejoicing!
Still not entirely sure what sheaves are…
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The Statue of Liberty states, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” We like the sentiment of that old poem, but in reality we realize the limitations of that in real life. We currently have over 20 million illegal aliens in our nation who have the hope of citizenship and the promise of America. This hope may or may not be realized.
Because of Christ, we not only have hope in this life, but the hope of heaven as citizens of the Kingdom of God. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves (Colossians 1:13). Rejoice that God has made us citizens of heaven through Christ.
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In business, there is a term known as a differentiator. It’s what sets one product apart from all of its competitors. For example, what makes a Chevy different from all other brands? What sets it apart from all the rest? Or, take Colombian coffee, as another example. What makes this commodity, no doubt brought in from the the hills of Colombia by Juan Valdez himself, so much different from all other brands of coffee? Enter the differentiator, whatever it may be.
If we look at Christians as compared to those who do not follow Christ, what is the differentiator? What sets them apart from the rest of the unbelieving world? Our passage points out a handful of characteristics that indicate there is new life in the heart of a believing individual. As Peter will tell us, it’s what makes the Christian different from all others; in his words, it is these differentiators that make followers of Christ “a peculiar people.”
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Motivation is everything it’s been said. Terri Spaccarotelli, a dental office receptionist had this story. “At the busy dental office where I work, one patient was always late. Once when I called to confirm an appointment, he said, ‘I’ll be about 15 minutes late. That won’t be a problem, will it?’ ‘No’, I told him. ‘We just won’t have time to give you an anesthetic!’ He arrived early.”
I think if we could really see the benefits of prayer and the cost of prayerlessness, we would arrive early, so to speak. May God motivate us to invest more of our time in prayer for our world, church, families, and for ourselves.
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This might be dating me a bit, but do you remember the old E.F. Hutton commercials? There would be a scene in a busy restaurant for example with several people chatting at the tables. Suddenly, someone would say, “Well my broker is E.F. Hutton,” and suddenly - you could hear a pin drop. And then you’d hear the slogan, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.”
There are certain people in our lives that we are careful to listen to. Maybe there’s someone in the financial market whose show you never miss. When he or she talks, you take great care to listen.
It is definitely true that we often will invest a lot in what certain people say. But what about when God speaks - do we listen? Is that a pin-drop moment for us, where all our attention is toward Him? In our study, we’ll make our way through a challenging chapter, as we see first hand the high price of failing to listen when God speaks. Beloved, it does not have to be that way for us!
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Paul the apostle wrote to the Colossains, people that he never met nor been to their city. Yet he showed his genuine care for them as he penned his letter. It reminds me of the kind of care the U.S. Grant had for his generals. General William Tecumseh Sherman sums it up in a letter in 1865 to Grant. He said, “I knew wherever I was that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would come - if alive.”
We can emulate that example. Wherever we are, let’s think of each other, praying for God’s blessings on one another. In addition, let’s be ready to respond with help for those of us who need a hand from time to time.
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Have you ever heard of “the school of hard knocks”? Indeed, we can get an “education” there, but how much less painful is it to learn instead from the mistakes of others? I don’t have to try some hard drugs, for example, to know that they are going to be detrimental to my health and the well being of my family around me. I can see from the unfortunate experiences of others that these substances are harmful.
In 1 Kings 12, we read of a lot of advice being given. We find instruction coming from certain elders, from prophets, and the like. Sadly, we see here some good advice being ignored. A question to then consider is this: why do we reject the counsel of others when we clearly know we would do well to listen?
Like his father Solomon before him, King Rehoboam made some grievous errors, but we can now learn from these foolish missteps. Maybe he had to go to “the school of hard knocks”, but we can simply “audit” the class instead and learn valuable lessons from his mistakes. So let’s listen up - school’s in session!
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Do you remember the classic 1956 Doris Day tune, “Que Sera Sera”? A portion of the lyrics reads as follows:
“Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be; The future’s not ours to see, que sera, sera.”
There is a touch of Biblical wisdom in these words, insofar as we understand that “whatever will be” is not up to blind chance, but is in the hands of our Heavenly Father. Are we trusting in Him, or in our own efforts? In our text, James asks a pointed question, “For what is your life?” He then answers it with a sobering illustration: “It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
As we hear from His word, may we joyfully turn our lives over to our God who truly holds our times in His hands (Ps. 31:15)!
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