Sermon Title: A Warning to the Rich Overflowing Among the Chosen People of the Eternal Lord in Today’s World. James 5:1–20
My dear brother and sister in Christ our Lord, greetings to you all in the fold of our living, eternal God, here in beloved South Sudan. On this blessed morning, by God’s grace to His chosen people from eternity, I trust you are well. Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ our Lord, I am pleased first to remind you of this grace from the Holy Bible, as you prepare to receive it in your eternal life spiritually, through faith and trust in the eternal Jesus Christ our Lord.
A brief note on the sermon theme: A warning to the rich overflowing among the chosen people of the eternal Lord in today’s world.
As the Bible states in James 5:1–6:
- Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
- Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
- Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
- Indeed, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
- You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
- You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
Patience and prayer (James 5:7–20):
- Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
- You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
- Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
- My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.
- Indeed, we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
- But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be Yes, and your “No,” No, lest you fall into judgment.
- 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, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
- 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.
- Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The 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, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
- Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and 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.
Other references:
- Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
- Revelation 1:3: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”
- Daniel 12:3: “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.”
Conclusion: Beloved brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Author: Elder in the Seventh-day Adventist Church Contact: WhatsApp: 0913360885 Email: johndour268@gmail.com