Ministry Care Center

Teaching Outline on James 5:13-20

HEALING SOLUTIONS

Introduction: My first example of healing was with my dog FuFu [see Appendix 1]. Since that day, I have had the opportunity to pray for many people. But even with this experience, I have a number of questions about: Healing Solutions for Real Life Conditions. For example, what does it mean to be a healing community? As a church, we believe the climate where healing takes place has three or four characteristics: love, acceptance, forgiveness and belonging. But how does this climate play itself out in real life conditions? James very beautifully gives us four practical illustrations of healing in action in James 5:13-20. (We will look at three of them.) What would be the outcome if a church decided to take this passage seriously? How would it change lives? How would it impact our gathering times as a church?

What does it say?

What does it mean?

5:13--Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray.

I. The Conditions of A Life. James 5:13-18 lists common conditions God intends us to share together with Him and each other.

Quote, Therese Koelmeyer: "As Elizabeth Elliot has encour- aged me, God's plan and purp- ose for me may not be worked out the way I plan but the lessons learned along the journey are of paramount im portance; as she has written: 'Nothing, absolutely nothing is useless in the fulfill- ment of that purpose if I'll trust Him for it and submit to the lessons'"-- Elizabeth Elliot. Interesting Note Crisis in Chinese is made up of two words: One is problem, the other is opportunity.

A.

First condition: in trouble. v. 13a-- "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray." 1.  What kind of trouble is this?    a. Definition: Hardship of every sort, whether physical or mental. Literally means to be in distress and there is no immediate relief.    b. Description: It could be persecution, old fears, relationships, finances, disputes, accidents, etc.-- II Tim. 2:9. Does that surprise you? It shouldn't.    c. Definition of a Christian : Continually joyful and constantly in trouble. (Ray Stedman) Note: James assumes we will be in trouble. (See margin.)

What does it say?

What does it mean?

Psalm 23:4--Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [Or through the darkest valley] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 68:6--God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the re bellious live in a sun-scorched land. Heb. 4:16--Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. I Peter 3:12--For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

2.

Why will prayer help us when we are in trouble? Let's state the obvious: a. Sometimes we feel deserted/lonely, as Paul did. II Tim. 4:9-10--"Do your best to come to me quickly, 10] for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11] Only Luke is with me ." Solution: When we feel lonely, prayer will put us in touch with God's presence and can also make the way for human compassion!!--Psalm 23:4; 34:15; 68:6. b. Other times we are attacked by our enemy. Answer: Prayer is a part of our armor--Eph. 6:18-20. c. At times we need grace, strength, and wisdom to make it through our trials and troubles --James1:5; 4:6; Heb. 4:14-16; I Pet. 3:12. Prayer supplies the grace we need in our trouble, because the Lord is attentive to our prayers. Summary: Why prayer? Prayer is what supplies the interior resources we need to make it. All prayer boils down to a startling fact: God wants to talk with us, listen to us, be with us, sustain us, and give us whatever we need. So when we are in trouble, we should PRAY ! It is our responsibility to pray when in trouble. This is the first illustration from our James 5 passage that shows all conditions in our life should ultimately lead us to God and His church.

What does it say?

What does it mean?

5:13b--Is anyone happy? Definition of happiness: the term does not denote hilarity, nor freedom from trouble. It suggests cheerfulness in spite of circumstances--Acts 27:22,25. Let him sing songs of praise (psalms). Psalm 68:3--But may the righteous be glad and re joice before God; may they be happy and joyful. A person who has established a life-style of praise is made better equipped to face trouble. He/she is spiritually prepared. Illustration: During my breakdown, for a period of time I could not sing. I remember the day I was once again able to. It was a turning point in my recovery.

Next, God intends us to share with Him a B. Second condition: feeling happy. v. 13b--"Is any one happy? Let him sing songs of praise (psalms)." 1. What does happiness mean? To be of a cheerful mind--to be of good cheer. 2. What does happiness bring? What does it produce? Answer: Happiness brings relief and peace from trouble, but along with it comes a lot of vulnerability and forgetfulness. Question: Do you know what I mean by that? (Explain.) We're not cautious and forget what the trouble was like. 3. So what will keep happiness steady and growing, as well as give our happiness godly content? "Let him sing songs of praise (psalms)..." a. This is one of the few places in Scripture that tells us what to do when we are happy--see also Psalm 68:3. Def. of "sing praises ": originally meant singing to the music of a harp; then it came to mean singing with or without instruments. Often used of public singing; here the term is probably being used of personal or private singing--see Acts 16:25 and Paul and Silas. b. Many people miss this admonition because their whole orientation to Christianity is forged in the time of trouble. c. We/they have not the slightest idea what Scripture wants us to do when things are going well. -- But pay attention, this instruction is critical to our maintenance of true happiness. -- It also prepares us for trouble if it does come. d. Another reason to sing songs of praise when we are happy--they are better than the secular counterpart.

What does it say?

What does it mean?

Some music adds little or no content or encouragement to our joy!! A source of help for our praise is the Psalms. Let the Psalmist give us content, to broaden the vocabulary of our praise. 5:14a--Is any one of you sick? 14b--He should call the elders of the church to pray over him

Reflection about secular music : Many Christians who have a constant diet of secular music do not know it is robbing/dissipating their happiness, because it adds little or no content or encouragement to their joy. It is very difficult to maintain Christian joy in our spirit when there is a steady (exclusive) diet of secular lyrics. Summary: Why sing praise? Why do we need personal and corporate praise to God? Praise focuses our attention on the Lord. It reinforces who is the Source of our happiness and it feeds our spirit. (By the way, we sing praises together too.) 4. What will help us achieve this praise? a. a song list kept in our Bibles b. singing psalms extemporaneously/secretly c. letting the singing flow naturally--in the shower, in the car, as we walk, listening to Christian music d. words of favorite hymns written down e. praying God's attributes James moves from praise to another common problem. C. Third condition: being sick--v. 14; Matt. 10:8; John 4:46; Rom. 14:1; John 12:40. Def. of sick: denotes illness that is physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. It means to be without strength-- Matt. 10:8; John 4:46; Rom. 14:1; John 12:40. What should we do when this is our condition?--v. 14b 1. The people to call: elders. Notice two observations: a. First, "elders" is plural --Acts 11:30; Titus 1:5; I Pet. 5:1; II John 1. Note: Spiritual leaders function best in teams, e.g., Jesus, the apostle Paul, etc. We need more than one to relate to. The gift mix is healthy.

What does it say?

What does it mean?

14b--He should call the elders of the church to pray over him Acts 6:5-8 and 7:4-9 make it clear the deacons were also trained to pray for people. James 5:16--Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

b. Second observation is, the elders and sick are found in a community of believers - a Church-v. 14; 2:2. They are not alone. Let me ask a few questions about this: 1) Who are your spiritual leaders and elders? 2) If you do not have elders, are you cutting yourself off from some of God's provision? Answer: Yes! The sick are not to be alone, but in God's design for the church, are to have spiritual care. The elders are one of His instruments. 3) But does that mean the elders are the only ones to call? No! If the elders are doing their job, they are training others to watch/care over the flock. a) Deacons/leaders--Acts 6:6,8. Note: In Acts 6, when there were too many needs for the Lord's disciples to minister to, they asked the people to select the first deacons with certain qualifications, e.g., full of the Spirit and wisdom. Then they brought these early deacons to the apostles where the apostles placed their hands on them. What did this mean? It implied: a) identification, b) relationship, c) recognition. b) Likewise in this community, all the small group leaders and deacons are in relationship with at least one of the elders. 4) Is this all who can or should pray? Answer: No. Every believer should be one who prays for the needs before him--James 5:16 (read); I Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 6:18-20.

What does it say?

What does it mean?

5:14a--He should call the elders of the church 5:14b--to pray over him 5:14c--and anoint him with oil Psalm 23:5--You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Luke 10:34--He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.

How should this prayer be carried out? 2. The process is very specific. If you or a family/friend are sick, a. Call--take the initiative (you or your family). How? 1) Over the phone 2) Before, after, during services 3) Make an appointment 4) Write a note with your request 5) Prayer chain 6) Small group, etc. Note: There is no way people will know you are sick unless you tell them. When we become sick, our first step is to take the initiative to make others aware of our specific need. Note: We continually have folks going in the hospital and not telling anyone."Call the elders; call the office. We'll establish a visiting schedule." b. "Pray over him..." (means hands over him). Note: The hands represent the heart and the identification in prayer with the one who has a need. c. "Anoint him with oil..." Why should we use oil? Here are some possible reasons for oil: 1) First, in some instances the oil was applied for medicinal purposes--Ps. 23:5 (shepherd); Lk. 10:34 (the good Samaritan). Note: That is probably not how it is being used in this instance. 2) The second reason oil is used today is because: the disciples used oil when praying for the sick --Mark 6:13. This also shows the broadening of prayer ministry beyond the disciples. The oil is now a part of regular church life.

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