Building a Faith that Works:  the Book of James

Final Warnings

James 5:1-12

January 26, 2003

In days of confusion and discouragement we can know that God still wants us to: 

1. Cry out to Him for help.

James 5:1-6

“The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.”

2. Patiently trust in His care and deliverance.

James 5:7-11

“You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near… The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”

3. Model Christlike integrity.

James 5:12

“Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no.”

Illustrations

God Is Just One Squeal Away
          James 5:4

[(Psalms 95:6-7)] always sends me back to the family farm. We raised pigs. We raised about a thousand pigs a year. In one field we had two or three hundred little oinkers running around. Every day, at four in the morning, as I'd walk into the field to feed those guys, they'd scatter. Once a little pig came up and began to chew on my foot, so I picked him up and began to pet him. Soon he wanted down.

I said, "No, I'll let you down when I'm ready." At that moment, he let out a squeal such as I had never heard. In about two seconds, thirty mama pigs weighing five to six hundred pounds each were headed my way. I put him down and headed for the fence. I barely made it over, and all the mama pigs were snorting and walking back and forth, daring me to come back over and bother one of their kids. I look back at that and realize the little rascal wasn't intimidated. He was out of control, but he wasn't intimidated. Why? Because one squeal away he had resources.

Now let me ask you something. If one of God's creatures is that sensitive to the cry of its own, how much more sensitive is the heavenly Father to the cry of his own? Just one squeal away we have resources.

Citation: Rod Cooper, "Worship or Worry?" Preaching Today, Tape No. 108.

How William Wrigley and Levi Strauss Found Success

James 5:11 

William Wrigley, Jr., the founder of Wrigley Gum, ran away from home at the age of 11 to escape working in the family's soap manufacturing business. He went to New York, where he sold newspapers, but soon was back home. In 1891 he left for good, going to Chicago to make his fortune. In the beginning Wrigley continued to sell soap, offering a free can of baking powder as an incentive to his buyers. Soap sales weren't strong, but people loved the baking powder, so he started selling it exclusively while now offering two pieces of gum as an incentive. He soon discovered that the gum was even more popular than the baking powder, so Wrigley went into the gum business.

Similarly, the name Levi Strauss is synonymous with blue jeans in American culture, but the man by the name wasn't thinking about jeans when he went to California in hopes of making his fortune during the gold strike of the 1840s and 1850s. He did make a fortune, but not the way he had planned. He set out with a load of heavy canvas fabric, from which he planned to sell sections for tents and wagon covers. Upon arrival, the first miner who saw his product said, "You should have brought pants." The seasoned miner further explained how there weren't any pants strong enough to endure the tough condition of mining. Levi Strauss immediately made the miner a pair of work pants, and thus struck gold.

Citation: The Book of Leadership Wisdom: Classic Writings by Legendary Business Leaders (John Wiley and Sons, 1998), p. 326, and Mistakes That Worked (Doubleday, 1991), pp. 71-72