Topical

The time may come when you will suffer for the cross. The day may be far off, or it may be tomorrow or even today. The key, according to James, is to resolve to be resolute in what we believe. Often, we get tempted by the concept that living for Christ is something we can do in secret, that we don't have to let anyone know if we're saved, that they will "figure out" that we're saved because we go to church.

You need to establish in your heart where you stand on the issue of identity with Christ, and the love and obedience that he calls you to. It could lose you all your friends; it could make you a social outcast; it could get you hurt. Ready?

{bible}James 5:7-11{/bible} “Establish Your Heart”

• Be Patient (v7) — don’t give up on doing good just because Christ hasn’t returned already. ({bible}2Thes 3:13{/bible})
  • There is a purpose — just like lots of rain has a purpose — to grow things.
  • You are being grown up.
  • Just like crops grow before there can be a harvest, we need to grow before the return of Christ.
• Establish your heart (v8) — get settled and sure in your thinking about God and Jesus Christ. Be firm in your convictions of who Christ is and what he wants for you.
  • How can you do that?
    • Read the Bible
    • Pray
    • Come to Church as often as possible — Why? (that’s where the “rain” is)
      • Bible Teaching
      • Worshiping together with other Christians
      • Fellowship with Christians — Christian fellowship means to discuss your lives in view of who God is — not just play or talk about your life apart from God.
• Do not grumble (v9) (complain) — God judges that behavior and he’ll be back soon.
  • Christians, who are firm in their convictions of who Christ is, and what the body of Christ (the church — all believers) is about, understand that we are all being grown up into the likeness of Christ. They exhibit the Fruits of the Spirit (“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;” {bible}Gal 5:22-23{/bible} ESV) and obey verses such as {bible}Ephesians 4:32{/bible}, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” ESV.
• The example of the Prophets (v10) — one of whom is Daniel
  • {bible}Daniel 1:8-16{/bible}, “Daniel made up his mind…” (NASB) — “Daniel Resolved…” (ESV)
• The example of Job (v11)
  • {bible}Job 1:12-22{/bible}; nb: v22 “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” (ESV)
• There is a purpose to our lives (v11) — God’s purpose. What is it?
  • God wants to bless you, just as he blessed Daniel and Job. He didn’t take them out of the hard times, he blessed them in and through it.
  • "Compassion and Mercy”: forgiveness of sin and growing us up into the fullness of Christ through sanctification.
• Application
  • Make up your mind — resolve — establish your heart — to love and obey God. Quit playing “Sunday Christian.” Quit living just the same as your unsaved friends the rest of the week, if you do. If not, can you resolve to do even better?
  • Do you take a stand for godliness? It’s one thing to take a stand and say, “Yes, I’m a Christian” (some of you aren’t even doing that) and it’s another to live your life striving to grow in godliness because you are a Christian. Do you forsake deeds of darkness even in the face of peer pressure? Do you say, “I’m not going to listen to that kind of music …” or “…go into that store…” “…or watch that TV show…” “…because it may cause me to be tempted;” or maybe “…because my parents don’t allow it and I want to obey my parents” Or, do you — like I did at your age — just say, “I might get caught and I don’t want to get into trouble.”? What’s the difference those reactions reveal about your heart?
  • Is there any difference in the way you express frustration? Is there a difference in the way you submit to your parent’s and other authority (ie: teachers)?
  • What suffering (persecutions) might we encounter because of taking a stand for godliness? What differences will having been “established in your mind” — “resolved in your heart” — “firm in your convictions” make when that persecution comes?