Is Anyone of You in Trouble?

Message Aim:  The devil wants to cause you trouble in order to make you fall away from Christ.

 Sermon Title:   “Is Anyone of You in Trouble?”

 Scripture:  James 5:13-18

¹³ Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

 Synopsis:

Question … “Is there anyone of you in trouble?” (Now you ask, “What kind of trouble are you talking about?”)  Well, is someone in trouble at home? Or, is someone in trouble on the job? Or maybe, is someone in trouble with a problem? Or, perhaps the situation is even bigger, is someone in trouble looking for faith that actually makes sense? … because you know something is not right between you and God.

We are often our own worst enemies. We cause us more trouble than anyone else. So, some persons are in trouble today because they don’t have faith. Or worse, they have something they call faith but it doesn’t come even close to what Jesus meant when He said, “Come follow me!” Therefore, some of you are in trouble because you are not on the right path and you are not following Jesus. However, there are others of you in trouble because you are following Christ. John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” You see, in this world you will have trouble. Jesus was talking here to His disciples so He was talking about discipleship troubles. Trouble because you are following Him. The devil wants to cause you trouble in order to make you fall away from Christ.

So, I ask you the question again, is anyone in trouble? – James gives us the solution to trouble and gives us some helpful advice on several other things that we encounter in life. There were three points that he made …

1- Are you in trouble? 
2- Are you happy? 
3- Are you sick? 

(Let’s look at the Scripture lesson that was read and get some answers …first…)

1. ARE YOU IN TROUBLE?

(Look at our scripture …)  ¹³ Is any one of you in trouble? (What should he/she do?)  He should pray….  Prayer is of great value to trouble. Trouble often drives men to God in prayer. You see, prayer is but the voice of men and women in trouble. There is great value in prayer in the time of trouble. Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

(Here’s the second point that James makes…)

1. ARE YOU HAPPY?

(Look again at our scripture …)  ¹³ …Is anyone happy? (What should he/she do?)  Let him sing songs of praise.  How can we not be happy, knowing that the Lord is in control of the entire universe and even our own lives and especially, as we yield to Him? Psalm 5:11“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them that those who love your name may rejoice in you.” How can we not rejoice or be happy in the Lord? And if we are, what must we do? SING PRAISE!

III. ARE YOU SICK?     …CALL
¹⁴ Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. When you get sick, what do you do? A lot of the time when someone gets sick they don’t want to see anyone. But prayer for the sick person which is offered in faith is important. It’s a matter of asking God and trusting Him to do something. The Lord is one who raises up people from their illness even if the doctor and medication are involved. 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.

“Is there anyone of you in trouble?”  Perhaps someone is in trouble because you know something is not right between you and God. Someone may be in trouble because you are not following Jesus. But you can make things right between you and God. Let Jesus change your life …come to Him …turn your life over to Jesus …let Jesus forgive you and transform you.