Yes, we are jumping back into Matthew's gospel and we previously ended on Matthew 4:22. Next, Jesus preaches to great crowds.

 This next section of Matthew's gospel is entitled

“Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds.”

Yes, we are jumping back into Matthew's gospel, and we previously ended on Matthew 4:22, where four of the new disciples have left their jobs fishing and are now following Jesus.

I now throw in a bonus question.

Where was the Apostle Paul's first stop in virtually every city he entered?

If you said the synagogue, you would have been right. But that opens a line of sarcastic questioning; I thought the focus, here in the Gospels, was on Jesus? Well, it is, but guess what? We frequently found Jesus in the synagogues.

What was the logic of a move like that?

Some will say, what an odd question, seeing as the message Paul delivered almost got him killed on several occasions and was his final end.

One of the answers to such an obvious question is that Paul was a changed man and thoroughly committed to the message of Jesus and God's grace because of what he encountered on the road to Damascus. Paul was prepared to die for this message of grace.

Isn't that what we saw in Jesus?

Jesus did not change His ways, for He was sin-free (this state of being sin-free had everything to do with NOT being born with damaged human DNA. Yes, I believe that the fruit they ate, much like current vaccines that change your DNA, changed theirs, and every human being born of man was born with a propensity to sin. God bypassed all that by having the virgin Mary carry a fertilized ovum that He made.) In spite of valid temptations from Satan, Jesus stayed committed to the painful path that would bring those of us who accept God's love back into the arms of the Father.

How do I apply what Paul did to Christ?

Jesus, too, was painfully aware that His death would come, and it is not difficult to watch something like The Chosen, which portrayed Him frequently praying all night, and imagine Him speaking freely with the Father and asking, is there any other way? He knew what was coming for Him would be brutal and painful, and yet He continued to stay committed to the cross.

When you read the Gospels, you see Jesus frequently saying things like, tell no one, and my time has not yet come. No, He did not want to die prematurely – as though that could happen but was more than willing to take our place on the cross and pour out His blood on our behalf.

So, what did Paul preach to these Jews in their synagogues?

The message that Paul preached was based on the Torah – the Old Testament and there were always a few who listened, heard the truth, absorbed what he said, and believed.

So, too, was the message that Jesus preached. He preached from the Torah, just as Paul did. Now, picture the disciples. Did they understand, absorb, and believe? Strangely, many indicated that they did. The reality of that understanding was wrapped up in their longing for Jesus to be the warring Messiah that they longed for. Instead of war, his message was one of love and the hope of peace obtained by a relationship with the Father. 

In either case, these new Jewish “believers” were the beginnings of new churches, which we are familiar with because Paul wrote letters back to those communities.

So much for an introduction.

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” Matthew 4:23 MKJV)

Let that sink in.

• Jesus went about all Galilee.

  This sounds like purposeful intent to me. The crowds were not in the Jewish synagogues but were the result of the times when they fed the thousands that came, and they came because of the miracles.

• Doing what?

  Teaching in their synagogues.

  That means, in Galilee, Jesus had a reputation as a respected Rabbi, and they gave Him, initially, an open door to teach.

  Preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

  The Jews had an understanding of what the kingdom represented, and it had everything to do with the time when God was back in full control of the earth, and Jesus ruled as the warring Messiah. While that imagery must have carried some weight in Jesus' mind, the kingdom was, at this point, love and gentleness.

  What did He tell James and John when they wanted to call fire down on the small crowd that disrespected them?

  Effectively, He said that is NOT why they were here and that they were to act as gentle as doves and wise as serpents.

And healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Matthew 4:23 ESV  “And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”

If you are doing a more intense study, read from multiple translations because that one word that the translators used has multiple meanings.

“The news G189 about Him spread G565 R1 throughout G1519 all G3650 Syria G4947; and they brought G4374 to Him all G3956 who were ill G2192 G2560, those suffering G4912 with various G4164 diseases G3554 and pains G931, R2 demoniacs G1139, N1 R3 epileptics G4583, R4 paralytics G3885; and He healed G2323 them.”
Matthew 4:24 NASB+)

• who were ill

  G2192 echō - to be held in possession.

  G2560 kakōs - to be grievously ill, wrongly held by evil.

• suffering

  G4912 sunechō - suffering, perplexed, or afflicted.

• various

  G4164 poikilos - various, diverse, manifold.

• diseases

  G3554 nosos - Disease, sickness. Metaphorically, pain, sorrow, evil.

• pains

  G931 basanos - (by analogy) torture: - just generally tormented.

• Those who were thought to be demoniacs

  G1139 daimonizomai - to be used by a demon: - to be vexed with, or possessed by demons.

• Epileptics

  G4583 selēniazomai – these people often shake uncontrollably and fall: -many are thought to be lunatics.

• Paralytics

  G3885 paralutikos - “paralytic”: one who is deprived of the power of muscular motion; there are sometimes thought of as weak, trembling, and subject to  involuntary shaking;

After doing all this for the people, His fame spread throughout Syria and a few other places.

“And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and he healed them.
Matthew 4:24 KJV)

In the book of Acts, we see a statement that seems to be a retelling of Matthew 4:24.

“But in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
Acts 10:35-38 KJV)

This last statement, more than all the others, says that there is no disease among humans that does not have its origins in Satanic oppression. I also had a strong sense that this was Peter talking because Peter did not mention Syria, the land of Gentiles. It is.

Why wouldn't Peter, in Acts 10, bring the Syrians into the conversation?

Because he, more than Matthew (an apostate Jew when Jesus found him,) was a devout Jew and Syrians were unclean; to touch them would have made him unclean (according to Jewish - add-on laws – the Tenach), and Peter struggled to maintain his Jewish identity.

Some will try to come back at me on this last statement because Peter was the Apostle to the Gentiles. Yeah, that didn't last long; we know this because we eventually find Peter seated among the “Christian” Jewish council in Jerusalem.

Acts chapter ten seems to be the major marker that we assume makes him the Apostle to the Gentiles. The scriptures tell us.

“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius!" And when he observed him, he was afraid and said, "What is it, lord?" So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter.” Acts 10:1-5 NKJV)

It is possible this is the same centurion who, upon seeing all that happened to Jesus, said, surely this is the Son of God. If not, it is a peculiar coincidence that the scriptures give us multiple instances that refer to “the centurion.”

“And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” Matthew 27:53-54 KJV)

We are not told what Cornelius' prayer was, but if I were to guess, he wanted as much of God as God was willing to give. With that in mind, the angel in the vision tells him that his prayers and acts of kindness have come up before God, so go get Peter.

I am always stunned at how well God coordinates these appointments. So, while Cornelius has sent men to ask if Peter would come to the house, in the meantime, God begins to show Peter a vision that, in a few minutes, breaks down Peter's barriers in a manner that would convince Peter to enter the house of a Gentile. (Note, at this point, for the most part, salvation - life in Christ, has only come to the Jews.)

“...Peter went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat, but while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean." And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." Acts 10:9-15 NKJV)

In case you are lost, we have been working on Matthew 4:24, where Jesus' fame went throughout all of Syria. By the time Peter has his interaction with Cornelius and his family, Jesus has been dead for several years now.

If Jesus went into Syria, we are not told about it in any other place.

It becomes obvious and quickly that Jesus has been to many places.

Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. Matthew 4:25 NKJV)

People were now following Jesus, not just from Galilee but from Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea.

So this travelog begins with John the baptizer baptizing Jesus somewhere around Bethany. Jesus traveled North to Nazareth and then to Capernaum and eventually moved South once again toward Jerusalem.

A sincere and unqualified faith. 2 Timothy 1:5.

 It seems that I have been in 1 Timothy for months, and I need a break, but as I sit here pondering whether to go on and dive into 2 Timothy, which has a wealth of depth in it, my heart feels a strong need to jump back into the Revelation. This compulsion to study the Revelation once again has much to do with the political agenda, the globalists and their efforts to reduce the surface population (as Scrooge said,) and the overall violent nature of the environment in which we live.

Having said all that, I took a quick dip into one verse in 2 Timothy, so here goes.

I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith (the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), [a faith] that first lived permanently in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am [fully] persuaded, [dwells] in you also. (2 Timothy 1:5 AMPC)

In my mind’s eye, I see myself writing to Christians, who, like myself, have had to endure false teachers and therefore ended up with some tainted ideas about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. After almost 15 years of looking into the Word of God and growing with you, I find I have readers all over the world. If there is one, the problem is that I don’t know you, so how could I call up memories of you?

I would, however, know you if we, through, say, battle, have come to build a bond, a bond which demonstrated your real heart, your courage, willingness to endure hardships, and proven that you have my back as I have yours.

How do we know Paul had Timothy’s back?

I thank God Whom I worship with a pure conscience, in the spirit of my fathers, when without ceasing I remember you night and day in my prayers, And when, as I recall your tears, I yearn to see you so that I may be filled with joy. (2 Timothy 1:3-4 AMPC)

Along with so many others, this young man was always on his mind, and he constantly prayed for Timothy.

But what specifically did Paul think about?

The sincere and unqualified faith that Timothy demonstrated. Having spent some time in the faith movement, where faith is primarily evidenced by your “Godly” reaction to negative issues, this can include a simple cold, a horrific injury, or financial matters. A man I admired, upon hearing you describe what was going on in your life, would immediately approach you and ask, may I pray for you. In my mind, this is a demonstrated faith, which has NOTHING to do with results.

Alright, let’s talk about expected results for a moment. What did Jesus say to his disciples?

“These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:17-18 NASB)

If you have believed in Jesus’ name, then things should and will happen.

• They will – cast out demons.

• They will – as the ERV states, speak in languages they never learned.

  I have primarily understood this to be languages that the Holy Spirit gives me, and there have been many. The problem I had and many have spoken of similar experiences, is that some ancient person (and some would say that I am now one) who would speak out in their “tongue” to the church body would hover about you and essentially tell you what sounds to make. For years I floundered in that backroom experience and did not understand anything about it; that is until I read this passage.

  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, (Jude 1:20 NASB)

  After hearing about this, I understood that I was building myself up, on the inside, by praying in the Holy Spirit; this understanding had nothing to do with impressing people or scoring more points to improve my position in heaven.

• They will - lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

  Our command, directive, admonition, is to lay hands on the sick; and then what happens to them? They recover. The Word Study Dictionary tells us that recover means to have and hold, implying continued possession. Ah, but hold what? The obvious answer would be that to which you held before but now, no longer hold, such as health. Within the faith movement, many hold on to wealth; they stake this claim based upon God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants. I suppose we forget that much of Abraham’s wealth was wrapped up in sheep and camels, so enjoy that.

  If I may, this command does not imply that the result has anything to do with our actions or faith. Of course, it takes faith to open your mouth and ask that person if you could pray for them, but beyond that, the action that takes place in the life of the sick person falls entirely upon God’s mercy.

  One last thing. If I wanted to thwart God’s plan to heal, and therefore, touch people’s lives, then I would do something so drastic that just the mention imparts fear and separates the “believers” from those who need help. Can you now see how something like a human-made creation, such as COVID 19, which has everyone cringing in fear, attempting to sterilize their hands at every turn, maintaining a minimum of six feet away from others, and wearing a mask over your nose and mouth could further impair your sense of reason and ability to communicate while adding to your fear.

• What does scripture say?

  But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. (Isaiah 43:1-2 NASB)

  Yeah, well, I noticed that the COVID 19 escaped His attention, there in Isaiah, so now what?

  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 NASB)

  And while this may be a shock to your system, COVID is nothing but a name, and it too will bow its pathetic knee to the name of Jesus.

  The unbelievable aspect of these statements is how quickly we as followers of the living God have forgotten how much He cares for us and who we are.

Since we only know about Timothy based upon Paul’s words, how do we comprehend what Paul is trying to say in his description of this young man?

Note that I used the Amplified Bible; I did so because it expounds, with accuracy, about the alternative meanings of the Greek and Hebrew, and that is what they have done here. So it is the passage itself that reveals the key in the success of young Timothy, as this sincere and unqualified faith is “the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness.”

I asked my wife to read this and tell me if I made any sense. I do this because I know I am prone to type faster than my mind can crank out the words and leave out entire descriptive sentences. She did just that and then asked me why I included anything about Benny Hinn.

I may or may not have expounded upon a video log by Chelsi Bedell in a previous post, in which she described going to a “Christian conference.” After a short time, the audience was introduced to Benny Hinn (apparently, the speaker is the son-in-law of Benny.) I have been aware of Benny Hinn for years now, and I always thought the man was nothing less than a religious charlatan who raked in money from little old ladies like my mother.

Since Paul told Timothy to speak to those who had money about how it was a trap and not to love it, I can see where some of Benny’s problems came from. He divorced the wife he swore he would never leave in 2010 and for many in the religious world, this is an unbearable injustice. I have since learned that he remarried Suzanne three years later. From: www.ugchristiannews.com “Benny explained how his ministry schedule affected his marriage. “In my case, it was family and the stress of ministry and being too busy. I didn’t pay attention to Suzanne’s pain. That’s what caused our problem. And then Suzanne having to struggle with what was happening to our family,” he added...” It goes on, but having spent some time in recovery, I do not see any ownership of what happened, so I still don’t trust the man.

Chelsi Bedell told us that Benny said coming to Christ is easy; remaining a Christian is difficult. Chelsi said, I knew there was something wrong with this man immediately, and there may be, but that is not the point here. Having looked at what Paul said about Timothy, I can see how Benny, and so many more of us, are NOT leaning our entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness.

Honestly, that is a mouthful. It is much like going to a buffet - if you can still find one. There are so many choices, things I rarely get to eat, and I want a piece of everything. Yes, this is a bizarre way of relating to this life we signed up for when we became Christians. Upon learning of things, such as the fruits of the spirit - self-control or patience, I want it all, along with the potential changes they can bring to my life, I want it all now.

I cannot remember being able to take in more than a couple of God’s menu items at any one time, and, though, over time, I have become better at this leaning into God, there is never some aspect of life that I don’t mess up. A generalized way of saying this is, I sin, in little ways, frequently, but then so do you, so don’t get all judgmental on me. Some would say that I deserve to burn in hell’s flames for sinning, but they forget that OUR debts were wholly paid for on the cross of Jesus. However, his act of putting himself on that cross did not give us automatic freedom; we had to accept it by faith.

As used by the Amplified Bible, the word absolute, to define Timothy’s devotion might be a stretch, as Timothy lived in the same world I live in, and he too was broken by sin. At best, I can see Timothy, just like me, working at it daily.

Hopefully, someone out there looks at your life and says, “when without ceasing I remember you night and day in my prayers,” I remember that God is working in your life in unique ways. I know you don’t always see it, as you are standing so close to the flame, but it’s there. You had my back when I needed it, and hopefully, you realize that I had yours.

This God we serve is larger than anything we can understand, and since you cannot measure the ever-expanding universe, it is safe to say that His mercy is like that, unsearchable and overwhelming at times. Trust me, here on this earth; we will never be able to wrap our minds around that mercy.

Do everything you can to place yourself so deeply in His love that the world disappears; Enoch did that very thing, and he walked off the earth and into the Father’s arms.

I long for the day, and it will come sooner than you think.

The prayer of faith. James 5:13-20.

We ended our last look at James with James 5:11.

“We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.” (NASB)

Did you get that?

The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. I suppose much of this mental confusion that I have endured about His nature and character comes from the horrid sermons I have heard over the years. These messages were laden with guilt and implied that you needed to work harder, perhaps even be a missionary and have a spear run through you to prove your worthiness to God.

This kind of works based thinking is what Islam teaches, even to the point that if you get your blood spilled, you can never be sure it is enough blood.

It is head conversations, such as this, that prompt me to think, “and I am the guy that is telling people that Jesus Christ is coming back, and soon.” When I talk with people, you quickly find out that they are not looking for Jesus to return as what they have is good enough. Their lifestyle and traditions make up their comfort zone and frequent visits to some organized church allow them to call themselves Christians, right alongside the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons.

I don’t know which is greater, the desire to tell people that I am looking for His return in September or showing them the details of what the time after the church will be like. I would be hard-pressed to reduce the time after the church to one word, but chaos just about covers it.

Why would I feel comfortable talking about when He might come back?

Because, as Paul states,

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; (5) for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;”
1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 NASB

After Jesus finished speaking to the crowd about the sower and seed, the disciples came to him and asked:

"Why do You speak to them in parables?" (Matthew 13:10b NASB)

It almost comes across as though they understood the parables; I don't think so. Jesus answered them with:

"To you, it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it has not been granted. (Matthew 13:11b NASB)

This is not that difficult and the prophet Daniel confirms that God/the Holy Spirit, will give insight to many.

"Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many;...” (Daniel 11:33a. NASB)

The argument that most throw at you, and some will argue that this is a church doctrine set in stone, is Matthew 24:36.

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (NASB)

In doing this, these antagonists overlook the context, which I will give you here.

“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. “Truly, I say to you; this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:32-34 NASB)

It is a safe assumption to say that Israel is that fig tree, and its branch can be seen in some major events like the six-day war which occurred in 1967, in which Israel regained the land that God had spoken to them as being theirs, back. Sadly, that didn’t last long, as the United Nations got involved and Israel relinquished some of the captured lands. The Gaza strip is an example. Israel, to some degree, feels that it is successful and secure. In other words, the fig tree has become tender and has put forth its leaves. Having come to realize that this is happening I look to Jesus' words when he told those listening; then, you can know that summer is near. This reference to the end of time has little to do with summer, but summer, for the fig tree, is when you can pick the fruit.

Do you not realize that we, the church, are, in a sense, the fruit?

The gathering of His church then is the picking of the fruit. He next says, “when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” Just looking at Israel alone, puts us in a place where we can look for the door to open and the Father to lean out and call us home for dinner.

Jesus gave us one more huge clue to help us determine where we are in this timeline.

“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

Israel became a nation in 1948; that date alone should be the lower limit of the timeline. A generation in 1948 was 64.6 years. If you wanted to get technical, Jesus made these statements at a time when the average life expectancy was about 35 years. Based upon the more modern sixty-five-year average, then we are seven years beyond Jesus' proclaimed time frame.

• The summer is near;
• He is right at the door,
• and this generation will not pass away.

Folks, we are there.

Considering the persecution that is coming, these words from James should bring you hope.

“You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.”

Since you are now filled with hope and know that God is merciful, then you can take your prayers to Him. And thus, this next section is entitled.

The Prayer of Faith

James 5:13 NASB Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

Suffering is the Greek word kakopatheō and means to undergo hardship, be afflicted, and endure affliction.

Considering that our churches just recently got shut down again, you might think that many of us are suffering. James tells us, we must pray.

Cheerful means just that, cheerful.

If you are cheerful, then sing!

James 5:14-15 NASB "Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; (15) and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him."

Sick, as used in verse 14, is the Greek word astheneō and means to be weak, feeble, to be without strength, and powerless.

Sound familiar?

There are so many things that can make you feel this way, especially when we, three weeks after reopening our churches, got them shut down again. If that is the way you feel, and many of us do, then call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over you.

“and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick,”

We just covered the word sick in the previous verse, but look up the word sick, as used in James 5:15, and you find the Greek word kamnō, which is means to toil, by implication to tire (figuratively faint, sicken), and be wearied.

With a purposefully created virus, moving our state governors to open and close our churches, beaches, and restaurants, in irregular, indeterminate cycles - causing us to lose our bearings, it is easy to see how we can be tired, sick and weary.

James tells us the prayer of faith will restore not only the sick but also the weary. The NASB conveys the idea that God will raise you up. Let’s consider the word raise for a moment.

Raise is the Greek word egeirō and means the idea of collecting one’s faculties); to waken (transitively or intransitively), that is, rouse (literally from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death.

The idea of collecting one’s faculties makes me think of the boxer who has come close to being knocked out. It takes them several seconds to regain their composure and gather their legs back under them. For some, it is called “regaining your bearings;” for others, it conveys the idea of rousing someone from sleep; and, finally, healing from a disease or death.

You go to the elders and lay your tattered life before them, with the hope of collecting your faculties; doesn’t that imply that you have missed the mark somewhere along the line?

Sorry if I keep repeating specific themes like sin, which is, at the least, nothing more than missing the mark.

Regardless, all of it was paid for at the cross.

If that is true, then why do I need to go to the elders, and confess to them that the world is tearing me up, and I am not sure how much more I can take. Only to have them declare that my sins are forgiven?

This is why James continues with,

James 5:16 NASB "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much."

Confess. Gr. exomologeō, To confess from the heart, freely, publicly, openly (Thayer)

First off, don’t pour your personal failures out before everyone. Some people are not safe and will spill your information in front of just about anyone; and some of those know full well what they are doing to you. Take some time to find safe people; even then, some people you thought were safe may not be. In that case, you will have to trust the Holy Spirit to lead you to something like Recovery, or a small group where the leader, under guidelines, works to create a safe atmosphere.

Why would you do this confess thing?

For some of us, this missing the mark has become a habit, and not something you think you need to worry about, as you do it so often. Depending on what it is, it can merely be annoying or lead to the destruction of relationships. For others, it can be a step toward imprisonment or death.

The soundness within confessing might be understood aS God giving you a preview of the future and the trouble it holds; that, and a chance to do something about it. Being forgiven does not mean that you continually live your life in a whirlwind and all the destruction that it brings. Confessing puts that “small” thing out in the open and eliminates it from being our secret because our secrets quickly become our prisons. You should know that what you thought was a secret sin is the thing that will get you pulled from power somewhere down the road. If these people you are sharing your small failures with don’t pray with and for you, get away from them. You see, the effective prayer of a righteous person can accomplish much.

It was the words of James that freed me, as one day it occurred to me that this confessing is little more than my admitting my small and big failures, even if it includes the way I recently mishandled my dog.

There are times after I have poured out my heart before the men, that several of them merely sit there staring at me. In my head, I imagine that they do not have a clue as to what I just said since they have never sinned. Now, I know that is not true, and here is why.

James 5:17-18 NASB "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 earth for three years and six months. (18) Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit."

Look up the phrase, “with a nature,” and you get this Greek word homoiopathēs, which means similarly affected or subject to like passions.

What that tells me is that he was capable of sinning, and did so, just as we do. Note how the verse tells us that Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain – and the rain stopped for three years and six months. Some preachers will stand before you, and act like this time that Elijah spent in prayer was a consecrated and holy moment; and, that Elijah did this repeatedly in some systematic manner. I don’t know about that, for that inference of a methodical prayer life becomes especially difficult when you are running for your life from the king and his deadly wife, Jezebel.

When you look up the word earnestly, Webster’s dictionary will lead you to the word importunately, which means with urgent request and pressing solicitation. Elijah was trying to affect a turn of this murderous king and his wife, toward God. Even if it stops raining, who knows how long it will take before Ahab and Jezebel respond to God if they ever do. We know they did not. Obviously, the rain did stop, and Elijah sat by what seemed like the only trickle of water in all the land; and, the ravens brought him food because God took care of him.

“he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.”

Elijah killed the 400 priests of Baal, and then, almost as if Ahab had been standing there, says, I hear the sound of the roar of heavy rain. Stop here for a moment.

What King travels without his bodyguards?

I suspect they all do, and having witnessed Elijah hack up Jezebel’s priests, why wouldn’t they, in turn, hack up Elijah? Something we may never know here on earth. So it does not seem logical that Ahab stood quietly by as God sent something that acts like a small nuclear blast, to consume the sacrifice, the rocks, and the water in the trench.

1 Kings 18:42 NASB "So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he crouched down on the earth and put his face between his knees."

“So Ahab went up to eat and drink,” as though it was just another day.

Elijah goes to the top of Mt. Carmel, crouches down with his face between his knees, and WHAT?

We are only left to assume he prayed for rain. How and what that prayer looked like is perhaps intentionally left out, and I can see a good reason for that, just as Jesus used a different technique each time He healed someone. The result of this man’s prayer’s, IT RAINED.

So where have we been in the last few minutes?

We opened with, “Is there anyone among you suffering or sick, they should go to the elders, where they will anoint you with oil and pray, and the Lord will raise you up."

But we found something interesting.

Those two simple words, suffering or sick, talk about the person who is struggling, afflicted, undergoing hardships, and doesn’t have the strength to stand on their own. Only because they, like Elijah, have learned through the school of hard knocks how to pray, these elders will take your life before the Father, "and He will raise you up."

And yet there is one more thing that seems unusual: “if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.” Well, of course, he has, we all do, but we confess our sins (one to another,) not because we like embarrassment, but because there is healing and freedom in doing that. Again I tell you, be careful about who you share your sins with because NOT everyone is safe.

James has one more piece of advice.

"My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20 NASB)

“If” is a big word, and yet it is a word with hope. I think any of us would rejoice to see even one fellow believer turn back to spiritual maturity. Having been a leader in several recovery groups, there were a couple of men who struggled at the time but still hold tightly to the Lord. Just thinking about them bolsters my heart.

Note how James, reiterates that that one brother who aided in turning back the one who was sinning, saved his soul from death. Here is where it gets complicated for me.

If Jesus could say of the disciples, of all you gave Me I have lost none, and yet we know about Judas Iscariot, then either Jesus lied, or Judas is not lost, or He never had Judas to begin with?

That evokes another question because WE have been given to Him, just as the disciples were, so how can James say we who have turned someone back, will save their soul from death?

That word save is the Greek word sōzō and can also mean to protect.

But for me, there is still that question above.

Soul here is the Greek psuchē. The first thing the Strong’s give us is breath.

We are not talking about something unreal here. We are talking about saving another human being's life. Since they belong to Jesus, then, NO, they are not going to hell, but their potential and usefulness here on earth can be cut short. Perhaps in saving their life, our selflessness allows them to save someone else from death as well, and thereby, our voices and actions exponentially cover a multitude of sins.