Take the Prophets (11-1-11)

James 5:10 - "As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord."

Here in the fifth chapter of James, he's talking about enduring hardship and waiting patiently for the return of the Lord. This is not a popular message in our culture today. Many people have the false idea that God wants us to be comfortable in the world. The people who preach this prosperity gospel are the ones who attract a big crowd, but what they teach is contrary to what the Bible teaches. Jesus said that in this world we would have tribulation, and here we're told to take the prophets as an example of suffering and patience. Looking throughout the Old Testament there is example after example of the prophets suffering and enduring hardship for the name of the Lord. A lot of Christians have the misconception that if we're suffering extreme hardship then we must not be in the center of the Lords will, but that's not necessarily the case. The prophets were men who suffered extreme hardship constantly, and yet there's no doubt that they were in the center of Gods will.
We could chose any one of the prophets to focus on, and see the idea that James was conveying. We could look at Micaiah who was mistreated simply for speaking what God told him to in 1 Kings 22:26-28 where it says - "Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.”’” Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people.”
We could look at Daniel and the mistreatment he endured simply for his faith in God. Daniel 6:16-17 - "Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel."
But the prophet I want to focus on is the prophet Jeremiah who prophesied at a very hard time in Israel. Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet, and it's easy to see why. His life was a series of mistreatment's from the people to whom God sent him. They persecuted him simply because he spoke what God told him to speak. He was in the direct center of Gods will for his life, and he was constantly suffering. In Jeremiah 38:6 after Jeremiah had spoken what God told him to, we're told - "Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud." Talk about misery. I think that if Jeremiah heard the 'prosperity gospel' that's preached today, he would just laugh at it. In Jeremiah 26:8 it says - "When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “You must die!" And in Jeremiah 20:2 we're told - "Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the Lord."
Jeremiah kept suffering for the word of the Lord, but he kept speaking it anyway. He explains his motivation in Jeremiah 20:7-9 right after he was beaten and put in stocks, he says - "I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me. For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, because for me the word of the Lord has resulted in reproach and derision all day long. But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,” then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it."
The Word of the Lord was like a fire within him. It was easier for him to endure the ill treatment for speaking the Word of God then it was for him to withhold what God had given him to speak. We need to learn from the example of Jeremiah, as well as the other prophets.

James 5:8 - "You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand."