Turn with me back to James chapter 5. James 5. I was notified Friday morning that our brother Calvin had been taken to the ER Thursday night, and that they were admitting him to the ICU. And the first thing that popped into my head was, what can I do? What can I do for him? And the only thing that I could think of was pray for him. That was the only thing I could think of. Bring him before our Lord in prayer. And that thought and desire to deeply bring him before our Lord in prayer made me think of this verse. This verse. Right here, the end of verse 16, James 5, the end of verse 16, it says, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

I just want us to look at that for a minute tonight, and I pray the Lord will teach us something, and I pray he'll comfort us with this. Pray he will really comfort us with this.

Look back at verse 10. Verse 10 says, take my brethren the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience. Take them as an example, number one, that affliction will come. The Lord, I want to believe that the Lord sends messages and moves my heart to feel led to say what he would have me to say in the moment. And we've had three or four messages recently on trials and afflictions and sufferings. Take all of our brethren before us, all the prophets before us for an example. Trials will come. They're going to come. Take them as an example, the patience and the faith that the Lord gave to them to get through it, take that as an example. But take as an example the fact that none of them were exempt from afflictions. None of them. And all of them said, afflictions will come to all of God's people.

Verse 10 says, take my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering, affliction and of patience. Behold, we count them happy, which endure. The end of God's people is always happiness. The end of God's people is always happiness. And it's because the end of God's people is always Christ. Always. The end of our reasoning on the matter is the Lord did this. I don't care what it is. The Lord did this. The Lord allowed this. Doesn't matter what it is. The Lord did this. That's the end of our reasoning for everything. The Lord did this. The end of our trial is the Lord delivered me from it. It was the Lord's grace that got me through it. He said my grace will be sufficient.

We went and visited Brother Calvin, like some of you were able to do, and I walked out of that place so encouraged. He encouraged me. I went to encourage him. And we had the best conversation on God's grace being sufficient. The Lord's grace got me through this. The Lord did this. The Lord delivered me from this. And even if the trial and the affliction and the sickness brings an end to our time on this earth, for a child of God, that end is Christ. So ultimately, no matter what great difficulty a believer endures, verse 11 says, behold, we count them happy which endure.

You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy." He said, you've seen everything the Lord sent Job through. I would venture to say that no earthly mortal man has ever endured the suffering that Job did. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that can't even be compared to. I'm talking about a mortal man, one of us. I would venture to say no mortal man has ever endured the suffering Job did. I would venture to say no mortal man ever will.

The Lord recorded probably the greatest example of trial and affliction with Job and he said, you saw the end of Job? Verse 11, behold, we count them happy which endure. You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.

Makes me want to go over to Psalm 103. That's not in my notes. But what a blessing to read. He does not send trials to us because he delights in being cruel or hard. He sends trials to us because he is pitiful and full of tender mercy. He sends trials because he is good and they are for our good. He sends trials because those trials are the very things that draw our hearts to him. They are the very things that draw our hearts to him.

Verse 12 says, but above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, Neither by the earth, neither by any other oath, but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay, lest you fall into condemnation. When people get in trouble, when they fall into trials, Oftentimes they will pray saying, Lord, if you will get me out of this, I swear I will stop doing what I'm doing. If you'll just get me out of this, I promise you I'll straighten up and fly right. He said, don't do that. Don't do that. You won't be able to keep your promise. Just wait on the Lord. Just wait on the Lord.

Verse 13, he said, is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing songs. That means if it's sorrow, sickness, and poverty, you know, when we have a wedding, We get to that place where we say, in joy or sorrow, sickness or health, poverty or wealth, well, if it's sorrow, sickness, and what else did I say? If it's sorrow, sickness, and poverty, then let our attention and our hearts and our minds turn to the Lord. And if it's joy and health and wealth, then let our hearts and minds and attention turn to the Lord. Either way, turn to the Lord.

Verse 14 says, is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church. An elder is mainly a pastor, but it could be any preacher or teacher or really just aged man in the gospel. Those who are gifted with the ability to lead spiritually. There's been some men, I have one in particular in my mind, there's been some men who are so gifted to pray, they're just so gifted to pray. He said in verse 14, is any sick among you, let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him. The word over means for. specifically for. It's a word of position. It means towards, not generally, but specifically on, at, to, this person in need.

You know, people in false religion, they want to literally get over top of somebody or they want to put their hands on somebody or on top of somebody. That's a show. That's just a show. That's a show of the flesh to bring pride and glory to me for what I am doing for this person and the healing of this person. We don't need all of that. This is talking about the heart. He's saying, turn the prayer of the heart specifically to the one who you are desiring to bring before the Lord. And that's what we do. We have moments when we pray generally for the church. and moments when we pray specifically for one soul. You bring that soul.

Verse 14, is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Oil in the scripture represents God's spirit. And somebody could say, well, no, they actually did, in the Old Testament, physically anoint people with oil. And that's true, they did. And, you know, we can take from that, take your medicine. We're not fatalists, you know, I'm not gonna take any medicine, I trust God. No, take your medicine. God made the medicine. But oil, in the scripture, represents God's spirit. It is a picture, it's a type of the spirit of God, the oil of joy, the oil of gladness. That's what the spirit produces in God's people. The oil of anointing, the oil of comfort, the oil of soothing, the balm of Gilead, that's God's spirit that comes to his people. It's the oil of our gospel lamp. The thing that actually produces the fire, the fire of the word, the fire of Christ the light, the fire that makes our hearts burn within us. Did not our heart burn within us? That's the Holy Spirit of God Almighty.

John the Baptist said, I'm baptizing you with water, but there's one coming after me who will baptize you with the fire of the Holy Spirit. And that's what we need. We need the anointing of God's spirit. We need the blessing of God's spirit. All is vain unless the spirit of the Holy One comes down. The spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He is the anointed one. He's the Messiah. He's the oil of joy that runs from Christ the head down to his body, us.

Verse 15, it says, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick. I've told you many times before that if we truly want to understand what the word faith means, all we have to do is substitute the word Christ with it. Faith is of Christ, it's his to give. Faith is by Christ, he is the performer of it in his people. Faith is to Christ, he's the object of it. Faith is what causes a sinner to only look to Christ and to only hope in Christ and to only wait on Christ, believing that whatever he has done is good and right. And whatever has to be done, he's the one who'll do it. He is the author, he's the finisher, he's the start, he's the end. So when we see the word faith, we can apply the word Christ. We know he's gonna get the glory and the credit for what's being said.

Look at verse 15. And the prayer of Christ shall save the sick. I can't save anybody. You can't save anybody. The prayer of Gabe doesn't save anybody. And I say that because my first response was, what can I do? I can pray for him. Well, the prayer of Gabe doesn't save anybody. Only our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ can do that. From the cross, bearing the sins of his people by the shedding of his blood for the remission of their sins. This is what he prayed. Father, forgive them. Father, forgive them. And the father did.

Verse 15, it says, the prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. That's what Christ is able to do. That's what Christ came to do. That's what he did.

So here is what verse 16 says. It says, confess your faults one to another, not your sins, just your faults. Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Now let's see if the Lord will reveal a word of comfort to us in this. Turn with me over to Romans 3. Romans 3 verse 10. As it is written, there is none righteous. No, not one. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, but there is none righteous. So who are we going to get to pray for us? Who are we going to get to pray for us?

Jeremiah 23 verse 6 says, the Lord is our righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 10 verse 4 says, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. First Corinthians 1.30 says, Christ is made unto us righteousness. And in John 17, verse nine, he said, Father, I pray for them. I pray for them.

He said, Peter, I have prayed for you that your faith fail not. You know, Peter was so, I tell you what I'm gonna do. I tell you how I'm gonna help. I tell you how I'm gonna fix. I tell you, let me get involved. And the Lord said, Peter, you're gonna deny me three times. Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But he said, I've prayed for you. I have prayed for you that your faith fail not.

I was trying to pray for our brother last Friday morning, and the whole time I kept thinking, this is not good enough. The whole time. I was just sitting in my study and I was thinking, this is not good enough. This is not focused enough. These are not enough words. I thought I need to pray longer. These are not enough words. This is so insufficient.

And then this scripture came to my mind. Look at Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 26. It says, likewise, the spirit also helpeth our infirmities. And that's what we are, full of infirmities. We're so full of lack. Just so full of lack. That's what we are.

Likewise, the spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought to. We decide that we're gonna pray. We don't even know what to pray for. Lord, I would like for you to do this, and I'd like for you to do that, and I think it would be best if you would do this. We don't even know what to pray for. We don't know what his goodwill and purpose is. We don't know what his outcome is.

But verse 26 says, likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. That comforts me so much. The Spirit of God.

Let me tell you what we need. We need the Spirit. We need God's Spirit. And the Spirit of God prays for us. The Spirit of God makes intercession for us with groanings that we could never utter. Groanings that could never come out of our mouths. Groanings that could never originate in our hearts.

And verse 27 says, he that searcheth the hearts, he that knows the hearts, the Lord our God who looks on the heart and can just read the heart of man and know what man is thinking and knows everything about us. He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit. because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

It's the will of God that the Spirit of God pray for the saints of God. And then the next verse is, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. If God is praying for us, if God's Spirit is praying for us, Everything is gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine.

Samuel said, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you. We should pray without ceasing. We see that scripture, it says pray without ceasing, and the first thing we think is I can't do that, and that's true. We can't do that, but the Spirit does. On our behalf, for us. But we desire to, we desire to call on our Lord. We desire to bring our brethren before the Lord. We desire that communion with him and we should desire it. We should pray without ceasing. We should pray for each other.

Brethren, pray for us. Pray for me. Pray, pray, pray. But in doing so, remember this. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Down in verse 34, it says, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again. who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Our Lord and Savior, it is just overwhelming to me to think of the fact that as he hung on the cross, he knew every soul he was dying for. Every person. He thought on his people, he thought on us. He knew the sins he was paying and he made intercession for us to God in that moment. And now with that work complete and his people redeemed, he has never stopped making that intercession. He has never stopped interceding to the Father on behalf of his people.

We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Jesus Christ the righteous, the righteous man. He is the only righteous man that there is. And no matter how pitiful our prayer is, his prayer will avail much. His prayer is the only prayer that will avail much. And again, I want to pray for you and I want you to pray for me. But as long as the Lord Jesus Christ is praying for us, everything will be fine. Everything will be fine. All things will work together for good. And in the end, we will be happy. We will truly be happy.

Lord, pray for us. You know, brethren, pray for us. Lord, pray for me. Pray for me. intercede for me, for Christ's sake, amen.