James 1:9-12

[Hidden In Him]

The Pursuit Of Earthly Prosperity, And The Storm Looming On The Horizon



What kind of "prosperity" should believers be seeking, and who will be the most blessed in eternity? The man with material wealth or the man who suffered the most for Christ? Many churches today - especially in the States - focus on telling believers they should be "prosperous" and enjoy the finer things in life, from job to home to cars to possessions. But have they left behind the teachings of James in the process?

In New Testament times, believers were being encouraged to pursue a faith tried like gold in the fires of trials and sufferings. Not only did the apostle Peter teach this, but the Lord Jesus Christ Himself encouraged the church at Smyrna as well, telling them that they were materially poor yet spiritually rich, and that if they endured the persecutions the Devil was putting them through, they would receive "the crown of life" which the Lord promised to those who endured until their spiritual race was over:

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna, write, "These things say the First and the Last, the One who was dead, yet lived. I know your affliction and poverty, yet you are rich. And [I know] the blasphemy coming from those who declare themselves to be Jews, yet are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. Do not fear the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the Devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be put through trials, and you will suffer affliction for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give to you the crown of life." (Revelations 2:8-10)

But the temptation within Judaism was to pursue earthly prosperity instead, and this mentality was now creeping back into the church. So James was now warning them that a storm was coming which would soon sweep away the material riches of the world, and believers needed to be seeking what would last. A "rich" man's status in this life was only temporary, and only what would endure the test of time would remain:

Let the lowly brother boast in his exalted status, but the rich man in his lowly status, for like the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun arose with the scorching wind and withered the grass, and its flower fell out, and the beauty of its appearance perished. So also shall the rich man die away in the midst of his travels. "Blessed" is the man who endures trials, for after he has been proven he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love Him. (James 1:9-12)

James lifted these verses from the Book of Isaiah, where the prophet once spoke about how the great and fearful Day of the Lord that was coming, and how princes and kings - the rich of this world - would eventually wither like flowers in the heat. Those left standing would be those who had faithfully endured until the end in serving Him:

A voice cries in the wilderness, "Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight a highway in the desert for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low... And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice said, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers [and] the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows upon it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever"... Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. He will tend His flock like a shepherd… [but He] brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as a desert wasteland. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when He blows upon them and they wither, and the storm carries them off like stubble. (Isaiah 40:3-8, 10-11, 22-24)

That "every valley and mountain would be brought low" was a reference to the fall of earthly kingdoms, whereas the valley that would be "lifted up" was a reference to the church, i.e. the kingdom of God, which would assume rulership over the earth after His second coming. And Isaiah here prophesied that His return would be like a storm, which would reveal all flesh as grass and stubble. In the Mediterranean world, these storms were called a Sirocco, or desert sandstorm, and referred to in scripture numerous times:

Sirocco is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season... The dust within the sirocco winds can cause abrasion in mechanical devices and penetrate buildings. Sirocco winds with speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph; 54 kn) are most common during autumn and spring. They reach a peak in March and in November when it is very hot. (Wikipedia, Sirocco)

This was the "scorching wind" James was referring to that would whither the grass, for siroccos are still common in regions like Palestine and Iraq to this day, and known to destroy crops and cause significant damage to all plant life, including grass. Thus James like Isaiah before him was warning that the Lord's return would have this effect, and not to pursue earthly wealth but righteousness instead. Christ's return was imminent, and by letter's end, James was warning that the pursuit of earthly wealth would all be in vain:

Come now, you rich men, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded and their corrosion will be a witness against you, and will eat your flesh like fire... Be patient, therefore, brethren... for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:1-3, 7)


Serving Two Masters

Though Christ's return did not actually come in their lifetime, many Christians in the early church would live to witness the conquest of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans, and the destruction of the Jewish temple just as Jesus had prophesied (Matthew 24:1-2). God's judgment finally came, and the treasures of the Temple were carted back to Rome as trophies of war. Rich Jews who had invested their lives in accumulating wealth lost everything when their property was confiscated and subsumed by the Roman army.

This is part of why the Lord taught to seek spiritual treasures instead, and why giving oneself to seeking material wealth would be a terrible mistake. There was no way to do both, for it was like trying to serve two masters, and only one could truly be served:

24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?... 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:25-34)

There was a principle being taught here. Those who devoted themselves primarily to accumulating spiritual wealth would become even richer, but those who chose to serve earthly concerns would become increasingly poor. Jesus taught this in other places, warning about the spiritual "haves and have nots" as it were, and that those who had not would eventually lose even what little they had if they tried to serve two masters:

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. (Matthew 13:10-13)

This same principle was taught in the Parable of the Talents, where the exact same message was put forward. The "talents" (that is, bags of gold) represented spiritual wealth, more particularly revelations from God.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Again, [the kingdom of Heaven] will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five talents more. So also, the one with two talents gained two more. But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five talents brought the other five, saying, "Lord, you delivered unto me five talents. Behold, I have gained five more." His Lord said unto him, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things. I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord!" And having come, the one given two talents said, "Lord, you delivered unto me two talents. Behold, I have gained two more." His Lord said unto him, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things. I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord!" But having come, the one who had received one talent said, "Lord, I knew that you were a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed. And being fearful, having gone I went and hid your talent in the ground. Behold, you have what is yours." His lord replied, "You wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reaped where I did not sow and gathered where I did not scattered seed? Then you should have put my silver on deposit with the bankers, and then having come I would have received mine own with interest. Therefore, take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For unto everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance. But from him who does not have, even what he has shall be taken from him. And cast into outer darkness the useless servant. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:15-30)

To "go and work" with these riches represented sharing the revelations God had given them with others, which in turn would cause it to grow and increase. There is an old saying that, "Those who teach, learn," and this is true in spiritual things as well. It is when we share with others what God has taught us that we open the door to receive more in our own lives, in part because conversation leads to new questions, and to searching for new answers. This is why the man who simply buried his one talent in the earth and hid it away was condemned so strongly. He could have at least "given it to the bankers," which here represented sharing it with the Rabbis who would have at least made it known to others, so that the Lord might have at least had some return on His investment. Instead, the wicked servant told no one but hid away what he was shown so that no one could see it.

Thus, the teaching was to serve One Master and One alone, and devote one's life to becoming richer spiritually and making others richer in the process. This was an especially wise thing to do given that those who were pursuing material wealth in Israel were about to have it all taken away, which He also prophesied accurately in Matthew 24 where it is said:

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:1-2)


Preparing For A Storm

Signs are evident that the return of the Lord Jesus Christ actually is now finally approaching, and the destruction to the world's economy is set to take place even before that day arrives. Believers therefore need to be preparing for what is coming, only many are not preparing for it in the way the Lord advised us to. They are still seeking after material wealth that could potentially disappear on them overnight if things should develop very quickly.

A study was done in 1972 by a group of scholars at MIT to map out what the future could look like by 2040, given a whole host of variables that were alternately placed into the equation. In 2020, a follow up study was done using the same equations, and they came to the conclusion we are currently ahead of schedule on what the original contributors dubbed "the Business As Usual 2" scenario, which predicted the complete collapse of society by 2040. This collapse would be exacerbated by population decline and resource depletion, which would eventually cause industrial production to grind to a halt over much of the planet.

The following video explains it, beginning at around 14:52.

Some within Christian circles think the idea is therefore to store up as much wealth and provisions as possible, but those paying attention to what the Spirit is saying know hoarding up money will not be the solution. Several have prophesied that in some ways, owning wealth in the decades ahead will just make one a target. As John Paul Jackson prophesied in 2008:

On the economic side of things, a bubble of hope is going to come to this nation (this was fulfilled during the period from 2016 - 2020), but it will be short-lived. In that span, there's going to be just enough time for godly people to make the necessary adjustments. However, it will not be a time to take on additional debt. Commercial paper and credit card debt is another domino that will fall, as joblessness increases and buildings lay empty. I saw malls that were more than half empty, and stores that were closed in strip malls... One thing we will see, and I have prayed against this, but we are going to see the worst riots in history. Some may call them "race riots," but they actually may be more economic in nature, as economic difficulties cause mobs to roam the streets, and a "Robin Hood" mentality begins to escalate. In other words, taking from the rich in order to give to the poor. (The Coming Perfect Storm, John Paul Jackson, YouTube)

Jackson was an interpreter of prophetic dreams, and in one of his other videos I recall him describing seeing an entire subdivision that had been completely gutted, and all that remained were the bricks of the chimney stacks where the rich once lived. These things will take place because lawlessness and mob rule will take over, and this was prophesied by Rick Joyner back in 1980 as well. The true church will grow in spiritual strength, but the world will descend into chaos and complete societal breakdown.

As the church grows in faith and clarity of vision, the earth will be swept with wave after wave of paranoia. This will increase until no government on earth will be able to control its people. Mobs, sometimes numbering hundreds of thousands, will be sweeping about destroying everything in their path. Plagues, natural disasters and conflicts will bring about such loss of life that it will be nearly impossible to bury all of the dead. Men will be desperately seeking anyone to take authority over them for their protection, but no one will be willing. The remaining governments will be little more than gangs who have banded together to protect their own interests or to plunder the weak. (Joyner, The Harvest, P.53)

There was also an extended vision given to Joyner I could also share, but the gist was that the only blessed place to be will be in the end-times will be amongst the church of Jesus Christ. The criminal element will grow in power and strength until having money will put you in danger. In this vision, gangs and criminal forces were compared to warships that were constancy looting others for their wealth, which made even the richer subdivisions somewhat filthy places to live. The only clean, glorious, and prosperous "ships" to be on were the hospital ships, which represented the church. This is because the Lord provided them with plenty of supplies, and yet the warships would leave them alone because they were the only faction truly trying to help people, and rescue the wounded.

In short, what it means is that the wisest way to prepare for the coming storm is to invest in a close personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He will provide even supernaturally for those who master the ability to trust in Him alone. And as the world sinks ever deeper into anxiety and despair and governments can no longer protect or provide for their people, the church will become the true beacon of hope for humanity. But it will be because she has learned to trust God for provision, and as such be in the position to help those who come to her when they have nowhere else to turn.


Questions And Applications

1. What stood out to you in reading through this study? Do recall any thoughts going through your mind in reading it?

2. If you were being honest, to what extent do you believe you might be serving two masters yourself? Are you serving one, serving two, or maybe serving neither? What is your focus in life these days?

3. How long do you personally think we have before things start getting really ugly in American society, and in other countries?

4. The more stressful and worrisome times become, the more difficult it will be to discipline the mind and hear from God. Do you think you will continue to remain calm in the midst of the storm?

5. What if there is rioting in your city, and you hear gunshots going off outside at night, and there are reports of increasing murder and robbery taking place? Will your faith be strong enough to remain focused on hearing His voice?