Well indeed can I just bid you all a warm welcome and again to those who are listening online tonight and potentially those who are listening from insomniacs.com who can't sleep but are looking forward to sleep tonight to hear me preach. But it's nice to see you as we're going to have a look in the Gospel of Mark chapter one. For those who remember the past few times when I've been called upon We have had a look at some of the Apostles and tonight we're going to have another look at one of the Apostles. We're going to take a very short reading from Mark chapter 1 and the verse 19 and 20. But if you keep your Bibles open, we will be referring to other verses as we seek to do a study in the life of the Apostle James. So Mark chapter 1 and we'll read verses 19 and 20. And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship, bending their nets. And straightway, He called them, and they left their father's abode in the ship with the hired servants and went after him. Amen. We know the Lord will bless even as we read a portion of his word. Let's just seek the Lord's face even as we consider the study this evening. Our dear Lord and heavenly Father, we thank you once again. that were gathered here in the upper room on a Tuesday night. We pray that you would bless us as we would study thy word this evening, that you would speak to our hearts, Lord, that you would encourage us even as we would seek to learn lessons from the life of the Apostle James. We thank the Lord for how you used him, how you called him, how you saved him. We pray that you would even apply those messages to our hearts tonight, Lord. We thank the Lord for even the freedom we can have to come here tonight. We thank the Lord for removing the distractions in our life and for clearing Tuesday nights for us to be found here in the place of prayer. Encourage our hearts we pray. Bless us. We thank the Lord most of all for being our saviour for we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. So as I said, for those who've got good memories, or maybe still having bad dreams about it, but we've looked previously at Peter, we've looked at Andrew, and the last time we looked at Philip. But tonight my thoughts were drawn to James. It's interesting for somebody who certainly was in the inner circle of the apostles, there's actually not that many references to him in the New Testament. And it's fair to say that James was a very different personality to both Andrew and to Philip, men we've looked at before. But I certainly think there were some similarities between James and Peter. And I think every time we look at the apostles, we need to factor in what it says in John 21 and verse 25. Oftentimes, I've wondered, why is there so little said about some of these men and what they experienced? But in John 21, 25, it says, and there are also many other things which Jesus did. which if they should be written everyone, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. So I think it's fair to assume there's a lot about the apostles, what they witnessed, what they experienced, that are not recorded for the same reasons. And of course, I think it's always important to think about why were these men picked? Were they the best available to the Lord? But in reality, there was nothing special about these men. And we read, and we looked at this before, when we read in Luke chapter 12 and 13, how the Lord went up into a mountain and prayed all night. And the next day he called his apostles. And of course, James was one of them. They were given special abilities and of course they saw the Lord working in mighty power. So tonight I want to look at James under four headings and if Lorna was here listening she would like the fact that I've got these all tied in. But we're going to look at four headings tonight. We're going to consider his family and his endeavors. We're going to consider his favorite experiences. We're going to consider his feelings exposed, and we're going to have a look at his faith to the end. I have to say, I took those about an hour before I came just to make them fit, so I was quite pleased how I got them out. The rest of it might not be that good, but at least they all tie in together. But we're going to have a look, first of all, at his family and his endeavor. You know, it's unusual that we know quite a bit about James the Apostle's family. We read about his father Zebedee briefly. But what we know about Zebedee, that he runs a very successful fishing business. And if you look at what we read there in Mark 1 and verse 20, talks about Zebedee and the ship with the hired servants. So not only was this a family affair, but Zebedee business was so good that he could employ men to work alongside him in the fishing business. James's mother, Salome, and there are a number of references to her throughout the New Testament. And she followed and supported the work of the Lord in a practical way. And again, I think it's important to note that she had that time and that money to do it, probably due to Zebedee's successful fishing business. But one example of Salome is found in Matthew 27 and 55 and 56, it says there, and many women were there beholding afar off. which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him, among which was Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children, which of course was James and John. We know, of course, he had a brother called John. He was a fellow apostle. And of course, John shared many of his experiences. But as James has always mentioned first, I think it's safe to conclude that we can safely say that James was the elder brother. And there are similarities to the other two brothers, to Peter and Andrew. And Peter was more prominent. And if you remember, we talked about Andrew in some ways living in the shadow of his brother. And there are some similarities between John and James in that regard. John was probably more prominent. But I think as we discover about James, he certainly had his own personality and wasn't shy about giving his opinion on something. And it's clear to say that his mother and his father and his brother were all followers of Jesus. What a blessing to have such a family upbringing. But let's have a look. Where does Jesus find James? In that reading, we looked at Mark 1.19. When he'd gone a little further, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and Jonah's brother, who also were in the ship, mending their nets. You know, it proved to be a busy day on the shoreline of Galilee. In the previous verses of this chapter, we read about the Lord, and he's already called Peter and Andrew. And the impression is that they must have been working quite close together. And it is very likely that Peter and Andrew either work for Zebedee or were in partnership with Zebedee in the fishing business. So they obviously knew James and John very well. And what does the Lord find James doing when he comes upon a calm? He's at work. He's mending the nets. Why was he mending the nets? It's a fairly basic and a mundane task. I'm not a fisherman, but I can grasp the concept of the need to maintain your nets. I'm sure it was far more exciting to be out on the Sea of Galilee catching fish, or maybe getting a great deal of the market on a big catch that you'd got, or perhaps looking with your dad and your brother at a new boat you're going to be buying. But we find James here in the ship mending the nets, an essential task. I suppose when you think about it, practically a small flaw in the net could lead to a much bigger issue and possibly cost a day's catch or maybe a greater hole in the net, which will lead to more downtime and a greater repair. You know, when I looked at this portion, I was really struck about those simple lessons about mending the net. And I think there are lessons we can learn about mending the nets on our preparation, even for the mission that's not that far away. And I was wondering to myself, are we busy mending our nets or thinking about this topic? You know, it's hard to believe, but if I've done my calculations correctly, but 12 weeks from now, we'll be in the first week of the mission, and apologies if it's not 12 weeks, but it's not far off that. Is there work we need to do in terms of repairing our nets as we look forward to inviting family and friends, work colleagues, maybe people we meet? Maybe when we look back to the previous mission, we could think of maybe some disappointments and holes in our nets. Maybe there was people that we invited who we thought would come. Maybe through some business connection or friendship, you're absolutely assured they would come. Certainly I had those experiences and they didn't come. Maybe some said, yes, I'll definitely come, but they didn't come. Maybe there's some opportunities that you missed. Maybe you had really good plans to go and meet a friend or to go and see a business colleague, but things got in the way. You were too busy on that particular day, or maybe you called and that person was too busy, tied up with something else. Maybe it was a fear of rejection. Maybe a plan to ask somebody, but the fear of rejection stopped you. Maybe we decided ourselves that they were too hard to invite. You know what? Preparation in terms of mending and repairing the nets is also needed here, as we would be on the dawn of another mission. We need to repair those holes and those regrets on our nets and get ready to cast out those nets again and cast out those invites. You know, the nets that James was repairing, why was he having to repair them? Well, of course, they were worn. They've been worn due to use. Maybe not every time they went out they were successful, but by keeping going and persevering with the fishing, they had been successful and got rewards. I think there's a great lesson there when we come to inviting people to a mission that we have to be diligent and persevere with it. Do we even need to prepare in a practical way that when the mission invites come that we always make sure anytime we're going out, we have a few invitations in our coat pocket? Do we need to consider drawing up a list of people that we plan to invite and pray over and look for opportunities? Can we make sure we set aside the time for the mission and set aside the time to invite those people? You know, James was not afraid of hard graft. And one of those men that knew what a good day's work was, I was struck when I looked at Luke 10 and 2, it says there, a well-known verse. Therefore he said unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Note the word laborers is used twice in that verse. The Lord's looking for laborers to go into harvest, he's not looking for people. He's looking for people who are prepared to work and put in the effort for the Lord's work. I want you to note very briefly the response in what we read in Mark 1 and 20. Straightway he called them, and they left their father's abode in the ship with the hired servants and went after him. There was no delay, they followed after the Lord. I thought to myself, you know, there was Zebedee watching his two sons, and I'm sure part of him was thinking, this is fantastic, they're going in to serve, work with the Lord. But I wondered as Zebedee think, I wonder what will happen to my business? My two sons are away now, what will happen to the business? But he didn't, there's no resistance here, we don't read of Zebedee saying, hang on boys, who's gonna look after the business whenever you guys are away? But James gave up the family business and gave it all up for the Lord. I want to have a look next at his favorite experiences. Now, James was one of the 12. And as I mentioned in the introduction, it's also important to note that he was one of the, what I would refer to as the inner circle of three, along with Peter and John. And James witnessed events and miracles that most others miss out on. In fact, very few saw some of the miracles that James witnessed. You please know for the sake of time, we're not going to go into all these three, but I was going to mention them very briefly. But James saw the wonderful miracle of Jairus's daughter being brought back to life. James witnessed the terrible grief that the parents were experiencing. But when you read that portion, you see that it was only James, John, and Peter who were invited into the house. It's interesting that there was no record of descent at that time from the other apostles. It's almost as if they knew that they saw things that the other apostles didn't see. And how that James saw that girl raised in the dead and saw the power of the Savior. Then we can look at the Transfiguration, again, a great, fantastic Bible study in itself. Once again, we read about the other apostles who were left at the bottom of the mountain. But James was invited with Peter and John up into the mountain with the Lord. And in awe, James saw the Lord's humanity give way to his deity. What an experience James had. And then, of course, there was that solemn experience in Gethsemane, whenever James, John, and Peter were invited to watch with the Lord. And they watched as the Lord wrestled with the powers of darkness. I think in some parts of the world you hear about mighty revivals, but other places you don't hear about those things. Maybe there's some things we could point to and say, I've seen amazing things happen in that family's life, but maybe you haven't experienced it. Maybe you've heard of people being miraculously healed from sickness, but others are not. And I'm reminded of what it says there in 1 Timothy 6 and 6. Very short, wee verse with so much contained in it. But godliness with contentment is great gain. You know, events can happen. to us in our lives, which at the time we don't understand. We have no idea why a certain thing has happened to us. It could involve great pain, could involve great sorrow or heartache, but there is a reason for it. And maybe months down the line, that reason becomes clear to us, or maybe it's years later before we understand it, or perhaps this side of eternity, we will never actually understand it. But in 1 Corinthians 12 and 12, It reminds us there that, for as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that body being many are one body, so also is Christ. Many members, one in Christ. Just on past Sunday morning, Reverend Martin was preaching about serving in the lowly places. Not all of us are called to be ministers, not all of us are calling missionaries to hold office, but there are many jobs left for us to do, and many things we can be busy doing for the master. And it's certainly no doubt that James was favored. James saw things that very few human beings saw. But I wonder, did those events, were there reasons that James see those things for what was to happen to him in his life? Did those things have an impression that strengthened James for what lay ahead of him? I want to have a look next at his feelings exposed. I was actually trying to look up the sermon because I really enjoyed it when David McCauley was here last February on deputation about the work in Uganda. And I remember him talking about clay pots. I don't remember all the points, but I remember this particular point. But he talked about clay pots in the scripture. And if I got this right, and if I got it wrong, correct me on the way out. I remember him talking about the clay pots. Sometimes we'll have faults and cracks in the clay pots. And the illustration, of course, is about us as sinners, saved by grace, but we still make plenty of mistakes. But those cracks and those mistakes are allowed the Lord to shine through us. And I thought it was a wonderful illustration. So as we have a look at the Apostle James, I want to have a look at some of his feelings. I want to see what lessons we can learn and possibly apply to ourselves. And I'm going to look at two examples of his feelings. The first one is ambition. And I should say, I don't think there's anything wrong with being ambitious. But I think it's important we understand the ambition that James had on his brother John. So we flick over to Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10, and we're going to read a few verses here from the verse 35. It's one of these things that I always try and prepare to have all my Bible markings clearly marked out, but can go disastrously wrong. But hopefully I've got these right. So it's Mark 10 and the verse 35. And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come on to him saying, Master, we would that thou should do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, what would ye that I should do for you? And they said unto him, grant unto us that we may sit one on thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, you know not what ye asked. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, we can. And Jesus saith unto them, ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptised withal shall ye be baptised. But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. We could compare this reading in Mark with the account in Matthew. And it's interesting that in the account of Matthew, we won't turn to it, but the only difference in the account in Matthew is that somehow Salome, their mother, is involved, and she is the one who approaches the Lord to ask the Lord this favor. And I was really struck when I read those words in verse 35. Do for us, watch whoever we shall desire. It wasn't that James was saying, Lord, would you send revival? Would you save this town, Lord? Would you really encourage? Would you bless a fellow or fellow disciples? Would you heal this lame person? Would you do a miracle here? The words were, Lord, We should just do for us whatever we shall desire. Almost like we've got a wish list here, Lord, and I'd like you to take care of it for us because we've been faithful and we think we're due a reward for that. That's how it comes across to me as I read that. You know, I think if we look at both accounts, it's something that the brothers must have discussed in advance. And it seems that they've also roped their mother into it as well. And it feels that they, they possibly didn't really understand the nature of the Lord's plans, that they were perhaps believing that the Lord was there to set up an earthly kingdom and that James and John would play prominent roles in this earthly kingdom. Of course, what did this lead to? In Mark and Matthew, we read of the remaining 10 being displeased and annoyed. And you can imagine the other apostles saying to each other, who do they think they are? So not only was their ambition not deserving, but they also created some issues amongst God's people. We can see another example if you flick over to Luke chapter 9. Luke chapter nine and the first 51 and read there. And it came to pass that the time was come that he should be received up. He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem and sent messengers before his face. And they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned and rebuked them and said, ye know not what manner of spirits ye are of. For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. Just to give you some background, and there's a lot of background I could give you, so I'll try to shorten this down. But it's fair to say that there was no love lost between the Jews and the Samaritans. Historically, the Jews would actually go out of their way to avoid traveling through Samaria. You see, the Samaritans were a mixed race of Jews that were originally left behind after Israel was conquered by the Assyrians. And those remaining Jews that had stayed there married locals and were really viewed by the Jews as a mongrel race. No time for them. Yet how interesting it is the Lord had time for the Samaritans. And I have to be honest with you, I didn't realize this when you start counting up the number of experiences the Lord had with Samaritans. Some of them are very, very prominent. It talks about, if you remember, the healing of the 10 lepers and Samaritans. One of them returned to give thanks to the Lord. Of course, we would remember the meeting of the Samaritan woman at the well. And possibly the best known of all the parables was, of course, the Samaritan was the good Samaritan and that well-known. horrible. Many people we will come across will not believe in their need of salvation. They will reject everything you have to say to them. They will reject the morals of the Bible. They will shake their head as they drive past the church tonight or on a Sunday and wonder to themselves, why do all those people bother coming to church at all? And I suppose it's important when we come back to this portion of scripture to understand that the timeline here, it's not that long after the transfiguration. James has seen the wonder of the Lord revealed. He's sent ahead to go to this village to prepare for the Lord to come and stay. And they have the audacity in James's eyes to reject the Lord. And while the Bible does not go into it, I am sure the brothers spoke and sought to compel the Lord to carry out some sort of judgment. I want you to note James's zealous reaction. He's furious that this mongrel and ungrateful village has rejected the Lord. I think the Reverend Martin referred to it as a red mist a couple of Sundays ago had definitely come down at this moment in time. And I know a wee bit about the red mist from watching Benjamin Saturdays. It's just as well maybe I'm on the sidelines rather than on the pitch, but sometimes a red mist can come down on you all of a sudden. But there's no doubt the red mist had come down in James's mind at this point. Demonstrating here no love at all for the unsaved, no burden for those who had rejected the saviour, But rather, he wanted to command fire from heaven to burn them up and to destroy them. And maybe this is why the Lord referred to the two brothers over in Mark 3, 17, and says there, and James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James. And he surnamed them Borganes. Probably not said that way, but you'll get the gist of it, which is the sons of thunder. And I suppose we never associate thunder with calmness, and certainly these men and James were not calm dealing with this particular situation. It is really interesting to note, if we flick over very quickly, if you turn over to Acts chapter 8. Just imagine if, for example, the Lord had commanded fire to come down this Martin village. This is this. This next portion wouldn't have happened, but we see here the Lord's compassion. But in Acts chapter eight, we read about Philip, the evangelist. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ onto them. And the people with one accord gave heed onto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. So those same people that James was looking for fire to come down from heaven, the Lord used Philip to reach them at a later point and saw many of them saved. We could read there in that portion we read about the Lord's rebuke. You know not what manner of spirit you are, for the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. Oh, that we had that compassion for souls, that desire to see men and women saved, regardless of how they live their lives, how they speak to us, or what they say to us. Now, finally, I want to have a look at his faith to the end, and we're going to flick over to Acts chapter 12. We're looking at Acts chapter 12 and this is a portion we have studied before, but in Acts chapter 12 verses one and two, and about that time, Herod the keen stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church and he killed James, the brother of John with the sword to vex certain of the church. Herod started off slowly. He made some arrests. He started hassling the Christians. But he thought to himself, I need to make a big statement here. I really want to impress the Jews with what I can do. It's really the only time we read about James on his own. His brother wasn't with him at this moment in time. But it's interesting though, even in the verse two, that it records that he killed James, the brother of John. And perhaps under inspiration of scripture, it was to ensure people knew who had been killed, as there are a number of prominent men called James in the early church times. We don't read in this very short portion of scripture about James's death about any trial. We don't read about any charges that were brought about James. But it simply was because he was a Christian, a follower of Jesus. That's why he was killed. Why James? When we think about what we've read about him and we've read about his faults and his feelings. Why, why was James picked out? Why, why did her pick James? Maybe we should consider what happened to James in the intervening years. Experts reckon that there's approximately 18 years have elapsed from James's call on the Sea of Galilee to his death. And whilst the Bible sets out his faults for good reasons, there's no doubt under the guidance of the Lord and how the Lord had used him, that James had learned many life lessons. He learned to curb that temper, He learned to turn that zealous nature into a love for the unsaved. He learned to set aside the earthly ambition for the progression of the Christian faith. Why do you say, you might say, Robin, where do you get all that evidence? Where's it coming from? I suppose all I would say to you is why else would Herod have picked out James? Why did Herod think of the first of these apostles I'm going to kill is going to be James? Why not Peter? Why not Philip? Why not Andrew? He picked out James. I honestly believe it's because he wanted to make a statement. You know, if James was still the hothead who wanted the fire to come down in the St. Martin village, in some ways doing more damage to Christian faith, I don't believe her would have any interest in killing James. but he had changed. And it's interesting to note that James was the first of the apostles that were martyred. And from doing plenty of reading and relying on other people's expertise, and whilst it's not in scripture, there's a lovely story and account given about James's death that right up until the end, James's testimony bore fruit. And it said that one of those that led James to the judgment seat area where he was going to be executed was so convicted of James's demeanor and what he had to say that this man got saved as well, and that he also was killed with the sword beside James. I thought it was a lovely illustration of how James had that compassion for individuals, and even right up until the point where he's going to be killed, he was seeking to win souls for the master. You know what? Finishing up here, when we look at verse three of Chapter 12 there in Acts, who did it please? Well, it pleased the Jews to see James killed. The Jews were delighted to see this firebrand for Christianity snuffed out. And of course, then Herod arrested Peter as well. But we can also see the very positive reaction that James' death had on the church. In the same chapter, if you just scan on down to verse five, so when Peter was arrested, Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. So the death of James and the rest of Philip had a very positive reaction on the church of God. And I trust that the Lord will bless even these simple thoughts to you this evening. Could I take this opportunity to thank those on the internet who've been listening and I trust the Lord will bless you this evening as we get down to prayer.