The Book of James Chapter 4:1-12
James 4: [1] From
whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your
members? [2] Ye lust, and have
not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye
have not, because ye ask not. [3]
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your
lusts.
1) The Hostility of a Warring Church
(1-3)
James
is writing to the church; which is scattered abroad.
The
church should be a colony (little taste) of heaven
But
the worship at the church had turned into warfare. Problems from within not
without
Someone
once said “To dwell above with the saints we love, oh that will be glory, but
to dwell below with the saints we know, well, that’s another story”
A. Uncontrolled Passion (2)
Ye
lust, and have not – lust is to
long to fufill ones desires
“Lust”- desire for self to be first
and have its way. Begins at birth
and remains thru adulthood
The Toddlers 10 Commandments
1.
If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks like it's mine, it's mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it's mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours (no wait, all the pieces are mine)
Ye lust
and have not. God will not bless the flesh and its lust
B. Unsatisfied Pleasure (2)
Ye
kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain
Become
so consumed with yourself and your goals that you would kill someone
David
lusted after Bathsheba and she conceived and David killed Uriah 2Sam11
If
you are angry with your brother without cause you have committed murder in your
heart
C. Unfulfilled Purpose (2)
Ye
fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not
Your
selfish ambition becomes so strong that you will force your will on others
Insensitive
to the needs of others or the will of God
You
will fight and quarrel until you get what you want, rather than ask God
Ph
2:3 let nothing be done thru strife or vainglory
*
Ill. The Me ME Bird in the S. Pacific
D. Unanswered Prayer (3)
Ye
ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your
lusts
When
you do pray, you pray for what you want and God doesn’t answer
You
must pray for God’s Will……… Jesus
did!!!
“Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” Mt 6:9,10
“Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done”. Lk 22:42
You
ask for wrong things, wrong reasons
Are
we surrendered to the will of God? If
not, rather than fight one another we fight God!
Prayer
is no getting what I want, but preparing my heart to receive what God sends
James 4: [4] Ye
adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is
enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend
of the world is the enemy of God. [5]
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
2) The Hypocrisy of a Worldly Church
A. Love (4)
Ye,
adulterers and adulteresses
Jer 3:6-9. God had a covenant relationship with Israel and they
were not faithful to the covenant and worshipped other gods. They committed
spiritual adultery. Whosoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God
Not the planet, not the plants, not the people BUT the
philosophy (worlds system)
“kosmos”
is the greek word for world it means arrangement
cosmetics – you arrange your
appearance
The world has an arrangement of ideas that are opposed to
God
B. Lust (5)
“the spirit that dwelleth
in us lusteth to envy?”
We are made of body, soul and spirit. The natural spirit
of man is selfish and gets envious
Cain hated his brother Abel; as Abel was rcv’ d by
God and Cain killed Abel out of envy
This selfish flesh is pointed out in the scriptures
Lets skip down to verses 11 and 12 and come
back to verses 6-10.
James 4: [11] Speak not
evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil
of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth
the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a
judge. [12] There is one
lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
C. Loyalty (11,12)
Speak not evil one of another brethren
1. Sin
Slandering,
fault finding, destroying reputations, weakening and wounding character
Your constructive criticism has turned destructive
We do the devils work and we become the accuser of the
brethren
2. Solution
a. The Link –
“brethren” and “brother” mentioned 3 times
b. The Law – “speaketh evil of the law” James 2:8 thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself
c. The Lord – “one lawgiver”
He is the Authority that we submit
to
He is the
Able One who can save us or destroy us
We
must know our criticism is born out of conviction that we are the only one to
put things right when it must be the Lord to do so
d. The Lack –
“who art thou” Who are you to judge or
speak
What
right do you have to judge in criticism
You
don’t have perfect information
You don’t have personal integrity
– we are sinful ourselves
“he that
is without sin, let him first cast a stone.”
James 4: [6] But he giveth
more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth
grace unto the humble. [7] Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
[8] Draw nigh to God, and he
will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts,
ye double minded. [9] Be
afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and
your joy to heaviness. [10]
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
3) The Humility of a Worshipping Church
A. True Worship (6-10)
“God
resisteth the proud, but giveth
grace unto the humble”
also 1 Pet 5:5
Pride robs God of His glory The Lords Presence and Favor
is known out of humility-
There are 10 Greek imperatives to humble ourselves and
bring down God’s grace
1. Submit (7a)
Submit
yourselves therefore to God (military term to rank under)
Surrender
to God’s will, bow to God’s sovereign authority
God
also says 1Pet 5:5 all of you be subject one to
another and be clothed with humility
2. Stand (7b)
Resist
the devil and he will flee from you
who wants
to divide the church
God
also says 1Pet 5:9 whom resist stedfast in the faith
Eph
4:27 don’t give place to the devil
3. Seek
(8a)
Draw
nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you
Come
to worship & fellowship with God and He will come to you
Draw
near to sacrifice at the altar (a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto
God)
4. Sanctify (8b)
Cleanse
your hands, ye sinners
Is
1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide
mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands
are full of blood. 16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the
evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Filthy hands represents unrepentant sin
Clean hands represents repentance
“hands up” is surrender
1
Tim 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands,
without wrath and doubting
“nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling”
Dirty
hands, divided heart and double mindedness must change
5. Sorrow (9)
Be
afflicted, and mourn, and weep.
Is
there sorrow for our sins
Lk
18:9-14 And the publican, standing afar
off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his
breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
We
should be in a state of continual repentance
Your
agenda is not what God wants, He wants your surrender
in humility and your worship!
James
4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and
he shall lift you up
Concl:
Let’s put our desires, our ambitions aside.
Let’s allow the Lord to remove our bitterness, hostility
and unforgiving spirit
Let’s lift up holy hands unto the Lord
1 Jn 3:21-23