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Tonight we are going to focus on fighting
How much better would life be if we never had conflict?
Yet, God uses conflicts to bring about change in our lives
One of the biggest scandals in the Christian faith is fighting in the church
It is so common, some people even enjoy it
Yet, James would say it is evil
It is earthly, natural, and demonic
(v 1) What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you.
James 4:1-3 “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?
Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?
You lust and do not have; so you commit murder.
You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.
You do not have because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Fighting is always about personal desires
Those personal desires lead us into sin, if we do not keep them in check
If we think about every fight we’ve ever had it almost always boil down to this
AND the fighting never satisfies us either
We fight because we are coveting and are not able to get what we covet (v 2).
Is there anything wrong with wanting something?
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives”
Our problem with fighting is that we think satisfying our pleasures are going to make us happy
But it never solves the dilemma
James 4:4-6 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
But He gives a greater grace.
Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””
(v 4) What do you think James is suggesting in verse 4 which follows verse 3 speaking about our own pleasures
I think he is saying when we make life all about us, our wants, our pleasures, our desires, we are choosing friend ship with the world
Do we want the world or God?
I think James would say it is impossible to have both
And what will make a person miser
(v 4) Why does James call these people adulteresses who fight over their own pleasures?
Look at verse 5 and 6
Because those who choose to seek their own pleasures choose to turn away from God
And the Bible calls this spiritual adultery
Its when one is in a covenant relationship with God, yet chooses to be unfaithful by pursuing the world
God & Israel
Is 50:1-2 “Thus says the Lord, “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away?
Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you?
Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
“Why was there no man when I came?
When I called, why was there none to answer?
Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst.”
God is a jealous God
He is gracious
But He will only put up with an adulterous relationship for so long
Insights from these verses?
James 4:7-10 “Submit therefore to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
So what does James suggest that we do?
REPENT
There are ten imperatives GIVING—a forceful call to repentance as the requisite to love and peace in the community.
“Let you laughter be turned to morning and your joy to gloom”
This isa call to be sorrowful for our sins
How do you submit to God?
We must choose God instead of the devil
Fulfilling sinful desires is exactly what the enemy wants us to do because instead of drawing near to God, it will drive us from Him
How do we draw near to God?
We turn from this world, and turn to God
We repent of our worldliness
We repent of our fighting
We repent of pursing worldly desires
AND THE PROMISE: HE WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU!
Application
James 4:11-12 “Do not speak against one another, brethren.
He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?”
Do not slander one another.
This includes destructive verbal attacks, gossip behind another person’s back and false accusations.
Such offenses are not to be practiced among Christians.
Speaking against someone is a form of judging them
When we judge we are claiming divine authority to determine what is right or wrong about another person’s life.
“There is only one lawgiver”
“Who are you to judge your neighbor?”
How does that happen in the church today?
judging the motives behind others’ words or actions
judging how others spend money
making judgements about other’s preferences of worship
judging how others raise their children
Anymore?
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
Lets make sure we are not guilty of judging others
“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge”
I’d rather be to graceful than be too judgmental
I know if I am graceful i am not judging
I also know, if that person needs judged, God will certainly take care of that and i do not need to worry about it
God gives perfect jdugements
1. Self-examination.
James’s word, properly applied, will move people to cut through self-justifying claims and accepted patterns to look beneath the surface.
We will scrutinize our ways of relating.
How are our relationships functioning?
What are our underlying attitudes and motives toward each other?
2. Evaluation by God’s standards.
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