James: Quarles and Fights
Notes
Transcript
What does God want them to know? We are to be peacemakers by being humble, resist the Devil, drawing near to God, repenting,
Why? Peacemakers bring peace
What does God want them to do? be peacemakers by being humble, resist the Devil, drawing near to God, repenting,
Why? Peacemakers bring peace
INTRO
Have you ever wondered
What causes fights and quarrels amongst us?
Why do I get in fights in my family?
Why do I get in fights and quarrels with my co-workers or boss?
Why do I people in the church get into fights?
Why do we have so much quarreling and fighting in the world?
WE CAN SAY IT IS SIN…YES, BUT WHAT KIND OF SIN?
Before we get there let’s talk about the irony....what’s the ironic part???
What do you hear world leaders and politicians and celebrities and sports athletes say when you ask them at times what they want......what do we say....WE WANT PEACE
What do they say?
I want PEACE…I want PEACE in this WORLD
SHALOM
WHOLENESS, GOODNESS
BUT YET MANY OF THEM ARE THE ONES WHO BRING DIVISION...
You look at their policies, what they stand for, and their demeaner and what they want is not PEACE for the WORLD…but PEACE and POWER for them.
IT GETS TO THE ROOT OF WHY WE DON’T HAVE PEACE AT TIMES
NOT ONLY THAT HOW DO THEY OPERTATE TO BRING PEACE? OFTEN THE WAY OF ROME? What is the way of ROME? How did ROME bring peace?
THIS IS THE SAME A ATTITUDE ROME HAD WHEN TRYING TO ESTABLISH PEACE…THE PAX ROMANIA
- He saw the root of anti-peace in the Roman government “Pax GREAT WE WANTPEACE, PLEASE TELL US HOW WE GET MORE PEACE... how peace happens if you agree with Rome and all of it’s beliefs you will have peace..BUT IF NOT OFF WITH YOUR HEAD SOMETIMES LITERALLY
ROMAN WAS EVIL
Is WHAT THEY ARE DOING peace???
NO
THAT’S SELFISHNESS
PEACE DOES NOT COME BY SAYING IF YOU JUST AGREE WITH ME, YOU WILL HAVE PEACE
SO HOW DO WE HAVE PEACE????
Let’s read what James says…he is going to show why we don’t have peace and then talk about how we have peace.
GOD
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
What James is saying you want to know why don’t have peace is because of your passions that war within you.
Wait, wait, wait....I thought passion was good sometimes…it is
God has given us good passion and desires…passion and desires for family, for sex, for the Browns for good food.
The word passion here is hedone were we get our word hedoism…it carries a carnal sinful desire
The reason you have quarrels and fights is because you have carnal, selfish desires. …it is about me not WE or YOU
- Some of these things are sins and some are on the surface look not bad
- The reason you have a quarrel with someone in your family is because they want to fulfill their
- SELFISH WITH OUR TIME…this is my time and money
1440 minutes a day and these are for me....168 hours in a week
- I want to be able hang out with my friends, be lazy, play video games, go golfing....and I will get to what I need to get to later
anybody been there?
parents with there kids?
kids with there parents?
- SPENDING MONEY, (OFTEN IN MARRIAGE YOU OFTEN HAVE A SAVER AND A SPENDER…someone who likes to spend and spend....and another person who likes to save and save) that causes conflict
Money is one of the top reasons people
-Sometimes the reason for quarrels is because of outright sinful desires
fulfill you flesh desires of DRUNK, SEX, HAVING A LOSE MOUTH selfish desires of DRINKING,
- SEXUAL FULFILLMENT in any nature out side of marriage,
WHAT JAMES IS SAYING IS WHAT CAUSES QUARLES AND FIGHTS IS PEOPLE GOING AFTER WHAT WE WANT AND NOT WHAT WE WANT SELFISH DESIRES
QUARRELS ALWAYS HAPPEN WHEN WE SAY LIFE IS ABOUT ME
WHAT ABOUT ME????
WHAT ABOUT ME????
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
GOD SAYS I WILL TAKE CARE OF THOSE DESIRES
JAMES CONTINUES of why we have quarrels
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
James is not talking completely about murder, which can happen, people do murder people, but Jesus redefines murder in the sermon on the mount.....WHAT DID HE SAY?
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
JESUS SAYS UNRIGHTEOUS ANGER IS EQUALVALANT TO MURDER
James says the reason you quarrel and fight with someone is because you are jealous of what they have.
NOBODY HAS EVER FELT THIS WAY RIGHT???
They have the nice car, good body, perfect spouse, big house, more recognized and favored at work or amongst family or friends
You are so jealous of them…it is not fare!!
NOT FARE GOD!
How do we treat them? CELEBRATE THEM?
Wow you have really nice things, (that car is ok)
congratulations on the promotion (when we think that should of been me... say it but we all of a sudden get short with them)
NOBODY has done this right???
What does it do? Causes quarrels
then James
James says by the way
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
part of the reason you do not have is because you do not ask
anybody been there?
Like you are so mad and God or somebody says “have you prayed about it?”
Well yes of course I haveeee....at least I have thought about prayer
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
GREAT....I just have to ask....God give me a lot of money…God give me the dream job…God give me recongition at work....
James says
You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
the reason God does not give it to you is because you are going to be a poor manager of it…to spend it not in God’s way but your way.
We cannot pull a fast one on God.
James says the reason we
James says quarrels happen because of our selfish desires and not prayer or because you pray to fulfill those selfish desires.
Then James says another reason why there is quarrels
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
We are called be to in covential marriage type of relationship with God.
When break that coventant by going after other gods money, sex, power, we are committing spiritually adultery
this is what happened in OT
Israel went after the other gods and God called it spiritual adultery
In a similar manner James is saying when you become friends with the world (the values of the world) you become enemies of God.
- They are opposed to each other
When we take on the values of the world for power, pride, greed,
We see this strongly today with GENDER and SEX and abortion.
- World says be what gender you want, be married to whoever you want, and murder babies....these values are opposite to God’s and there are quarrels
James is saying the way quarrels happen is by being friends with the WORLD and SELFISH DESIRES
SO WHAT DO WE DO TO DEFEAT THESE DESIRES and FRIENDSHIP wiht the WORLD?
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Submit yourselves 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 wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
What does James say, how do we stop quarrels?
Drawing near to God…not to the world
drawing more to the kingdom of righteousness that does not have quarrel or fights
This means walking away from the WORLD
How does this work? we live like who we hang around, spend time with and if it is not God then it is the
DRAWING NEAR AT TIMES MEANS TO Repent....not just mourn
Repent means to turn a different direction…stop going the ways of the YOUR DESIRES and the WORLD but go God’s way
REPENT doesn’t mean just saying sorry....repent means to go another direction.....IT HAS ACTION
It is the old hymn
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
The World is fool of EVIL and
2. RESIST THE DEVIL
Some of us think we have no power over the enemy we are helpless....and yes Paul says
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
Cain
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
You have the sword of the Spirit
HE WILL FLEE!!!
GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE
3. BE HUMBLE
James says twice be humble
What does it mean to be humble?
Think you are worthless? I have nothing to offer? no
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
Humility is not thinking of yourself less than but thinking of yourself less…not have your life revolve around me but we.
4. Speak no evil about someone
Andrew said a lot about this last week…the power of words
We no idea the weight of our words
WE do not speak evil against one another
When we do this....when we draw close to God, repent, resist the devil, be humble, and speak no evil…what happens…the opposite of quarrels
WE GET PEACE
- GOODNESS, WHOLENESS, HOLINESS, PEACE and UNITY
A Song of Ascents. Of David.
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.
WE ALL WANT PEACE and UNITY WE ALL WANT LOVE....we all want peace
How we get it is by
drawing near to God
repenting
resisting the enemy
being humble
speaking no evil
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—
remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.