Walking through James (9)

A heart that pleases God...

It’s been a couple of months since we looked at what James called godly wisdom. Let’s start by reading the end of chapter 3, because it will give us some context for what we’re going to look at tonight.

James 3:13–18 NLT

13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

James is speaking to Christians. It can be easy to look at these verses of Scripture and think that he’s talking about people that have never had a relationship with God, but that’s not the case.

As we look at our Scripture, James uses intense language to get the church’s attention.

Let’s read our Scripture, and see what kind of a heart pleases God.

James 4:1–6 NLT

1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. 4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

What causes quarrels and fights among you?

James isn’t speaking to people that don’t have a relationship with God. He is talking to people like us.

God isn’t pleased when we quarrel and fight amongst ourselves. There are times that we fight about things that don’t really matter.

Some people like to sit in the same spot when we come to church. We can be set off because somebody sat in our seat. It might be the type of music. I don’t like the hymns or I don’t like the contemporary songs. Maybe we forget who we are worshipping.

We can fight about an event that we are planning or how we do ministry, and all it does is cause offense and division.

Offense is good in sports, but it’s not good for our relationships. When we let offense begin to grow and fester, it can destroy our relationships. God calls us to forgive just as we have been forgiven.

Why do fights and quarrels happen?

James 4:1–2 (NLT)

1 ...Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?

2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

I think that there are times that we don’t even realize that Satan is using evil desires to wage war against what God wants to do in our lives and in our church.

Galatians 5:16–17 NLT

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

James used strong language such as

you scheme and kill to get it.

You’ve most likely heard the statement, “If looks could kill...”

1 John 3:15–16 NIV

15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Hatred and jealousy don’t come from God. God is love, agape love and those who live in agape love live in God and He lives in them.

When we were kids, we liked to play games, but sometimes somebody wouldn’t play if they couldn’t choose the game or change the rules so they could win. It wasn’t fun.

Fun might be the wrong word and joy might be the right word, but even among believers, it takes the joy out of working together if there is jealousy and strife. It’s hard to work with others when we are on edge trying not to start a conflict.

James 4:2 (NLT)

2 ...You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

Sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers because we don’t ask, but sometimes He doesn’t answer because He knows it’s not good for us.

James 4:3 NLT

3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

Before we pray for something, I think that it’s good if we see what our motives are. If we have selfish motives, or we just want to keep up with the Joneses. We have the wrong motives, but when we pray and we ask God to work according to His will for our lives and that He would give us a heart to please Him and to bless others, don’t be surprised if He answers.

1 John 5:14–15 NIV

14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

As we look at verse 4, James uses hard language, but he uses it in a spiritual sense.

James 4:4–5 NLT

4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.

There is an old West African proverb which says, "The man who tries to walk two roads will split his pants." (Janet Weiss, Leesburg, Florida, heard in a conversation by her father, a missionary to the Maninka tribe)

That’s the way it is with those who try to live for the Lord and the pleasures of this world at the same time. They are trying to walk two roads, which can only lead to disaster in the end.

Adrian Rogers once said, "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you’re willing to pay." (C. Philip Green, SC)

God loves us so much that He doesn’t want to share us with the world. We can’t double dip with God and the world. The choices that we make have consequences. If we want to live like the world, we are telling God that He isn’t enough.

1 John 2:15–17 NIV

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

To be carnally minded is death. We can’t have one foot in the world and the other in God’s kingdom. To God that’s spiritual adultery or two timing. It sounds blunt, but that’s how God sees it.

God is so passionate for you and me that He wants all of us. He doesn’t want us to give Him our mental ascent. He wants our heart.

Let’s look at verse 6.

James 4:6 NLT

6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

What kind of a heart is God looking for?

He’s looking for a heart that is humble. A heart that is not proud and lifted up.

It was the sin of pride that caused the devil to sin. He wanted to be equal with God, but God will not share His glory with anybody.

God didn’t need to make us to be complete within Himself, but He chose to make us and create us in His own image.

I think that sometimes if we aren’t careful and we try to make God into our puppet or genie, but He is the One who has made us and He has made us to worship Him.

Psalm 100 NIV

A psalm. For giving grateful praise. 1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Will you come before Him with worship. He has made you and He loves you. He is slow to anger and He abounds in love. His mercy and steadfast love endure forever.

As we come before Him in humility, He will place you in the right position. When we lift up His name, He will lift us up. You are precious in His sight. You are the apple of His eye.

1 Peter 2:9–10 NIV

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Let’s pray!