Living in a Warzone
Notes
Transcript
Intro:
Three young men guided a visitor on a tour of their city
They showed him damaged buildings that different groups had painted with slogans
They took him through roadblocks with armed soldiers to get to their college
They said, Two years ago a missile hit our school and killed a student on the spot
They told how most of their friends fled because of fear of violence
Bombs and murders were normal events in their city
They showed the news reporter what it was like to live in a war zone
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
TUG OF WAR
Many of us have never lived in a war zone
But we do experience a different kind of war
conflict at work, home, or even church can resemble a war zone
Church wars cause damage that lasts for years
Our passage today in James 4 is addressing the cause and cure of church fights
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.
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.
Friendship With the World: The Cause of Church Fights
Friendship With the World: The Cause of Church Fights
Quarrels and fights on the outside reveal a problem on the inside
We talked last week how wisdom from above leads to peace, and the wisdom from below leads to disorder
Wisdom from below flows from hearts filled with “envy and selfish ambition”
Now, our passage is expounding on the fruit of selfish desires
The author asks, “what causes fights and quarrels among you”
The words “among you” show that James is talking about fights between believers
He answers his own question: “From your desires that battle within you”
Our passage is saying, “Stop blaming your fights and quarrels on other people
Look in your own hearts
Your own selfish desires cause your fights
All wars and conflicts have a common source, whether they are between nations, in the home, or at a church.
Wars and conflicts arise from selfish hearts
Jesus said:
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.
The book of James is written to the scattered Jewish believers who had lost everything they had when they fled,
who had lost their wealth
Perhaps they had bitter feelings toward those who still had possessions
Cain coveted the honor that God gave to Abel, so he killed his own brother
Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.”
Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.
Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;
but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
“If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
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 have not because you ask not.
At one time David was a man after God’s own heart
Yet he ordered the death of Uriah because of a selfish desire for Uriah’s wife
Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance.
So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”
David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
He had written in the letter, saying, “Place Uriah in the front line of the fiercest battle and withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and die.”
Now when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
When the time of mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Some today do not kill physically, but through slander they murder the reputation of a brother or sister
Many Christians destroy their Christian brother because they covet his honor
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?
Worldly values cause war, fights, division and even death
And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
“This is the great and foremost commandment.
“The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Love for God Grows Cold One Degree at a Time
The values of the world creeps into the church little by little, undiscerned, unrecognized
We are called to be the light of the world
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
However, despite being called to be light in the world, we allow the world to influence us, even those within the church
One hour at a time
one book or magazine at a time
one television program at a time
one glance at a time
one thought at a time
The world sells us its fashions
heroes
superstars
pleasures
and entertainment
Christians begin to compete with each other for positions of praise and honor
Admiration for beauty
skill
positions
pleasure
fun
and power grow into strong desires to have these worldly things
The lusts of the flesh
lusts of the eyes,
and the pride of life lead us to accept ungodly values
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
Our prayers are seldom for the lost
or the coming of God’s kingdom
But often we pray “Oh Lord, bless me and mine”
Too often, like the church at Ephesus, we have lost our first love
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:
‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;
and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.
‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.
‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
Or even worse, like the churches at Pergamum and Thyatira,
we have substituted love for God with a love for the world
(references to people in the church following Balaam, Nicolaitons, and Jezebel)
Salvation Opportunity- have you lost your first love
Are you living in sin
We are like the nation of Israel, we commit spiritual adultery by loving things instead of God
Story of Hosea
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.”
Friendship with the world may come as subtly as a serpent
But in the end, it is as obvious as the noonday sun
Signs of friendship with the world are
quarrels
fighting
gossip
and slandering
I’m Irritable when I don’t read my Bible and Pray
And all this under the holy name of Jesus Christ
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.”
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.
Friendship with God: the cure for church fights
Friendship with God: the cure for church fights
Scripture reveals that God wants us to be His friends
Through his faith and actions, Abraham “was called God’s Friends”
Likewise, Jesus said we are His friends IF we obey His commands
such as loving one another
“You are My friends if you do what I command you.
“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
“This I command you, that you love one another.
The way to unity in a church, family or nation is to pursue friendship with God
Our passage was not written to condemn, but to redeem
You can feel James’ love and compassion as he pleads with believers to come back to the Father
In verse 5, it says that “The spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely” in another version
Bible scholars interpret this in two ways
Some believe Spirit (Greek: pneuma) refers to the Holy Spirit in us who wants all of our love
Others believe pneuma refers to the selfish spirit that is part of our human nature
Either way, God is like a jealous husband who will not tolerate a rival
These verses emphasize our responsibility as believers
Some people want to put all of the responsibility on God for our relationship with Him
For sure, God does His part
and we must depend on Him for grace to do our part
However, as we look at these verse, we are reminded that there are some things that God will NOT do for us
God expects us to repent of sin
wash our own hands
purify our hearts by the choices we make
resist the devil
submit to God
and come close to Him
In any relationship between two people, there are responsibilities for both
God is a loving Father, but as His children, we must cooperate with Him
Our verse commands us to
Submit to God
Resist the Devil
Come near to God
Wash our hands
purify your hearts
Grieve, mourn and wail
and Humble ourselves
Then we look at God’s role in our actions
By resisting the devil, the devil will flee from us
by coming near to god, God will come near to us
By Humbling ourselves before God, God will lift us up
Tug of War
Children learn that the first step to peace at home is to submit to their parents
Likewise, the way to peace with Father God begins with submission
This submission is more than outward obedience by a show of force by a parent
Many people are like a small boy who went to church with his mother
During the sermon he stood on his seat and began to jump up and down
His mother told him to sit, but he continued to jump
She proceeded to hold him and force him to sit
The boy responded by saying, You can make me sit on the outside, but I am still standing on the inside
God looks for a higher level of obedience than that boy.
The submission that brings peace with God begins with a heart that chooses God’s will over self-will
We do not submit to God just because He is bigger and we are afraid of Him
We submit to and cooperate with God because He first loved us
We love Him,
need Him,
owe all to Him,
and want to please Him
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
Paul is giving us helpful advice for resisting the devil.
Those words to take our stand against mean the same as resist used here in James
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Tug of War
Take one step toward God and He will take two towards you
Like the Father in the prodigal son Luke 15, God responds to the person who comes close to Him
“So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
“And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.
James 4:8a (NASB95)
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Prayer Groups
Draw me close to you
