James 4:1-17

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Intro:

Has there ever been something that you just really wanted?
Something that, even though you may not have needed it, you just had to have it.
How far were you willing to go to get that thing?
Sometimes, there are things that we all desire to have and that desire, if not kept under control, can lead to covetousness, which doesn’t just cause division and strife, it pulls us away from the Lord.
This is the theme of James 4.

James 4:1-4

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 bkill, 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.

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.

Fights among believers are always harmful.
Here James tells us that these are often the result of our own desires.
Your flesh, even after you are saved, still has desires.
There is a constant battle within you between your flesh and your spirit.
Paul said in Romans 7 that within him is the will to do good, how to perform it, he can’t find.
I want to do good, I want to be good, I want to want the things that God wants, but my flesh is strong and it’s a constant, daily battle to keep my flesh at bay.
When we don’t get what we want and our flesh isn’t satisfied, we are often tempted to conspire in order to get it.
This is why churches end up split down the middle.
Over the most ignorant of things.
I want it my way, so I am going to do whatever I have to do in order to get it, no matter who I hurt in the process.
Coveting what others have or coveting what our flesh wants leads down a slippery slope where everyone end up getting hurt.
This is why in Exodus 20:17 the Lord says: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.”
Rather than be crippled with desire for what someone else has that “is better” than what you have, you should thank God for what you have and even thank God for blessing your neighbor with what he has.
Covetousness leds to “asking amiss”.
Instead of asking for God’s will,
Instead of seeking Him and what He wants for us,
We ask for Him to just give us what we want.
Or we ask for the right things for the wrong reasons.
I want your will for me so that I can look as good as……
I want your will for me so that our church can be “the church”……..
I want your will for me so that I can be the man or the woman……
There is nothing wrong with wanting God to bless us.
There is nothing wrong with wanting God to bless our church,
But asking God to do these things just so we can “prove them wrong” or “show them up”, isn’t praying for God’s will, it’s asking God to satisfy your pride.
That pride and those desires of your flesh makes you a friend of the world and an absolute enemy of God.
Pride is what motivates the world.
Pride is what forces covetousness,
Pride will kill you spiritually and it will even lead you to kill others.
You can’t sit in a position of pride and serve in humility at the same time.
Instead of “asking amiss” pray that God would change your desires to that they reflect His will for your life.

James 1:5

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

God loved you so much that He sent His Son to die for you.
We are right in the center of Holy Week, what a great time to come to this verse and remember that God wants to have a relationship with us.
We have this tendency to allow our lusts and desires to lead us, we should rather be “lead by the spirit” and leaning into Him to guide us and our desires.

James 4:6-10

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 pSubmit 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 wHumble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

What can help us to squash those desires when they rise up with in us?
HUMILITY!!!
Pride ignites greed, humility ignites service.
Service to the Lord,
Service in the church,
Service to those who are in need
Humble yourself before the Lord,
He give grace,
He gives good gifts,
He gives good desires.
Everyone loves to quote Psalm 37:4

Delight thyself also in the LORD;

And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

This is misused as a tool to do what you want and get what you want from the Lord.
The problem is, as you grow in grace, your desires change.
What you want isn’t to satisfy your flesh, but to please the Lord.
What you desire more than anything is to be pleasing to Him and to live for Him.
What you desire the most is to be near to Him and to learn from Him.
And here James tells us how to draw closer to the Lord:
1. Humble yourself before God.
Remember you don’t deserve to be here.
2. Resist the devil.
Don’t let Satan have your mind or your heart.
Don’t listen to the voices around you, follow the Spirit that is within you.
3. Cleanse your hands and purify your heart.
Live a pure life of Holiness.
Repent when you sin.
Live closer to the Word of God than you do anything else.
4. Be afflicted, and mourn and weep.
Don’t hold back the sorrow you feel for the sins that you committed,
Allow Him to break your heart for the things that break His.
Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Outward actions are not pleasing to God.
Are you truly sorry when you sin?
Do you genuinely intend to stop sinning when you repent?
Be open to and responsive to God’s correction when it comes.
Stay humble before the Lord and He will lift you up.
Don’t let your desires and lusts pull you away from the Lord and keep you down.
Misery loves company, and the proud and lustful are usually the hardest people to be around.

James 4:11-12

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?

Jesus said that the whole law hangs on 2 truths:
Love the Lord with all your heart and soul
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Someone who is proud and consumed by desire is not capable of loving their neighbor.
Your actions of judgment and mock violate the whole Law of God.
It doesn’t elevate you, it destroys you and your witness.
There is only One Lord who is able to give law or pass judgement on those who have violated it.
And He is extremely displeased with those who know the Law of Liberty and use it to keep others captive.

Division

God is not the author of confusion or of division.
He is the God of peace
He is the God of grace
He is the God of mercy
And as His ambassadors on the earth, we should desire more than anything else to live pleasing to Him and represent His thoughts, attitude, and love.
Draw near to God and allow Him to kill the lusts that are within you and pray that He gives you GOOD DESIRES.
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