James: Part 13
Notes
Transcript
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
2 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.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
4 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.
5 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”?
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Symptoms of a sick church
Symptoms of a sick church
A sick church has misplaced passions.
A sick church has misplaced passions.
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
2 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.
The money, though, was symptomatic of a heart problem. The church cared more for its own needs than the community and the world. Tom Rainer
When a church ceases to have a heart and ministry for its community, it is on the path toward death.”
James
A sick church fails to pray for Godly things.
A sick church fails to pray for Godly things.
A sick church never fails to pray for selfish things.
A sick church never fails to pray for selfish things.
Passions at war within “you” - The You is plural.
Love God and Love others.
Instead of praying thy will be done! They were praying - My will be done.
Instead of pr
It becomes obvious that a sick church is driven by the wrong passions.
A passion for the wrong thing shows in a churches prayer life.
They don’t pray for God’s will - They pray - my will be done.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
A sick church fights internally.
A sick church fights internally.
“Quarrels” “Fights” “war” “murder”
church conflict!
David Platt
The adversary would like nothing more than to divide us so that we fight battles among ourselves and have little energy for the real battle that is going on.
A sick church is about the great division not the great commission.
A sick church is about the great division not the great commission.
Platt, David. Exalting Jesus In James (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) . B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
It is not surprising when God’s people fight. We are soldiers! What is surprising is when we turn on each other.
Dr. Stephen Davey
One of the greatest problems the church faces is not the world outside the church, but the world inside the church; believer against believer and brother against brother firing away at the saints.
Preaching the Word: James—Faith That Works Troubles’ Source ( James 4:1-3 )
Stories like this are such a part of our American folklore that the caricature of a feuding church is found everywhere, as a young father learned from his children. Hearing a commotion in his backyard, he looked outside and saw his daughter and several playmates in a heated quarrel. When he intervened, his daughter called back, “Dad, we’re just playing church!
Illustration
Playing Church
Stories like this are such a part of our American folklore that the caricature of a feuding church is found everywhere, as a young father learned from his children. Hearing a commotion in his backyard, he looked outside and saw his daughter and several playmates in a heated quarrel. When he intervened, his daughter called back, “Dad, we’re just playing church!
A sick church cannot distinguish friend from foe.
A sick church cannot distinguish friend from foe.
2 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.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
4 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.
5 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”?
When we align ourselves with the world we align ourselves against God.
When we align ourselves with the world we align ourselves against God.
To be a peace with one is to be at war with the other.
We better be very careful where we draw our alliances.
We must refocus our passion.
We must refocus our passion.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
We must repent of worldly preoccupations.
We must repent of worldly preoccupations.
James is pointing us outward - not inward. He is reminding us of the need out there and the duty in here. However if we are preoccupied with the wrong thing we will never get around to the right thing!
We must identify the real perpetrator.
We must identify the real perpetrator.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.