Worldly Pleasures, Prayers and Problems

MARCH 25, 2020 STUDY NOTES JAMES 4:1-3 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES WORLDLY PLEASURES, PRAYERS, AND PROBLEMS INTRODUCTION Why do we live in a troubled world? Why is there so much unrest in our world today? Why are there so many lives out of order, out of place, mixed up and confused? In this modern world, you would think that life would be at its best We have so many things at our fingertips that is supposed to make life easier and better But it is not that way, it even appears to be getting worse So, what is the cause of all the trouble and strife in our world today? James ask the same thing and then he answers with another question James is still showing us the difference between “Worldly Wisdom” and “Heavenly Wisdom” A satisfied life can only come from God through “Heavenly Wisdom” The attempt to satisfy life through “worldly wisdom” and worldly pleasure is a continual battle, a war What a contrast between the last verse of chapter 3 and the first verse of chapter 4, Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. James goes from the subject of peace to the subject of war From a state of righteousness to that of quarrels and fighting YOUR OWN PERSONAL WAR (JAMES 4:1) James uses strong language to get our attention, we need to pay attention He uses terms that stretch our minds to the limit, to show how important his teaching really is He wants his words to be effective, so he uses exaggeration for emphasis The subject of James was of major concern to James and it should be of major concern to us today What James describes happens too often today, it has happened often among Christians and in churches From whence come wars Literally, the word “wars” refers to an armed conflict, to take up arms and fight Which our world has witnessed too often, and we fear that we will see it again Jesus said that Christians are not to be surprised when they hear of wars (Matthew 24:6) Before Jesus returns the talk of war will increase, the talk of war will be constant But it will not all be talk, wars will increase in number and intensity The followers of Jesus are not to be troubled by all-of the war talk we are not to be frightened That all these things will happen is the evidence that God is on the throne, God is in control The word “wars” was also used to identify political and national conflicts We can identify with that, look at government in America today We must realize that “wars” are not over, especially those that James speaks of James is using “wars” to identify feuds and conflicts between individuals He uses a strong word to show us how serious “fighting” among Christians can be Describing the very opposite of the “peace and righteousness” of Godly Wisdom James uses another strong term, “fighting” and fightings among you? James uses the word “fighting” to identify conflicts and disputes among people It is not a fight with weapons but with words, James still warns us about the tongue The tongue can be a vicious weapon in a war between individuals, families, or church members Hard feelings, tension, and frustration are all included in the meaning of the word “fighting” “Fighting” has reference to conflicts and feuds, quarrels and struggles, any and all conflicts Any strife among believers is of major concern to James he is still speaking to believers “Among you” could refer to hostility between individuals, one Christian against another It could refer to Christian groups, one group against another group We have witnessed denominational wars for many years and too often heard of congregational battles Sometimes those battles within the church are legitimate and justified, churches can go wrong Christians must take a stand on doctrinal truth when some church members turn form Biblical Truth An attempt to turn the church from making wrong decisions is a legitimate and justified argument But James is referring to fighting and wars within the church that are not justified So how can they happen so quickly? How can there be so many misunderstandings? James states the cause of an unjustified battle, “among you” probably means “in you” So, James is probably saying, “the problem among you is caused by the problem in you” “In you” would be referring to the old nature that is still present in the believer From the old nature comes the problems of worldliness and selfishness which turn into conflicts God’s will for His people is unity (Psalms 133:1) We find our duty of love and unity in Hebrews 13:1 “Brotherly love” does not refer to the natural affection among the human-race “Brotherly love” is the love of brothers and sisters in the “Family of God” Our present world does not have a love for the Christian, the world hates us That makes love for the Christian Family even more important We must strongly encourage “Love for our Church Family” today The verse does not mean that “brotherly love” was not being practiced, but it could be in danger It was something that they had practiced but must be sure to “continue” The word translated “continue” is the word often translated “abide” Meaning that which is to be at home within our life, that which is a natural part of our life “Brotherly love” must continually be practiced if we are going to represent Christ We must not be satisfied with yesterday’s act of love, it must be practiced today also James says that there was a problem, the conflicts were continuing and evidently increasing Where do these conflicts known as “war” originate? Where do they come from? come they not hence, even of your lusts “Hence” points to the source, you can picture James pointing at their heart Saying, “there is the problem, it is in there, in there is the true source The word translated “lusts” has reference to the sinful pleasures of life Referring to feelings that please self and selfish desires An inward craving for pleasure, the desire to fill your life with pleasure In the context this pleasure is what is known as worldliness as a result of worldly wisdom The selfish and sinful desires that go against the Word of God and the Will of God The emphasis of James is not hard to understand because of the world that we can watch We can see the amount of time, energy, and money that is spent on pleasure The interest, enthusiasm, and excitement that people show toward pleasure Paul said that it will be difficult for Christians to live in a pleasure-seeking world (2 Timothy 3:1) “The last days” are an unspecified period-of time between the first and second coming of Jesus The “perilous times” are things that will make life for the Christian difficult Difficult people will make life difficult for the Christian, Paul explains those people to us (2 Tim. 3:2) James is referring to self-loving and self-centered people who are ready for a fight Exactly what Paul describes in 2 Timothy 3:3 Love for self has no room for “natural affection,” which is love for God and others A selfish attitude says, “there is only one way,” which is, “my way” And when others do not agree with their way the fight begins Covenants, vows, agreements, and promises are no longer meaningful And when someone breaks those commitments, they put the blame on someone else, it’s their fault Which is an unjust accusation or slander against another person, turning into a war against them In an-attempt to build self-up others are being torn down You cannot build your reputation by destroying the reputation of others It is interesting that the same word translated “false accusers” is often translated “devil” Paul and James are both describing the work of the devil, working in the life of a believer Paul identifies those who make life difficult for the Christian as “pleasure loving” people (2 Tim. 3:4) James says that the wars and fighting within the church comes from “pleasure seeking people” Listen to Jude (Jude 1:16) Jude refers to false teachers who are teaching worldly wisdom for personal gain Jude warns us to pay attention to God’s Word (Jude 1:17) God’s Word has warned us of scoffers who “walk after their own ungodly lusts,” (Jude 1:18) James says that ungodly lusts are the cause of fighting among Christians Ungodly lusts result in worldly pleasure which also is a cause of fighting among Christians Jesus said in the parable of the sower, that worldly pleasures will choke God’s Word (Luke 8:14) The desires of personal pleasure will be a war within and without, resulting in an unfruitful life (Titus 3:3) That which causes fights and wars among us comes from our old sinful nature that war in your members? “Your members” does not refer to the church family but to the physical body The wars going on among us are caused by the wars within us The human body is a war zone, the war rages everyday of our life, wherever we are The fights and quarrels of our life come from the lusts that war in our members The word “war” paints a picture of an army of soldiers in constant battle “War” was a military term identifying soldiers on the front line in daily combat Those soldiers are the fleshly lusts seeking to take you captive The soldiers represent the fleshly lusts seeking to secure their satisfaction Each pleasure is like a soldier, each soldier wants to stand alone in victory So, he battles with all the other soldiers to be number one, he wants all other soldiers to submit to him Those self-centered soldiers camp in the different parts of the body That war can be seen in the individual life, in a marriage, in a family In a parent-child relationship, in an employer-employee relationship, even in a church family The world does not advertise those lusts as war but as the pleasures of life Under the influence of Satan, they will never be as advertised, which is beautiful and relaxing Fun-filled, harmless, life giving, and for a while they can be all-of those things except harmless After a while they will be none of those things, they will be a defeated battle, a war lost Satan has planned a military campaign against your life, your life will become a war zone He desires to take you captive through fleshly lusts If, he can lock you up in worldly desires he can take you out of the service of God He can make your ministry inactive he wants to imprison you in the ways of the world He wants to make your ministry useless which Paul explains it in Galatians 5:17) Peter refers to the same war that Paul and James speak of in 1 Peter 2:11 “Abstain” is a strong word that means to eliminate completely Peter means more than do not be influenced by “fleshly lusts” He means, do not at any time, in any way, allow the satisfaction of sinful desires Avoid sinful desires, hold yourself off from them, refuse them This verse assures us that sinful desires are controllable, “I cannot help it” is a false statement Because of, who we are in Christ, we can keep away from sinful desires (Ephesians 4:22) The verse begins with “that” identifying with what was previously taught Which was being taught the truths of Jesus, who teaches us and gives us the power to do what He said We can “put off” the old man, that old sinful nature, we can because of Jesus (Romans 6:6) Jesus died on the cross so that we could “put off” the old man and no longer serve sin Jesus lives so that we can “put on” the new man (Ephesians 4:24) The war and fighting that James warns us of is of the old man and not the new man James continues his warning to us (JAMES 4:2) Ye lust, and have not: The thought is, you set your heart upon something and seek it with all-of your being When you set your heart upon something that is supposed to fulfill your pleasures You seek with all-of your soul to fulfill that lust which is supposed to make you happy We often talk about things that we do, that we know we shouldn’t do We even claim to do things without thinking, “I just wasn’t thinking” is not true The truth is you were not thinking right, your decision to act was based upon some emotion So, we realize that James is still showing us the importance of “Heavenly Wisdom” The wisdom that will always produce Godly conduct and peaceable relations “Worldly wisdom” is influenced by demonic forces James has already explained the end-result of Satan influenced “Worldly Wisdom” He reveals it again when he says, “and have not” This does not mean that those lusts are not carried out It means that you can keep on doing what your sinful nature wants you to do But it never brings about the desired satisfaction, sinful lusts are never satisfied The thirst for sin is never quenched, it only leads to frustration “Have not” means it never turns out like you thought it would You keep trying and it keeps coming out the same way Paul used the children of Israel as an example (1 Corinthians 10:6) John gives an-explanation of what James is saying in 1 John 2:15 “The world” refers to Satan’s evil system which is opposed to God and God’s people Satan sets traps to catch a Christian and destroy their testimony, especially church leaders (1 Tim. 3:7) Satan does not want you to be a living testimony for Christ Satan seeks to destroy the Christian testimony by taking one bite at a time from their life (1 Peter 5:8) Satan uses one sin at a time to swallow you up Several years ago, there was a movie titled, “God is not Dead” There is a show that you can see today anywhere you go, “Satan is not dead” Our world is filled with things that draw attention to Satan and away from God The advertising world is selling for Satan and people are buying that which pleases Satan Satan knows what the old nature of sin wants to see, hear, and do Satan has bait that will lure every desire of sinful man, he knows what sinful man wants America is polluted with sexual sins; pornography; filthy language, and cursing of God Worldly ways have become so common that many Christians don’t even identify them James is warning us not to lose our spiritual insight, be filled with Heavenly Wisdom John is telling us that we must recognize Satan and sin (1 John 2:16) John tells us how Satan is carrying out his work in the world, seeking to destroy us “Flesh” is the carnal nature of man as opposed to the new nature of the Christian The “lust of the flesh” are the strong desires of sin which war against the new nature Satan often says, “Feast your eyes upon this” as he points us toward sin Lustful eyes are looking for what the sinful mind is thinking about Satan will show your eyes what your carnal nature wants to see Today our eyes cannot help but see sin everyone we look But the Spirit can turn our eyes to the Word of God within our heart and take control of our mind The “pride of life” is what happens when lustful eyes fasten upon the lusts of the flesh Today’s society is proud of sin, they take pride in showing others their life of sin But they do not see their sin, sin is not in their vocabulary, sin has no meaning to them So, we see the proud and sinful behavior of a worldly lifestyle today which is of Satan John makes it clear that it is “not of the Father” The sinful world of today also fails to see and understand what John tells us, 1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. The average person in America today does not want to hear or believe what John said in this verse They are living as though everything they are living for will be here forever But Satan’s world is of a limited time period, the way of the world is on its way out It is also true that even today Satan’s world has no permanent satisfaction Those who follow-after the lust of this world are doomed to disappointment Those who “do the will of God abides forever” John gives meaning to the words of James, “you lust and have not” ye kill, James wants our undivided attention, again he uses “startling words to startle us” The word “kill” means to murder, which gives the thought of taking away the life He wants us to understand how severe this problem of sinful lusts really is His words are to be taken figuratively and not literally James does not have in mind murder with our physical hands but with an evil heart and tongue A heart filled with evil selfish desires has no appreciation for the life of others A tongue of envy, anger, spite, hatred, can easily result in the character assassination of other people Jesus tells us, Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: Jesus was correcting the traditional teaching of the Pharisees, what had been heard from them They considered themselves righteous because they had murdered no one Jesus told them that verbal abuse came from the same sinful attitude as that of murder, Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. The commandment, “thou shalt not kill” is broken by the attitude of hate toward another According to Jesus, the danger is that hate can eventually lead to murder You have taken life away from another when you declare their life as “worthless” The word “Raca” speaks of a fool who is speaking ignorant and senseless words, Pro 10:18 He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool. Which agrees with what James is telling us and desire to have, and cannot obtain: “Desire to have” means to be filled with “zeal,” to be “zealous” which can be good or bad Depending on whether the zeal is based upon “Worldly Wisdom” or “Heavenly Wisdom” James is saying, “You are filled with jealousy,” you are moved with envy, you covet You want what someone else has because you want to fulfill your “lusts” You are self-centered and worldly minded, and the-end result is “you cannot obtain” Which does not mean that they did not get what they wanted But when they got it, they found out it was not really what they wanted Their aim, their goal, their selfish desire, did not satisfy their self-centered life The self-centered life can never be satisfied, James uses words here that indicate personal battles When people are at war with words, meaning “to strive or dispute with words” Which is the attitude of “don’t speak to me unless you want a fight” When you wake up in the morning ready to go to war with whoever gets in your way Meaning there is only one way to satisfy me and that is “my way,” but it doesn’t happen Paul said, that is not the way of a “servant of the Lord,” 2Ti 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, The only way to be satisfied is to “serve the Lord,” “Worldly Wisdom” will never satisfy yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Three times in this verse James makes the same point, he wants us to get it In the beginning of this verse James used the same words, Ye lust and you “have not” You desire to have and you “cannot obtain,” you fight and war and you “have not” It works the same way every time and it’s not working the way they want it too The results are the same every time, they don’t get what they want James is going to give us two reasons, the first one is in verse 2 and the second in verse 3 In verse 2 James tells us why, “because you ask not,” you did not pray about it James now calls to our attention the importance and power of prayer According to Jesus, we have the privilege of asking, Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Mat 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Don’t quit praying, keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking) Paul explains to us that prayer should be our nature, it is natural to pray for one another He did not cease to pray for them, he tells us what we should ask for, Col 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; The things that Paul prays for are the answer to the wars and fighting that James warns us of The results of knowing God’s will, possessing wisdom and spiritual understanding is explained in, Col 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Col 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: One reason that life is never satisfied is because we fail to ask for “Heavenly Wisdom” In the next verse we find another reason why life is never satisfied Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. James does not contradict what Jesus said, “ask and you shall receive” What James now tells us agrees with what Jesus said James has a lesson on prayer for us, he gives us some guidelines for answered prayer James says that it is possible to ask and not receive from God, how can that be? He states three problems regarding prayer: You don’t ask; you ask for the wrong things; you ask for the wrong reason God does not promise to bless a selfish prayer, praying with selfish motives Sincere prayer seeks the will of God, asking that His will be done in our life, Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. James has already told us that we can ask, and God will give liberally, Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But he also said that we must ask in faith, Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. We are told to ask, “In Jesus’ name,” Joh 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. The prayer “in Jesus name” is prayer based on the merits of Jesus We cannot come to God based upon our name which identifies with our own works “In the name of Jesus” identifies with His Person and work of salvation for us “In the name of Jesus” also means according to the will of God and for God’s Glory, Joh 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Joh 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. The failure to receive is not because of God but because of why you are asking You ask with the wrong motive and in the wrong spirit You do not receive from God because of what you have in mind when you ask Sometimes we ask for good things but for the wrong reason You want to take what God gives you and spend it upon your selfish pleasures Sinful and selfish ways can take Godly gifts and use them in an ungodly way It is easy to make promises to God when asking, but then keep those promises made to self What God gives us is not to be wasted on our selfish desires and sinful pleasures There is an example found in the account of the Prodigal Son, Luk 15:13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. (A wasted life) The purpose of prayer is to seek God’s will for our life, 1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 1Jn 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. James explains prayer that is not “according to His will” because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. “Amiss” has the meaning of “a bad choice,” not a good decision, resulting in a worthless request If you get what you ask for you are going to “squander” it, use it foolishly for selfish purposes Just like the prodigal son who wasted away all that the father had given him He spent it all on self, fulfilling his selfish lusts, he gained nothing, he lost it all, Luk 15:14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. Don’t ask God to put His approval upon your sinful lusts The word James used, translated “lusts,” has the meaning of delight, enjoyment, pleasure Praying with a strong desire for pleasure, coming from a love of pleasure, which Paul describes, 2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; The prayer that James describes is not coming from a heart of love for God seeking God’s will It is a selfish prayer asking God to allow you to fulfill your sinful pleasures CONCLUSION Let’s take a prayer test: When you pray “Thy will be done,” do you really mean it? Is your prayer really, “my will be done?” Are you asking God to open doors so that you can do what you have already planned? How much time are you spending in personal pleasure compared to your prayer time? Are you praying to learn the will of God through the Word of God? What is taking away from you your time that should be spent in prayer and Bible study? How much prayer time is spent for self, compared to praying for others? Are you praying for your church family? Are you praying for our church services? Are you praying for our worship service before you come to church? Are you praying for the lost to be saved? Are you praying specifically for someone who is lost, calling their name unto God? Joh 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Joh 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.