The War Within

James 4:1-3 “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 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. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

I. Intro

War is a fact of life, in spite of treaties, world peace organizations, and the threat of atomic bombs. Not only are there wars between nations, but there are wars of one kind or another on almost every level of life. James discussed this important theme of war in this paragraph, and he explained that there are three wars going on in the world. He also told how these wars could be stopped.

If there is any place there shouldn’t be any fighting or wars, it is in the church. I mean, we are called by God to represent Christ, and have unity, not division. If there is any place we need to show togetherness and unity, it is in the church. But that is often not the case. Far too often, Satan stirs up emotions in our hearts like bitterness, unforgiveness, and strife. He does this to get a foothold, and cause division among God’s people, and the Church. Apparently, James was facing some of the same challenges we are facing today. Satan’s tactics haven’t changed. Do you want to know why? BECAUSE THEY ARE STILL EFFECTIVE!!! If you don’t believe me, just look down history, even 2,000 years ago when the book of James was written. Look at all the church fights and divided churches since then. We can’t let Satan squeeze his foot into our church. You think Satan and his minions are living it up in hell? No, they are sitting beside you on the church pews Sunday morning stirring emotions in your heart. If we allow Satan to get a foothold, soon enough, we won’t have a church to come to.

When people on the outside see fighting and warring going on in our church, is that really going to appeal to them to visit out church? Will that be an attractive quality to them? Or will they want to move on to the next church? People will be attacted to our church when they see the charactaristics of Christ- love, acceptance, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, and a heart for the lost world. They won’t however, be attracted to fighting, warring with each other, bickering, division between families, unforgiveness, and bitterness. They get enough of that out there in the world. We must show the world that the love of Christ dwells in us.

II. Where are the fights coming from?

Satan

Satan takes advantage of opportunities to twist, turn, and manipulate emotions in the hearts of believers.

Unforgiven tresspasses toward one another turn into bitterness.

Ephesians 4:31-32 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

When bitterness is concockted in your heart, it is like drinking poison everyday, until you are reconciled.

Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”

A couple of years ago, I was driving and getting ready to turn onto my street when someone hit me from behind. I stopped, got out of my car, went around back, and surveyed the damage. It was the other driver’s fault, but it was my inconveince. I took out my liscence and said, “Let’s exchange insurance information.” The other driver said, “I don’t have any.” We had a problem. The problem was I had a dent in my car that was caused by sombody else. Somebody would have to pay this bill because the fact remained that my car had a dent in it. However, if I waited around for him to fix it, I’d be driving for years with a dent in the back of my car. So guess what I did. I picked up the tab. The moment I picked up the tab, I didn’t have to drive around with a dent anymore. I made the payment. Many of us are living our lives with dents on our souls. Somebody has run into us, somebody has messed over us, or somebody has insulted us, and we’ve been driving our lives for years, waiting for their insurance package to pick it up. But they are uninsured, and they are never going to pick up the tab. Because you refused to pick it up yourself, you are forever dented in your soul.

One of Satan’s biggest weapons he uses is stirring bitterness in our hearts.

How many families have been broken up because somebody was unforgiving and turned bitter?

How many people left the church because somebody didn’t forgive, and it turned them bitter?

How many relationships have been destroyed because of bitterness?

Titus 3:3-8 “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”

III. At War with Ourselves

Because we have allowed Satan to get a foothold, we have allowed Satan to stir division among us.

Look back to 4:1

James answers the question where do the fights and quarrels come from?

Within your members. This does not mean within church members.

If we stand together in unity, we can’t be broken.

The huge redwood trees in California are considered the largest things on the planet, and the tallest trees in the world. Some of them are over 300 feet high and over 2,500 years old. One would think that trees so large would have a tremendous root system, reaching down hundreds of feet into the Earth. The redwoods actually have a very shallow system of roots, but they all intertwine. They are locked to each other. When the storms come, or the winds blow, the redwoods stand. They are locked to each other, and they don’t stand alone, for all the trees support and protect each other.

Jesus had a vision for us to be unfied, not fighting with each other.

John 17:21-23 “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

Jesus prayed these words before His arrest, that we would be ‘one’. Us fighting with each other, bickering, that isn’t showing the world the love of Christ dwells in us.

Psalms 133, Listen closely, to the sound of unity. This is how it’s suppossed to feel like.

Psalms 133:1-3“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, That ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: That went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: For there the LORD commanded the blessing, Even life for evermore.”

The war we have with others, really starts inside our own hearts. It comes from within ourselves.

IV. Conclusion

A Canadian pastor told a true story of how a new denomenation got started in that country. It all started the night that a Mr. Horner was enthusiastically preaching when his tie became wrapped around his hand. He concluded that the devil was trying to bind him in his preaching. So he tore his tie off, threw it on the ground, stomped on it, and said that ties were from the devil. From then on he taught that Christians ought never to wear ties, because they bound them in their Christian lives. Others agreed, which led to quarrels, which led to division. Today in Canada, there is a tie-less group called the “Hornerites.” While I wouldn’t sign a petition to ban neckties, I find it tragic that Christians would quarrel over such a trivial matter. Sometimes, when serious doctrinal issues are at stake, division among professing Christians is demanded. If we compromise the Gospel, we are no longer Christian in any sense of the word. But, sadly, all too often our divisions and quarrels are over petty matters, and not essensials.

What is true among churches, is also true in our homes. Many Christian homes are wrecked by conflict rather than permeated with the sweet aroma of the peace of Christ. Sometimes, we idealize the Early Church. We think, “It must have been great to be a part of the first century church! It was so dynamic and powerful. They had such sweet fellowship.” But the reality is, the early church was made up of people, and people haven’t changed over the centuries! Many, (if not all) first century churches wrestled with conflicts between the members. The Corinthian church had divided into factions. The Philippian church had two young women who couldn’t get along, and the conflict was severe enough, that Paul singled them out in his letter. The Galatian believers were biting and devouring one another. Paul began the practical section of Ephesians with an appeal to unity, tolerance, and love between the members. On a more personal level, even Paul and Barnabas had a serious disagreement that led to a parting of ways. So it was not a unique situation when James addressed the problem of quarrels and conflicts among the believers to whom he wrote. The section here runs through 4:12, and it applies to all of your relational conflicts, whether in the church or at home.