Matters of the Heart

Introduction- Good morning, for those of you who do not know me, my name is Keith Parmer, and I am the associate pastor here at EFBC. Pastor Mike is with the youth group at Rock Mountain Bible Camp this weekend, which gives me the opportunity to share God’s Word with you this morning. Last week we finished the Gospel of John, affording me the option to preach on whatever I felt the Lord wanted us to hear. I felt led to focus on a few passages in the book of James that provides insight concerning the desires of our hearts. I have been counseling in the local church for 12 plus years and have come to this conclusion. Every single one of us is capable of doing unthinkable things. I am in a place in my relational ministry and counseling where I’m certain you can not shock me, and please don’t take that as a challenge. I have seen many individuals and families suffer because of selfish desires; adultery, addictions, abandonment, and abuse to name a few. Bearing these burdens alongside others is difficult and heartbreaking. While candidating for this associate pastor position, our head elder Greg Laughner asked me this question. “What is the single biggest thing you dislike about ministry?” Without hesitation I responded, “sin.” I went on to explain that I consistently witness sin’s destructive effects in people’s lives, and that is the most difficult thing I face in ministry.

None of us are exempt from the universal human condition of sin and suffering caused by ungodly desires. Francis of Assisi understood this well when he remarked, “Above all the grace and gifts that Christ gives to His beloved is that of overcoming self.” I wrote this quote on the inside cover of my Bible soon after my salvation, because by God’s grace I realized for the first time in my life that I was my biggest problem, and guess what? I still am, but God continues to give me help and hope. It is this help and hope that I am most excited to share with you today. It seems like now more than ever before, we need to grow in our knowledge of who God is, and who He says we are. It is my hope that our time in God’s Word today will help align our desires with His desires. Lets pray and ask this from the Lord...

Pray

Overview:

James 1:13-18, evil desires

James 4:1-3, good desires

James 4:7-10, addressing disorderly desires

First, I want to help you see where we are going in the book of James and what we are aiming for in each passage. Initially, we are going to look at James 1:13-18 and learn about evil desires and forbidden longings. Then recognize how temptation presents the opportunity for these desires to work themselves out from our heart. Finally, we will seek to understand how to battle against these strong desires. The second passage is James 4:1-3 and here we will recognize how good desires and innocent pleasures can become idols in our heart that we end up worshipping. This worship disorder causes havoc in our vertical relationship with God, and in our horizontal relationships with others. In our final passage James 4:7-10, we will learn how to turn to the Lord and receive the help and hope that was available to us all along in addressing our disorderly desires.

Lets begin in James 1:13-15 where we are given a step by step look at the heart when it is tempted.

James 1:13–15 NIV

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Evil Desires

We are told that God never tempts us, so God is not responsible for our sin. Instead, each one of us is dragged away by our own evil desire and enticed. This word desire here in verses 14 and 15 in the greek is “epithumia,” and means to long for what is forbidden. So these are evil desires that God forbids us from having. The source of temptation comes from the desires of our heart. Then when that desire is left unchecked, it gives birth to sin, and when the sin is unconfessed, it gives birth to death. When broken down, there are six steps to temptation:

Six steps to temptation:

Tempted

Drawn away

Lust

Enticed

Lust Conceived

Sin

· Tempted – The thought of evil-

· Drawn away – strong imagination- you are drawn away from sanity-rooted in reality, and move towards sin-insanity- rooted in fantasy The Fall- Gen 3:6 futility of our minds- “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it.”

· Lust – self gratification and desire- become infatuated on pleasing self

· Entice – weakening of the will the further we are drawn away from sanity towards sin.

· Lust conceived – yielding to that desire and a move toward carrying out the thought.

· Sin – committing the act

It is easy to recognize how we are tempted by our own evil desires right now isn’t it? However, temptation has a blinding effect while actually going through it (David and Bathsheba 2 Sam 11). So what do we do? What chance do we have standing up against these strong desires? James goes on to tell us,

James 1:16–18 NIV

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Do Not Be Deceived - Grow in Knowledge

Our defense against temptation is to not be deceived v.16. And how do we accomplish that? By recognizing those things that come from our faithful Father who is unchanging v.17 based on unchanging truths found in his Word v.18. We find help and hope as we recognize the Father’s desires found in His Word, and respond in faith and obedience. We need to live in light of the truth of who God says He is, and who He says we are in the Scriptures. What does God say about us? “He chose to give us birth through the Word of Truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.” We have been reborn, fully forgiven of past sins, and given a new life in Christ Jesus our Lord? We are no longer slaves to sin;, instead, we are slaves to righteousness. His desire is that we would live holy and God honoring lives as the firstfruits of all he created. This means we need to keep on growing in our knowledge of, love for, and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is accomplished as we spend time with God in His Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with other believers. God often does His best work in the context of community as we share one another’s burdens. We are less likely to be dragged away and enticed by our evil desires while in close fellowship with the Lord and other believers.

Jas 1:13-18 showed us what happens when our evil desires, and forbidden longings, work themselves out of our hearts. But, what about the desires of our hearts that are not evil desires or forbidden longings in and of themselves; and yet become troublesome? James informs us about these particular desires of the heart in 4:1-3.

James 4:1–3 NIV

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Good Desires (Gone Bad)

James begins with a rhetorical question, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?” Immediately he provides the answer, “your desires that battle within you.” The greek word here for desires is “hedone,” and it means to lust after sensual delight, passions, or pleasures. Again, recognize the powerful grip these desires have on the heart by this definition. These particular desires are not evil forbidden longings like in James 1:13-18. These desires may be for good things, but they become bad things when they rule our hearts. One common example of this is the desire for approval. This is not an evil desire or forbidden longing, but it becomes destructive when that desire turns into a need. Then that need develops into an expectation of approval that often leads to disappointment. The person no longer has a healthy fear of the Lord; instead, they now have an unhealthy fear of man. They are more concerned about what others think of them, than they are resting in their identity in Christ and obediently fearing the Lord. (Peter opposed by Paul Gal 2).

Paul Tripp explains it this way, “A desire for even a good thing becomes a bad thing when that desire becomes a ruling thing.” He goes on to explain what happens at the level of the heart:

Good Desires downward spiral:

1. All starts with desire- “I want it.”

2. Demand- “I must have it.”

3. Need- “I will have it.”

4. Expectation- “You should do everything possible to satisfy my need.”

5. Expectation leads to disappointment when people don’t deliver.

6. Punishment- “Because you didn’t, I will…”

That punishment leads us into verse 2 of our passage, “you desire but do not have, so you kill.” The word kill here is best understood as hyperbole, an exaggerated statement, meant to express strong hatred. So we hate others because our desires are not satisfied. “You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.” When others do not help us get what we want we quarrel, fight, and find ways to punish them. This is happening in relationships all the time on many levels. James’ next statement is very telling,

“You do not have because you do not ask God.”

While engrossed in our desires, we are turned inward not Godward. We have a tenacious fixation on satisfying our desires, which distracts us from even approaching God. And, on the rare occasion when we do ask God, James says,

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

We pray according to our will for our kingdom purposes, instead of praying according to God’s will and His Kingdom purposes.

This passage reveals the fatal flaw with the human heart as being one of a worship disorder. We have disorderly desires that battle within each one of us. This truly is the universal human condition, a worship disorder known as idolatry. The heart is captured by someone or something else and allegiance is given to that particular idol. The Bible calls this spiritual adultery, and it is a serious offense against God.

So what do we do? How do we turn to the Lord and receive help and hope in these desperate times? James tells us,

James 4:7–10 NIV

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Addressing Disorderly Desires

First we must submit our desires to His care, and give Him our heart’s full devotion. Then we are to resist the devil and draw near to God. We must wash our hands of sin by confession and repentance, and God is faithful to forgive us of all unrighteousness. We no longer live as double minded both in the flesh and in the Spirit. Now we live in the Spirit, we turn from loving our selfish desires and now grieve, mourn, and wail over our idolatry. We humble ourselves before the Lord, and that can be as simple as saying “help.” As we face the Lord, depend on Him, trust in His faithfulness; He will lift us up from our self-centered desires.

Submit

We need to submit our evil desires to the Lord, asking Him to give me desires that honor Him.

We must submit our good desires to the Lord, asking Him to guard our hearts from selfish tendencies .

Resist

We have to resist evil desires that the devil exploits.

We need to resist the good desires that become idols in our heart.

Draw Near

Confess and repent the evil desires in our heart to the Lord.

Humble yourself, use your good desires to worship God not self.

Help and Hope in Christ

Our help and hope rests completely in Jesus Christ, because in the Garden of Gethsemane while praying to His Father, He willingly submitted His will to the Father’s will. He is the only one who has perfectly and completely overcome His desires. He did this for us knowing full well that we are incapable of overcoming our desires. Our hope is in the Lord because of who He is, what He has done. Our help is Christ in us, the working of His mighty power in our hearts as we submit our will to His.

How great is our God that He would rescue us from sin and death on the Cross, give us His Spirit, and then keep on rescuing us from our ungodly desires.

Pray…

Closing Song: How Great is Our God