Sermon Tone Analysis

Does this verse instruct us how to get things from God?

Is this some sort of secret way to ask God for things like a child does when sitting on the lap of Santa Claus.

Viewing this verse as such misses the blessing of what it means to delight one’sself in God.

Today we will look at the challenge of desires and then look at the blessing of learning to truly desire what God desires.

James 4:1-10

This important exhortation comes from James.

In his letter, he encouraged the believers to faithfully endure the challenges of various trials and test.

The outside culture presented one area of testing for the church.

They needed to stand against the influence of culture and stand firm in the midst of persecution.

But the church faced more challenges.

The first area of testing was within themselves.

All personal desires needed to be evaluated in light of their new identity in Christ because not every natural desire aligned with the will of God.

And when facing tempting situations, the believer could not reason that God was the author of temptation.

The source of temptation occured within their flesh.

Like the wild tongue that needed to be tamed, so too did the natural desires of the human experience.

The remaining area of testing occured from being in the environment of relationship.

Some temptations occur more when you are in a group.

(It is hard to create a traffic jam when you are the only driver on the road).

J

James words of wisdom apply to every group of believers who gather together in the name of Christ.

The church is God’s design.

He saves individuals and places them in a family.

He does this so they can mutually encourage each other and allow the naturally occuring friction to bring about new areas of maturity.

In order to mature, we will need to keep our desires in line with God’s realm.

Desire that Dominates

In the early part of his letter, James pointed out the problem with favoritism, which will always cause problems within a community.

But in chapter four he focused on the issue of personal desire.

Desire is not such a bad word.

But in Jame’s letter, he describes desire that has moved from God’s good realm into sin.

In chapter 1 he described how people’s natural desire is the source for temptation.

Why did Adam and Eve give into temptation?

They had God-given desires for food and they could eat any fruit of the trees in the garden, except one.

Alongside the natural desire for life sustaining and pleasing provision is the subtle desire for things that God has commanded us to avoid.

Genesis 3:6

The desire for wisdom was offered in the eating of the forbidden fruit.

Adam and Eve could not blame God or the other person for their sin.

All that God created was good, and being a good God included giving the the potential to obey or disobey His good will.

What started out as a good desire turned into a desire that dominated their actions and led to disobedience.

James addresses the root cause of the struggle within the church.

It is the same struggle that humanity has faced.

It is the temptation of evil desires.

In chapter 4, he continues but uses a different term for desire.

This term has in mind personal pleasures.

The root of interpersonal struggle comes from our preference for personal desires.

We get into fights because of pleasures we desire for ourselves.

An important self-examining question for Christians in conflict is “What personal desire am I trying to protect or to gain?”

James (What Is the Fighting Really About?

(4:1))

James does not specify examples of the desires.

What he does say could refer to conflict in group relationships, such as within a church: inflexibility about issues (from a desire to have one’s own way), maneuvering for position of authority (from a desire for status and admiration within the community) or criticizing others (from a desire to make oneself look good).

It is equally applicable in individual relationships, such as a marital conflict: constantly exchanging hurtful words (from a desire to get even) or carrying out sexual infidelity (from a desire for selfish pleasure or simply a desire for another spouse).

All of these happen in Christian churches and Christian marriages; they are all immoral.

The wise person who examines their heart will recognize that our desires will cause us to have to take a side.

The wise believer will let their desires loose the battle and submit to the victory of God’s desires.

Since it is a battle, it will not be easy, but it will produce the will of God in your life.

Your desires will only produce more of your will.

Desire that Deceives

James points out that our desires can be a powerful enemy when following Christ.

Sinful desire can also deceive us.

We can believe the lies of desire, namely that we will be satisfied when we get what we want.

Like an itch that is scratched, sinful desire inspires more itching and scratching.

Scratching may satisfy the "itch" temporarily, but it is often destructive.

James describes how this destructive "scratching" harms the community of believers.

The believers who put their desires first became harmful to others.

The people who were causing quarrels pursued their desires at the expense of others.

Because a person lacked what they desired, they pursued murder.

Because they coveted what they could not obtain, they pursued arguing and fighting.

Personal desire caused more harm.

Sinful desires can also affect how one views God.

James reprimands their solutions.

Instead of going to God to ask for His will and provisions, they forcefully imposed their desires on others.

And when they finally did the Christian thing to approach God in prayer, their prayers were overwhelmingly selfish.

This path of distorted desires led them away from God and into idolatry.

What was this idol?

It was the "god of their desires" rather than the God they should desire.

In essence, they became friends of the world instead of friends of God.

(The world: the patterns of human life contrary to God's will.)

We may be surprised how a seemingly minor issue like human desire can develop into an anti-God situation.

Such is the nature of sin.

It may start out as a slight deviation from God's will, but as it progresses, it will increasingly create distance between God and us.

What makes this discussion of desires interesting is that the desire occurs within the realm of Christian fellowship, the church.

How could Christians become to be like this? Let’s look at a situation in the Old Testament that is an example of Jame’s teaching.

The King of Our Desires

This is a curious story.

During the time of Samuel, God had appointed judges to guide the people of Israel in the promised land.

Typically, when the people had a good judge, they faithfully followed God.

Without a judge, they typically wandered into sin.

Samuel was the current judge for Israel and he appointed his two sons to take his place.

But his sons were corrupt.

Legitimate desires before God are acceptable

The elders and the people recognized that they desired good future leadership since Samuel would not always be around.

However, Samuel’s sons were evil.

When it came to justice, they accepted bribes for a price.

The people had a legitimate complaint and desire, which they brought to Samuel.

Something needed to change.

A desire to have or be something God has not blessed will lead us astray

The primary issue with their request was revealed in the following phrases , “that we may be like the other nations”.

In wanting to be like the other nations, they ultimately rejected God’s desires and plan for their lives.

They wanted a solution to the problem that resembled the world rather than God’s prescription.

God knew their hearts well and concluded that this seemingly honest desire and request was motivated by a straying heart.

They wanted their will to be done more than God’s.