SUBMIT YOURSELVES TO GOD
Jas 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? Jas 4:2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
Jas 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Jas 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Jas 4:5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? Jas 4:6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Jas 4:8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Jas 4:9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Jas 4:11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
Jas 4:12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
Listen to how the NLT translation puts it:
What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn’t it the whole army of evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can’t possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don’t have what you want is that you don’t ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong-you want only what will give you pleasure.
PT 1: WAR IN THE HEART
What causes fights among us? What causes quarrels among us? James says they come from our desires that battle within us. What are your desires? What is it you want in the church? There’s a battle going on within us at times. There’s war going on in our hearts. Behind the smiles, in the heart there is war. What if God seeking to show us the real state of the church revealed our hearts. What would we see? He already sees it. What would we see? War in many hearts.
We smile but there’s war. We say nice things but there’s war. Ps 55:21 His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.
Let’s look at a couple of guys who came across as if nothing was wrong but they had war in their hearts. Joab and Judas.
2Sa 20:6 David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bicri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your master’s men and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and escape from us.”
2Sa 20:7 So Joab’s men and the Kerethites and Pelethites and all the mighty warriors went out under the command of Abishai. They marched out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.
2Sa 20:8 While they were at the great rock in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was wearing his military tunic, and strapped over it at his waist was a belt with a dagger in its sheath. As he stepped forward, it dropped out of its sheath.
2Sa 20:9 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. 2Sa 20:10 Amasa was not on his guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab plunged it into his belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground. Without being stabbed again, Amasa died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.
Joab came across like nothing was wrong but then killed a man.
Do you have war in your heart like Joab?
Judas came across like there was nothing wrong and then betrayed Jesus.
Lk 22:47 While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, Lk 22:48 but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
Do you have war in your heart like Judas?
How are you my brother? But when we go away we plunge a dagger into the belly like Joab. How are you my brother? And give a hug. How are you my sister? And give a kiss. Yet in the heart there’s war.
Some of us need to confess. I’ve had war in my heart towards you and have not given to you. I’ve not been like Christ. I’m sorry. We can see why there are so many fights and quarrels in the church because there’s war in the heart of many.
Childrens section:
Do we have any kids in here that we’re fighting with their brothers and sisters this week? And what we you fighting and quarreling over? How did it make you feel fighting and quarreling like that? And kids how do your parents feel with all this fighting and quarreling going on?
You don’t feel good. Parents don’t feel good. Ruins the spirit in the house.
Jas 4:2 You want something but don’t get it. This is the root of it all. We want something but we are not getting it. Inside we are fighting. Fighting to give. Fighting to be submissive. Fighting, fighting, fighting. Exhausting isn’t it. What do you want that you are not getting. What is it that you want that you don’t have. Remember the words of John “a man can only receive what is given him from heaven.”
You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.
Kill is defined as:
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays"
thwart the passage of; "kill a motion"; "he shot down the student’s proposal"
cause the death of, without intention; "She was killed in the collision of three cars"
stamp out: end or extinguish by forceful means; "Stamp out poverty!"
be fatal; "cigarettes kill"; "drunken driving kills"
be the source of great pain for; "These new shoes are killing me!"
Covet is defined as:
wish, long, or crave for (something, especially the property of another person); "She covets her sister’s house".
A strong desire for something that does not belong to you.
The NLT says: You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. This is what happens in the heart of people that are wishing, longing, craving for something that does not belong to them. They try to figure out how to get it. They end up scheming in the hearts. Positioning, posturing, do things to try and attain something that their hearts long for. How sad. Where’s the surrender? Where’s the heart that says I’m doing what I’m doing because I love Jesus. If I never have a position in the kingdom I do what I do because of my love for Jesus.
Pure love for Jesus is doing what you do regardless of whether you receive anything that you want. This is why what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said and did is so powerful. Remember their words?
Da 3:13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,
Da 3:14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?
Da 3:15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
Da 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.
Da 3:17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.
Da 3:18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Did they want to live? Absolutely! Did they have a desire to see another sunrise? You bet. However look at the surrender. Da 3:17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.
Da 3:18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
There’s the heart of surrender. Even if we don’t get what we want I will serve you God. Even if you do not save us God we will not serve that golden image. There’s the purity! There’s the purity of heart that God loves because these three young men showed God that he was more important than their desires, their wants and in their case their lives.
Mt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Surrender is the key to seeing God.
Childrens section.
Have a child hold onto a little bear. Squeeze it real tight. Now this is how we look when we are desparately holding onto something. We’re all contorted, stressed, eyes see so we can’t see, angry, not at peace and God says let me have the bear. No! No! No! we say.
Slowly release the bear. When we let go we see God. Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Now James says:
You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. Why is that? Why can’t I have what I want. Because God has not given it to you for your own good. For your own good. What you want has become more important than Him and withholds it for your own good.
You quarrel and fight. The quarreling and fighting continues because you have not received what you want. Inside the war continues.
You don’t have because you don’t ask God. You say I’m am asking God! I’m praying about it. Praying and scheming is quite different than praying and surrendering, praying and waiting, praying and trusting. Show me a person that’s praying and scheming and I’ll show you a person who’s spirit is messed up. You can tell. There’s no peace. Only worry, pride, no surrendered spirit. No pure trust. Pure deceit but not trust. Again war in the heart.
Jas 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
When you finally get around to asking you do not receive because your motives are wrong. It’s about you. It’s about your pleasure. It’s about you getting what you want so you will be pleased. Your motives are wrong. Your spirit is wrong. Your attitude is wrong and often times you don’t see it. Fast and pray. Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God. Ask God to open up your selfish eyes that you might see. Thirst after true riches. Him and him only.
God doesn’t want us walking around fighting and quarreling selfishly after the things of this world. He doesn’t even want us fighting over good things like serving in His kingdom. A man can only receive what’s been given him from heaven. The solution to a pure spirit is to get back to the foot of the cross where only Jesus and His will mattered. At the foot of the cross what mattered is that we are right with God. If you’re having trouble in your spirit humble yourself through fasting and praying and submit yourself to God. May God bless you.
