Are You An Enemy Of God?
James 4:1-10
1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Our bodies are made of flesh and blood. Since this is the case, we have wars within our members.
My spirit wants to do what is right, but my flesh is weak and without help from God, I might give in to what my flesh wants to do.
There is only one solution for the problems that we have, and that is to understand that all things come to us from God through the Cross.
When the Cross and what Jesus did upon it becomes the object of our faith, this gives the Holy Spirit latitude to work within our lives in order that we might live the life we ought to live.
Romans 6:3-5
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Romans 6:12 and 13 says:
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
James 4:2 says:
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Such a person is not looking to God but rather operating from self will.
The word kill in verse two refers to destroying the reputation of another in order to gain advantage and do so by slander.
Ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not; this refers to believers who little seek the Lord for anything, but they depend upon other sources.
Verse three says: Ye ask, and receive not, and there is a reason, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
The person who does this is not asking for the will of God, but rather from his or her own selfish desires.
James 4:4
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
This presents James using the same terminology as Paul in Romans 7:1-4.
The believer is to look exclusively to Christ regarding all of his needs; to look elsewhere presents the person committing spiritual adultery.
Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?
If Christ is not strictly the object of our faith God looks at everything else as worldliness.
According to verse four, whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
A believer does not act the way that the world acts, a believer in Jesus does not do what the world does.
If we are a friend of the world and what it has to offer, then we are an enemy of God.
Are you an enemy of God?
Dream 8-3-09
I dreamed that we were at Dad’s. A party was going on. I was sitting in the living room. Two girls started dancing. One of them was trying to get me to pay attention to her. She leaned over to kiss me; I yelled out, “NO, I AM MARRIED”. The girl ran out of the room. The Lord gave me this scripture:
James 4:7
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
I then went out to the kitchen to tell Susan. She was sitting at the kitchen table with Dad. There were others at the table but I don’t remember who they were.
Interpretation
Dad’s represented a party going on, what should have been a celebration the enemy tries to creep in and steal the show.
The world will try to get us, as believers in Jesus, to pay attention to her.
The world will try to kiss us with the kiss of death; we have to stay focused on Jesus as believers.
We have to tell the world “NO WE ARE MARRIED”, we are married in a sense to Jesus!
The Lord then gave me this Scripture:
James 4:7
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We need to get back to the kitchen where the food is being prepared.
James 4:5
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
The word lusteth here means to earnestly or passionately desire.
The flesh that is weak, desires to lust for what it should not have.
Because of our fallen nature, from time to time, the enemy will try to take advantage over our flesh.
Satan will try to get us to be envious of someone else, where they are in their walk or maybe of what they have.
James 4:6
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Because of grace, we can overcome the obstacles of the enemy and we will win because Christ will give us strength.
God resists the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
God will resist those who look to something or someone other than Jesus. He will bless the humble.
James 4:7
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
We need to submit our lives to God, resist the Devil when he comes against you.
The enemy, according to the Word of God, has to flee.
Church, you are not married to this world. It is time we stand up for whom and what we should stand up for, God and righteousness.
James 4:8
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Church, it is time that we draw nigh unto God because He will draw nigh unto us.
We need a proper knowledge of the Cross regarding sanctification of the saint.
Without a proper knowledge, it is impossible for a believer to live a victorious Christian life.
We need proper and true repentance for the things that we have done and for the things that are still in our lives.
Jesus is your answer; the world cannot forgive you of your sins.
What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
James 4:10
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
God wants to lift us up in the things of Him.
Are you an enemy of God this morning?
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Sin might look like it would be fun, but it is not and in the end it will kill you.
If you are in the world then you are not for God!
James 4:4
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
How do we become a friend of God?
Jas 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
John 15:14-15
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Are we doing whatever Jesus tells us to do?
If we are, then we are His friends.
Jesus calls us not servants; the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Are you an enemy or a friend of God?
Open up the Altars for everyone to come up and pray.
If you are interested in seeing some God given dreams given to me and others in our church go to:
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/w/windoffaithdrea/
Go to the new text page for the God given dreams.
