1. End of WWII
World War II had ended. On September 2, 1945 General Douglas MacArthur spoke to a waiting world from the Battleship Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay, “Today the guns are silent...the skies no longer rain death...the seas bear only commerce...men everywhere walk upright in the sunlight. The entire world is quietly at peace....”
That long war cost sixty million lives, and an estimated $1 trillion. It came only one generation after what President Woodrow Wilson called “the war to end all wars.” Since World War II we have been engaged in Korea and Viet Nam, Iraq twice, not to speak of limited wars, political assassinations, personal revolts, rebellions and social revolutions.
The history of the world is a war history. James brings it even closer home when he makes it clear that our personal stories are war stories as well, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (v.1). What a penetrating question! Why can’t we get along? Why do we rub each other the wrong way?
2. Review – Causes for Conflict
A. Our Passions – Internal
1. Evil Inclination
2. Good Inclination
B. Our Passions – External
1. Conflict with God (“Adultery”)
2. Conflict with One Another
Speaking evil
Coveting
Hating
C. Misuse of Prayer
1. Selfishness
2. Instead of Glory to God
3. Cures for Conflict – James 4.1-10
I. Go UP with God (5-8)
A. God is the Priority – Surrender to Him (4.7)
There’s a story about a young man hired by the Penn. Department of Transportation. His job was to paint the white lines on a nearby highway, because the machines were temporarily out of order.
• The first day he painted 8 miles.
• The second day he painted 4 miles.
• The third day he painted 2 miles.
• The fourth day, he only painted 1 mile.
The supervisor couldn’t figure out what was happening concerning the performance of the man’s job and asked him, “Hey! What’s the problem?”
The young man replied, “I’m painting less and less, because the paint can is getting farther and farther away!”
The young man would have done a much better job if he had carried the paint can with him. The truth is, we will do better living the Christian life if we walk NEAR to God….in close daily communion with Him.
1. Adultery – devastating
2. Spiritual Adultery applies
a. God – “No other gods”; “Jealous God”
b. Israel’s Idols
The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel. 2 When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” Hosea 1.1-2
8 “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? Jeremiah 7.8-10
c. Our Idols – Wealth; Entertainment; Convenience; Traditions – Sunday PM; Invitation (A. Campbell – no invitation – not in scriptures)
B. Satan is the Enemy – Struggle Against Him
1. Adversary – 1 Peter 5.8-9
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
2. Spiritual War – Ephesians 6.12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
3. Grace/Chesed is greater than the adversary
4. Stand against him – James 4.7
a. Proper Use of Scripture – Matthew 4.1-11; 2 Timothy 2.15
b. Spiritual weapons – 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. 2 Corinthians 10.4-6
c. He flees – Luke 4.13
II. Go Up by Going Down (5-6, 10)
A. Emphasis on Humility
1. Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less
2. Pride says, “I will”; Humility says, “THY will.”
3. Greek and Hebrew – something low; distinct from pride (exalts self); humility makes self low; bows down/stoops as Parable of Tax collector and Pharisee (Luke 18.13 -- But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’)
4. Humility can come from affliction and suffering (same root in Hebrew – anavah)
a. Needed because it is against our nature – James 1.2
Let me suggest you consider the difference between dogs and cats. The master pets a dog, and the dog wags its tail and thinks, “He must be a god.” But the master pets his cat, and the cat purrs, shuts its eyes and thinks to itself, “I must be a god.” Though Jesus in grace reached down to us, there is still a perverse human tendency to think like the cat! (Cat and Dog Theology)
b. God humbles the proud – The scornful he scorns,
but gives grace to the humble. Proverbs 3.34 (CJB)
c. God humbles through trials – 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8.1-10
5. Afflictions Lead to Humble Repentance – I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous,
and that in faithfulness you have afflicted [humbled] me. Psalm 119.75
[A secret – God has all of the cards – he wins – we humble ourselves NOW or he will humble us later – 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2.9-11
(allusion to Isaiah 45.23:
By myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in righteousness
a word that shall not return:
‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’)
B. Examples of Humility in Action
1. A Change in Direction – Drawing Near God – 3 Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 1.3
a. God initiates (the Exodus; Romans 5.8)
b. Our Response Initiates His response -- Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14.23
"I read about an instant cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn’t understand why it didn’t sell-until their research discovered that the buying public felt uneasy about a mix that required only water. Apparently people thought it was too easy. So the company altered the formula and changed the directions to call for adding an egg to the mix in addition to the water. The idea worked and sales jumped dramatically. To some people, the call of God sounds too easy and simple to be true.
2. A Change in Deeds – Clean Hands – (to go up we go down)
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully. Psalm 24.3-4
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil, Isaiah 1.15-16
3. A Change in Decision-Making – Single-mindedness (James 1.6-8)
George Whitfield conducted outdoor evangelistic campaigns in the 1700’s throughout the American colonies, a period of revival called the “Great Awakening” in America. Although thousands responded to his Gospel message, when asked how many were converted after one of his sermons he replied, “We’ll know in five years.” The point Whitfield was making was that the passing of time should reveal which decisions were superficial and which were genuine, lasting commitments to Christ.
4. A Change in Disposition – Pure Heart
a. Beatitudes – Matthew 5.3 (poor in spirit); 4 (mourn); 5 (meek); 8 (pure in heart) 10 (afflicted)
b. Purity comes in our sorrow for sin and neglect of God
Conclusion
1. James gives us some practical – not theoretical instruction to change our lives for a closer walk with God
2. We can ALWAYS get closer
“The closer we get to God the further from him we will feel because we see the differences for keenly as Isaiah in his vision in the temple;
3. You all probably remember the classic PEANUTS situation between Charlie Brown and Lucy.
• Over and over again, Lucy would offer to hold the football while Charlie Brown kicked it.
• But time and time again, as he ran up to kick the ball, Lucy would pull it away and Charlie Brown would fly into the air and land flat on his back.
• One day, Lucy offered to hold the football again, Charlie Brown declined saying he knows how it always goes, and he does not want it to happen again.
• As soon as he accused Lucy of her past wrongs, she began weeping, “Oh, you’re so right. I admit that in the past I’ve played cruel tricks on you. But I’ve seen the error of my ways. I’ve seen the hurt in your eyes. Won’t you give this poor repentant girl another chance?”
• Charlie Brown said, “Okay.” So he backed up, ran up to the ball, and just as he was about to kick it, Lucy pulled the ball away. Once again Charlie Brown ended up on his back.
• As Lucy walked away, she commented to a friend, “Unfortunately, recognizing your faults and actually changing your ways are two different things.”
• So, we all would agree that recognizing the problem is only part of the solution. Doing something about it is much more difficult.
