“Draw Near to God” (James 4:1-10) 1/6/2019
1. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 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. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
I spent a couple of days, last December 27th and 28th, looking back over the past year. What I did is I simply reviewed all my repentances, my thanksgivings, my petitions, and my decisions and the learnings as I recorded in my Prayer notebook. Why did I review the recordings of my prayer notes rather than doing any other things? It is because I believe the walk with the Lord is our foundational and primary blessing by which all other blessings flow. That is why, I cherish my prayer notes keeping all my conversation with the Lord whether confession, giving thanks, petition and decision or learning.
The Psalmist says. But as for me, it is good to be near God” (Psalm 73:28) The scriptural text today also commands us to "draw near to God." But, I wonder if any of you feel that God is miles and miles away though you regularly attend worship service and bible study, and even do ministry?
Prophet Isaiah said this: “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isaiah 59: 2) Wouldn’t it be the case that
our iniquities or sins hinder us from being near to God? I hope and pray that as we study the text today we may identify some obstacles that prevent us from getting close to God and find a solution to draw near to God.
Let’s dive in verse 1. “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?”
There were quarrels and fights among the believers. Verse 11 also tells us that they criticized each other and spoke against each other. Verse 2 repeats that there were quarreling and fighting among them. So James even called them murderers not because they actually killed other brothers, but because as the Apostle John said, "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer" (1 John 3:15) In fact, the Lord Himself said that anyone who is angry with a brother, anyone who calls his brother stupid or idiot is subject to trial and punishment for murder. (Mt 5:21-22)
Matthew 5:23 “Therefore, (Jesus says) if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Jesus is saying, since anyone who is angry, who calls his brother stupid is like murder, murderer can’t worship God. If you are in quarrel and fight with other brothers and try to draw near to God, God would say, “No Thank you.” He would say “reconcile with them first then come back.”
Why did they fight? “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” (v.1) The cause for fight is the passions or lusts within us. The problem is not with others. No one can blame others for the fight he or she is involved in except himself or herself. I am the one responsible for quarrel and fight because my sinful nature want to exalt myself above others and often even above God. That’s why v6 ““God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” v. 7 Submit yourselves to God. v10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Jesus said, if anyone wants to follow me, deny yourself. You and I are not called to deny others, but deny ourselves. And only those who deny themselves can have a right relationship with others and draw themselves near to God.
4 “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James was calling them adulterers because they were married to Jesus yet they were in friendship with the world. Earlier James had said, Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is.. to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27) Would it be possible not to be polluted by the world when we see and hear the things of the world as soon as we open our eyes and until we close our eyes to sleep? James says it’s not only possible, but also it’s a command to keep.
(I believe verse 5 tells us why it’s not only possible, but also we have to live without being polluted.)
“Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace.” (Did you notice the spirit here is in lower case not upper case. Talking about not the Holy Spirit, but our spirit our spiritual being) God does not want us to fall into the world because God loves us as spiritual being so much. Then He gives us more grace so that we can overcome the temptation of the world.
Paul also said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..” (Rom 12:2) Paul is saying we can be transformed rather than conformed to this world. How come that’s possible? Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..” (Rom 12:1) His appeal to present our bodies as living sacrifice and His appeal not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind is based on the mercies of God. Because of God’s mercies and as we focus on God’s mercies we can and have to live transformed life in this world.
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you
James tells us, if we want to draw near to God, we have to deal with our sinful nature denying our sinful nature, we have to deal with the world by focusing on God’s mercies and now we have to deal with the devil. We have to resist the devil. Bible tells us time and again that our Christian life is not a playground but a battleground. We are always at war with the devil who control the world and wants to control us as well.. That’s why Apostle Peter said, “Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.“ (1 Peter 5:8)
Then how to resist the devil? When the devil tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, he tempted saying, "you will become like God when you eat the fruit" The devil still tempts saying the very same thing, “You will become like God.” He stimulates our sinful nature to exalt ourselves above others and some time even above God Himself.. That’s why God rejects the proud and gives grace to the humble. (6)
That’ why God calls us to submit ourselves to God first before we resist the devil. Verse 10 also tell us “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” The way to fight against the devil is to deny and humble ourselves.
When the woman saw the tree after being tempted to become like God, it was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise. And she took of its fruit and ate. When you turn your eyes to the world, the world offers a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. What we see matters gravely. We have to turn our eyes upon Jesus rather than to the world: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace” Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
8 and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. They were not trying to get closer to God. So James called them sinners and double minded. Though they claimed to be Christians, they didn’t deny themselves fighting each other, so James called the murderers. They called themselves Christians, but they were in love with the world, so James called them adulterers. They called themselves Christians, but they were not interested in drawing near to God, so James called them double minded.
James challenges them to Wash their hands, purify their hearts, to Grieve, mourn and wail rather than joy and laugh. And humble themselves before the Lord. The same is true to us. If we don’t learn to deny ourselves and the world to get closer to God, we are murderers, adulterers, sinners and double-minded though we may claim to be Christians. God through James calls us to repent and humble ourselves before Him and God invites us to draw near to God. Now we will take the Lord’s Supper. As we take the Supper, I hope and pray, you may take as your thanksgiving for His mercies and you may take as your confession that you want to get closer to God.
