“THE REMEDY FOR WORDLINESS” James 4:1-10
FBCF – 10/30/22
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Hance Dilbeck – New CEO for Guidestone. Bible Treasures at Ms Baptist Convention. Told story of time when he & his wife were taking care 3 of their 8 grandkids one weekend so son & daughter-in-law could go on anniversary trip. He happened to be preaching just a few miles away, so his grandkids were excited that they were going to go w/ him to hear him preach the next morning. But youngest grandchild started running fever on Sat night. Decided to just have church at home that night.
Pearl – 6 y/o granddaughter. Jack – 4 y/o grandson
Sing a song. Then Mimi is going to pray. When she’s finished praying, then Pearl, you read us a story from the OT, & then Jack, you & I will read a story from the NT. Set the order of service. Started the service. Sang song. Wife prayed. Then Jack spoke up & said he wanted to read his NT passage first. Told no, Pearl goes first like we said.
Jack, who is the grandson of 2 Baptist preachers, stood up off of ottoman, tucked that picture Bible high up under arm, marched toward his room saying, “I’m going to go find me a new church where I can read my own Bible!”
Isn’t that true of all us at times? We don’t get our way & get what we want, so we pitch a little fit & have a little temper tantrum & storm off. 4 yr-old Jack gave us a little snapshot of worldliness, which is what we are going to talk about today as we continue this series in the book of James.
EXPLANATION – James 4:1-10
Worldliness is simply living the way the world says to live instead of the way God says to live. Like a 4 y/o who takes his toys & goes home, the world says, “You deserve to have anything you want to have, no matter what anyone else has said. You don’t have to listen to those in authority. You don’t have to abide by any rules you don’t like or obey anyone you don’t want to obey. You do what YOU want to do.”
The world says, “If it feels good, do it. If you want it, get it, no matter who it hurts, what it damages, or what the long-term consequences are. It’s your life, so live it any way you want to live it.” When these thoughts invade our mind & these temptations drop into our paths, we better have a game plan in place to deal with them b/c the consequences are large & long-lasting. Puritan Thomas Watson: “All the danger is when the world gets into the heart. The water is useful for the sailing of the ship; all the danger is when the water gets into the ship; so the fear is when the world gets into the heart.” (https://gracequotes.org/topic/worldliness-consequences/)
The ship is going to go down when the water gets into the ship. And you & I will go down when the worldliness gets into our hearts. We need a remedy for worldliness & James gives it to us.
APPLICATION – Drawing near to God is an essential remedy for worldliness.
3-STEP REMEDY FOR WORLDLINESS:
SELF-INVENTORY - v. 1-5 – Fred’s Dollar Store – Inventory time – Close store. Meticulously go through all merchandise in the store & in the warehouse to see what we had & what we needed. Not fun but necessary for the success of the business.
James calls us to an inventory of our hearts & desires & attitudes. May not be fun but absolutely necessary. Verses 1-2 show us that when we find unfulfilled passions & desires warring inside of us, it’s an indication that we’ve never really asked God to fulfill us. We are frustrated b/c we are not getting our way, but the problem is that our way is many times not God’s way. Instead of asking for things that HE wants, we are asking for things that WE want – v. 3.
Then in his own “in your face” way, James calls his readers “adulterous people” (v. 4). What’s that all about? Pretty abrasive. But he wants to drive home the point that when you look anywhere else other than God for the fulfillment of your desires, you are committing spiritual adultery. John Piper: “…God has made us for Himself & has given Himself to us for our enjoyment. Therefore it is adultery when we try to be “friends” with the world.” (https://gracequotes.org/topic/worldliness-consequences/)
You see, God “yearns jealously” for us (v. 5). He wants ALL of us, just as a husband should want all of his wife & no one else, & a wife should want all of her husband & no one else. But instead of looking at God & saying, “You’re enough,” we look at the world & say, “I want YOU.” And that make us an adulterous enemy of God.
Step #1 – Self-inventory. Step #2 is…
SAVING GRACE - v. 6 – Oh, I love the word GRACE! It is one of the main tenets of our faith. It’s one of the components of our faith that sets us apart from every other world religion. No other god is a god of GRACE like our God is! We are saved by the GRACE of God – we live by the GRACE of God - & it is the GRACE of God which will usher us into the very presence of Jesus one day.
- “Through many dangers, toils, & snares, I have already come. Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far; & grace will lead me home.”
GRACE says, “Even though you’ve been rejecting God, He will accept you. Even though you’ve been unfaithful to Him, He will take you back. Even though you’ve been an enemy of God, He will make you His friend.”
And GRACE gives you the ability to take the next step to remedy worldliness…
SUBMIT TO GOD - v. 7-10 – I believe v. 7-10 are some of the most important verses for us as Christ-followers. Total submission to God – drawing near to God – brokenness before God – humbling yourself before God – These are not just steps we do to get right w/ God; these are the characteristics of a Christ-follower’s life. Look at the power that is ours in this lifestyle – the victory that is ours – the fulfillment that is ours.
- V. 7 – When we submit to God & say, “It’s your way, not my way,” we are at the same time resisting the devil’s way, which is the world’s way. And Satan HAS to leave us alone at that point. What power & victory is in that moment!
- V. 8 – When we make the conscious decision to draw near to God, He will immediately respond by drawing near to us. No rejection! No condemnation! Just joy-filled fellowship!
- V. 9 – When we are truly broken over our sin & our worldliness & realize that we have missed the whole point of life, He will forgive us completely & bring us back to Himself. 2 Corinthians 7:10 – “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow.” (NLT)
- V. 10 – When we humble ourselves before Lord & realize that HE IS GOD & that HIS way of living is the best, He will lift you up out of the muck & the mire of our worldly way of living.
CONCLUSION – There’s no better time than right now to take these steps to remedy the worldliness that invades our lives.
- Take the inventory right now. Let the Holy Spirit show you what’s truly in your heart. He may even show you that you truly have never given your heart to Jesus. Don’t resist Him as He works right now.
- Let God’s GRACE flood over your heart & soul right now. Don’t beat yourself up for wandering away from God & letting worldly ways creep into your heart. He loves you so much no matter what you’ve done or how far away you’ve strayed.
- Now, submit to Him. Draw near to Him in this moment. Let godly sorrow do its work in you. Be broken over your sin & humble yourself before Him. If you are doing that right now, then KNOW that He is lifting you up & restoring you right now.
