Go for greater grace. James 4:1-6
Some examples of ¡¥wisdom from below¡¦:
"The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypisalanti, Michigan at 7:50am, flashed a gun and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn¡¦t open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren¡¦t available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away."
Karen Lee Joachimmi, 20, was arrested in Lake City, Florida for robbery of a Howard Johnson¡¦s motel. She was armed with only an electric chain saw, which was not plugged in."
"When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find an ill man curled up next to a motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his hose into the motor home¡¦s sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he¡¦d ever had."
"Germany: Oil of Olay no longer turning the trick for her, a woman decided that she would bathe in the milk of a camel (a modern-day Cleopatra). So she stole a camel from the local zoo (where *else* can you find a camel when you need one?) and transported it back to her house ¡V where she realized that the camel¡¦s name was "Otto."
"(Location Unknown): A man successfully broke into a bank¡¦s basement through a street-level window, cutting himself up pretty badly in the process. He then realized that (1) he could not get to the money from where he was, (2) he could not climb back out the window through which he had entered, and (3) he was bleeding pretty badly. So he located a phone and dialed "911" for help."
From The Crippling Effects of Envy James 4:1-10 by Darren Ethier on www.sermoncentral.com
Now- not quite so funny- but resolved by wisdom from above:
Years ago, a large statue of Christ was erected high in the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile. Called "Christ of the Andes," the statue symbolizes a pledge between the two countries that as long as the statue stands, there will be peace between Chile and Argentina. Shortly after the statue was erected, the Chileans began to protest that they had been slighted -- the statue had its back turned to Chile. Just when tempers were at their highest in Chile, a Chilean newspaperman saved the day. In an editorial that not only satisfied the people but made them laugh, he simply said, "The people of Argentina need more watching over than the Chileans.
Bits & Pieces, June 25, 1992. From What Should You Do When You Have Been Quarrelling? James 4:1-4 by Paul Fritz www.sermoncentral.com
Not so funny as it¡¦s talking about ¡¥Christians¡¦ who should know better!
This passage here is talking about Xians!
- AD Christians acting BC.
o End of ch 3 compares 2 wisdoms: from above and below
o Ch 4:1-3 is an example of the wisdom from below
¡¥But of course it¡¦s not literal¡¦
- possibly not. Maybe it¡¦s hyperbole. Maybe it¡¦s just talking about their attitudes rather than actions
o they weren¡¦t actually killing each other- just ¡¥thought¡¦ about it
„X (mind you, Jesus didn¡¦t differentiate!)
- but it¡¦s quite possible it WAS literal. (shocking!)
o HAS happened in religious history (DR Congo etc)
o Wouldn¡¦t happen today?
„X The point is: James wants us to realise it can!
In 1960, Israeli undercover agents orchestrated the daring kidnapping of one of the worst of the Holocaust¡¦s masterminds, Adolf Eichmann. After capturing him in his South American hideout, they transported him to Israel to stand trial.
There, prosecutors called a string of former concentration camp prisoners as witnesses. One was a small man named Yehiel Dinur, who had miraculously escaped death in Auschwitz.
On his day to testify, Dinur entered the courtroom and stared at the man in the bulletproof glass booth ¡V the man who had murdered Dinur¡¦s friends, personally executed a number of Jews, and presided over the slaughter of millions more. As the eyes of the two men met ¡V victim and murderous tyrant ¡V the courtroom fell silent, filled with the tension of the confrontation. But no one was prepared for what happened next.
Yehiel Dinur began to shout and sob, collapsing to the floor.
Was he overcome by hatred? By the horrifying memories? By the evil incarnate in Eichmann¡¦s face?
No. As he later explained in a riveting 60 Minutes interview, it was because Eichmann was not the demonic personification of evil that Dinur had expected. Rather, he was an ordinary man, just like anyone else. And in that one instant, Dinur came to a stunning realization that sin and evil are the human condition. ¡§I was afraid about myself,¡¨ Dinur said. ¡§I saw that I am capable to do this ¡K exactly like he.¡¨
Dinur¡¦s remarkable statements caused Mike Wallace to turn to the camera and ask the audience the most painful of all questions: ¡§How was it possible for a man to act as
Eichmann acted? Was he a monster? A madman? Or was he perhaps something even more terrifying? Was he normal?
Yehiel Dinur¡¦s shocking conclusion? ¡§Euchmann is in all of us.¡¨
"Uncovering the Lie: Face to Face With the Enemy Within" James 4:1-10 by Keith Manry on www.sermoncentral.com
James knows human nature well enough to be able to generalise¡K send this to the 12 nations¡K and know that it WILL generally apply
- there will be Xians showing worldly wisdom¡K attitudes¡K because they are going for the world rather than greater grace
- and it WAS happening then!
o About the time of James¡¦ writing- all kind of skirmishes with the Romans, trying to oust them. Killings
o Maybe some of the Xians WERE involved in these
o Justifying that it was ¡¥okay¡¦. For ¡¥the nation¡¦, not just ¡¥themselves¡¦
Whatever- James describes the attitudes Xians can have as tantamount to all this
- calls it ¡§war and murder¡¨
Maybe were desensitised to what is wrong to the point that we don¡¦t even get shocked by THIS¡K by ¡¥war¡¦ any more. Only things that we consider offensive are nuclear war/threat and child abuse
But James says- if you want to really connect with God¡K want the wisdom from above¡K His greater grace¡K here¡¦s what you must do
1 ADMIT IT
See these attitudes for what they are. Admit them. Root them out
- that¡¦s what he¡¦s trying for, here
- admission> resolution. Diagnosis> solution
- admission & diagnosis = start of recovery
o start of w wonderful moving forward with God
Nowadays, we are lousy on this. It¡¦s always someone else¡¦s fault
- even ¡¥sin¡¦ is because someone caused us to be ¡¥broken¡¦
But James & I want to tell you- a wonderful moving on with God¡K freedom¡K healing starts to come when we own up, admit it, take responsibility
What causes your fights and quarrels?
Illustr: National newspaper, competition ¡¥what¡¦s wrong with the world?¡¦
- winning answer was also the shortest ¡¥dear sir, I am, yours sincerely¡¦
There IS a place for confession
2 UNDERSTAND IT
what causes WARS (ongoing battles) and FIGHTINGS (outbreaks and skirmishes)?
- don¡¦t they come from your desires that battle within you?
- > ¡§no they don¡¦t: that person is SUCH a plonker!... my week¡¦s been so HARD! It¡¦s right I should feel this way! It¡¦s not my fault¡¨
I understand! > But it comes from ¡¥within¡¦. It does
Here, lit: ¡¥passions that are at war in your members¡¦
- Is this talking about within ME (my members) or between US (Christ¡¦s members, of His body)?
- = a beautiful play on words! Both are true
o the wars between Xians are an expression of the wars within a Christian.
o Your ¡¥fightings¡¦ with others comes from within you
o The external is an expression of the internal.
o UNDERSTAND THIS
Of course- I am a walking illustration of this!
- Thurs pm. All rainy and soaked. Stormy. Found myself getting at the kids.
o Realised- it wasn¡¦t them¡K but ME! Understanding this was key to solving it
For ALL of us- there are people we find hard (at work, or who we teach)
- says more about US than them
As a Pastor I have come to realise how people feel/act about me is often a projection/transference of issues within. Sometimes ¡¥Father¡¦ issues
Most often OUR insecurity or need for significance¡K prominence is what has us ¡¥downtreading¡¦ someone else
- Illust: A short history of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson. Dreadful bickering between geologists!
Behind a lot of these things is selfishness & pride. That¡¦s why we¡¦re so loath to own up to it!
- but the word of God exposes them and says ¡¥time to face them, now¡¦
And understand (here) how this affects our prayer life
- ie there not being one! Nonexistent
o so wrapped up in self-forget to ask God for help
o have you done that: ¡¥why didn¡¦t I stop and pray?!¡¦
o ¡¥you do not have because you do not ask¡¦
„X or maybe when we ask we tell God how to answer- rather than asking like a child
- or prayers not answered
o because our attitudes behind our prayers are worldly, fleshly
„X here it¡¦s not that there isn¡¦t an answer- it¡¦s that we don¡¦t receive. God always answers- but so often has to answer ¡¥no¡¦ to me because behind my prayers is ME rather than HIM
Need to get to a point where with transparency we can say ¡¥Father, daddy, help! Please answer this¡¦ (and have strained out our motives as best as possible, beforehand)
3 TACKLE IT
Tackle these attitudes head on. I tell you the truth- you CAN crucify them
James certainly tackles them head on, here!
- put the church in the world and take the world out of the church!
- He wants us to realise that ¡Vselfish ambition, envy, covetousness, constant desire for worldly things¡K such attitudes is spiritual adultery. On 2 fronts
o 1) we¡¦re Jesus¡¦ bride. And He¡¦s a jealous God!
„X Having these attitudes hurts Him who loves us
o 2) we have the HS in us
„X therefore letting these things in alongside Him grieves and hurts Him
„X again= like adultery, as HS= engagement ring (Eph 1:13) and infidelity during engagement= adultery in Jewish terms
¡§Oh- but that¡¦s not ME. Adultery conveys a far greater affinity/closeness with the world than I have¡¨
- here it just refers to it as ¡¥friendship¡¦!
- just being ¡¥over friendly¡¦ with the world hurts God
He MUST be #1
O FOR A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb.
¡K. The dearest idol I have known,
Whate¡¦er that idol be,
Help me tear if from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.
Any idol¡K worldliness¡K wars against your soul
James says- tackle it AND
4 GET IT
Get right with god¡K go for Him
And here¡¦s the incredible thing- this is ALL of us to one degree or another
- but God¡¦s GREATER GRACE is available!
o If we will : admit it, understand it..
o V6- humble ourselves and receive it!
God¡¦s greater grace¡K closer walk¡K higher purposes and pathway is available to all who will humble themselves before Him
So- let¡¦s come now- and get things sorted. Those things we¡¦ve been ¡¥married to¡¦¡K those worldly things and attitudes
