The Cure For Conflict (Pt. 2) Series

Introduction:

A. One day a proper Englishman found himself seated on a train with two ladies who were arguing about whether to have the window opened or closed.

1. One lady claimed that she would die of heatstroke if the window stayed closed.

2. The other lady said she would die of pneumonia if the window was opened.

3. The ladies called the conductor to settle the dispute, but he didn’t know how to solve it.

4. Finally, the Englishman spoke up and said, “First, open the window and that will kill the one lady, then close it and that will kill the other, and then we can have peace.”

B. Well, that’s one way to end a conflict, but that’s obviously not God’s way.

1. As we talked about last week, we all know that conflicts are inevitable.

2. What is it that causes wars and fights among us? James answered that question for us in James 4:1-6 saying that they come from the passions that wage war inside of us.

3. And as we discussed last week, the war within becomes the war without and the war above.

4. Sin and selfishness lead to a lack of peace in us and a lack of peace with others and with God.

C. So now that we understand a little more about the causes of conflict, today we want to examine what James says are the cures for conflict.

1. As we turn to James 4:7-12, we see that James gives us a number of cures that will help us to resolve the wars within, without, and above.

2. Each of the cures can be simply stated and easily understood – they aren’t complicated – but that doesn’t mean that they are easy.

3. Another thing I want to emphasize is that each of the cures for conflict is an individual, personal thing.

4. These cures for conflict focus on each of us changing ourselves, not changing others.

a. We often want to blame others for the conflict and say that if they would change, then there wouldn’t be a problem.

b. James would beg to differ with us and would stay that the place to begin to cure conflict is with me and with you, not with someone else in our lives.

c. Certainly it can help if the other person is also changing, but our job isn’t to change them, rather our job is change ourselves with God’s help.

5. With that in mind, let’s look at James’ cures for conflict.

I. James’ first cure for conflict is: Take a Knee (submit yourself to God).

A. Verse 7 begins with a short and simple sentence: Therefore, submit to God.

1. It comes right after the verse that says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

2. In verse 10, James adds: Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

3. The word for “submit” is a military word that means to put in proper order or rank, to subject oneself to another, to obey.

4. To submit, then, is to yield to the authority or will of another, and in this context: to God.

5. Submission and humility go hand in hand, and the opposite is also true – pride and rebellion go hand in hand.

B. Submission is not a popular concept, but it is a biblical one.

1. The Bible teaches us that a person of God is supposed to submit themselves to the government authorities (Rom. 13:1, 5).

2. The Bible teaches that church members are supposed to submit themselves to elders in the church (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5).

3. The Bible teaches that church members should mutually submit to each other out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21).

4. The Bible teaches that wives are to submit to their husbands (Eph. 5:22, 1 Pet. 3:1, 5).

5. And the Bible teaches that slaves are to submit themselves to their masters (1 Pet. 2:18).

C. Because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble, the only sensible thing for a person to do is to submit themselves to God.

1. This proper submission recognizes God’s position and authority in our lives.

a. The key to developing biblical humility is found in the phrase: humble yourselves “before the Lord” (vs. 10).

b. Only people with hardened hearts can remain proud in the presence of the Lord.

c. What do the holy angels do in the presence of the Lord? They cover their faces and bow.

d. When Isaiah found himself in God’s presence, he was terrified by God’s holiness and his own sinfulness (Isa. 6:5).

e. When God finally spoke to Job and portrayed the wonders of His creation before him, Job’s response was “I retract and I repent in dust and ashes.”