GIST: ….Because you’re selfish and need grace which, by the way, has been poured out for you!
SCRIPTURE: James 4:1-6
This morning we’re coming to the beginning of James 4, and we’ll just read the first six verses. However, believe me, there is plenty for us to chew on here. See, last week, James pitted earthly wisdom up against Godly wisdom. He explained that earthly wisdom would just be self-seeking and self-destructive, while Godly wisdom is the gracious gift of God that points us away from ourselves and toward His purpose: saving souls! In fact, he ended last week with this picture of us as God’s Ambassadors for peace. Look with me again at 3:17-18. “17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” That’s who we’re supposed to be, and that’s the context of our passage this morning. So, let’s read 4:1-6 together. Then, we’ll dive in.
“1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."”
So...if we’re supposed to be peacemakers, why aren’t we? Why are we fighting amongst ourselves? Why is there so much animosity and negativity even within the church? Well, here’s our gist. You’re not a peacemaker… because you’re selfish and need grace which, by the way, has been poured out for you! (And I’m in that same boat... and so is everyone you’re currently arguing with! ☺️) I know that’s probably not the most encouraging sounding gist, but it’s a truth I’m reminded of so often, and it’s a core truth we all need to understand. Let’s dive into this. (By the way, I think this is like the third Sunday in a row with technically only two points. Just putting that out there ☺️.)
Point one→
I. You’re Selfish (1-5)
Again, I realize this is not the most uplifting point, but James spends much of this letter establishing this truth. By nature, we are all self-absorbed. In fact, notice that when James asks what’s causing the fighting amongst them, he goes straight for the personal cause. It’s easy to push our conflicts off on the other party and forget how guilty we are too. Don’t get me wrong. There are times when you might be an innocent victim of someone else’s bitterness. I don’t want to trivialize that at all. However, let’s be honest, that’s not the condition of most of us. If you’ve noticed that everywhere you go you tend to encounter conflict, could you be the common denominator?
Let’s look at how James breaks this down. First, he points to our→
Destructive Desires. Look at verses 1 and 2 again. “1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” We have both conflicting and consuming desires. There are things we want that can’t coexist, so our passions (desires we allow to give us meaning, things we long for) are pitted against one another— and these longings are consuming. We give little kids a hard time about being selfish and not wanting to share, but let’s be real, we might be older now, but we still want people to play our games our way and don’t like it when anything or anyone gets in the way of what we want.
We desire and can’t have so we murder and argue. That first one might seem a bit extreme, but Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount that hating a brother is the same as murdering him in our hearts. Our selfish passions lead to arguments and resentments and even hatred— all fueled by a longing for personal gain.
James goes on to point out our
Prideful Prayer Problem. (Yes, I love alliteration too much. It’s a problem. Send help. ☺️) Look at the rest of verse 2 through verse 3 here. “You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” He says the reason you don’t have what you want is two fold. First, you’re not actually asking for it. How often do we allow ourselves to get bent out of shape about things that we never pray about? We know we should, but instead we just gripe and complain and allow bitterness to take the place of the peace that comes from prayer. And, secondly, even when we do pray, we’re asking for the wrong stuff! We’re not praying to spend time with God and seek His will. We’re just using Him as a magic genie. That’s not prayer. That’s just making wishes, and it’s just as practical as throwing money into a fountain. It’s literally a vain attempt in every sense of that word!
In fact, far from actually praying, you’re so in love with what the world says is right (self-seeking), you’re at war with the one to whom you should be praying. Look at verse 4. “4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” What’s even worse about this it that it causes us to miss out on His→
Lavish Love. Look at verse 5. “5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?” He’s righteously jealous for you and longs to see you restored. I know the concept of God being jealous can be a really hard concept to wrap our minds around because our jealousy is always tainted by sin. His isn’t. He loves you and made you for this perfect and fulfilling and beautiful existence with Him. Therefore, He cannot stand to see you squandering your life on empty and self-destructive pursuits. In fact, He came and took Hell for you to rescue you precisely from that reality. And yet, we continue to reject Him.
Why is there so much anger and bitterness in our lives? Because we’re selfish. But there is hope because→
II. You Need His Grace (6)
See, we should be praying, but not selfishly. We need pure prayers, prayers that really seek Him and really come to Him because we need His grace… and He gives it! Look at verse 6. “6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."” Grace is His unmerited favor, getting what you don’t deserve from Him. He poured out His great grace on the cross. Through His sacrifice, we were provided salvation. That’s amazing grace, but it’s not all He gives. He gives more grace. Grace to face each day. Grace to lay down our selfishness and pick up our crosses. Grace to hold our tongues when we want to lash out. Grace to face hardships and trials with a calm that only comes from being in the arms of the one who holds the storm!
See this is our opportunity, but it’s not presented to the selfish, but only to the humble. Humble? How? How are we who are inherently selfish ever to experience His grace then? By receiving His transforming gift of salvation. I’ll develop this more next week, but let me leave you with this little teaser this morning. How do we experience God’s grace? “7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you...” (James 4:7-8). Come to Him wholeheartedly! Let me give you a nice little list of→
TAKEAWAYS
1. Examine your heart. Do you see evidence of conflict?
2. Examine your interactions. Are there quarrels among you?
3. Examine your prayers. Are you treating God like a genie?
4. Remember His love. Lavish and extravagant!
5. Experience His transformative grace! You can’t do this alone, but He can change you!
6. Come to the ultimate peacemaker toda
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