JAMES 4 (Kent Smith notes 7/30/23)
A STUDY OF THE LETTER OF JAMES
JAMES 4
THE INNER CONFLICT & A GREATER GRACE
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THE INNER CONFLICT
THE BATTLE AGAINST OUR OWN DESIRES
Leads to an internal battle.
Leads to external strife.
Leads to selfish prayers.
Leads to inappropriate affections and unfaithfulness to God.
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V.1-5 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?
Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He [jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
Leads to internal battle. Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?
Leads to external strife You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.
Leads to selfish prayers. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Leads to inappropriate affections and unfaithfulness to God. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He [jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
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A GREATER GRACE
God desires continual intimacy of fellowship with us through His Spirit.
So…
He extends A GREATER GRACE to the humble, and He opposes the proud
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Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
God’s great desire is for us.
He put His Spirit within us to dwell in us.
AND He desires continual fellowship with His Spirit that is in us.
Therefore:
God extends His greater grace to those who humbly yield
to the leadership of His Spirit
which seeks continual fellowship with the Father.
He opposes the proud who willfully pursue their own desires.
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THE MARKS OF HUMILITY
Submission to God
Resisting the devil.
Drawing near to God.
Cleansing your hands.
Purifying your hearts.
Mourning your sinful desires and weakness.
Humbling yourself before Him.
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Submit therefore to God. Yield yourself to His authority
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Willfully fight against the desires within yourself that are from Satan.
(Arrogance / ascendency/ pride/ selfishness/ my pleasures)
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Intentionally pursue God. Make time for Him – let Him be your crush!
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; Repent for sinful acts, cease doing them.
and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Seek purity of heart and mind (What tempts your heart or pollutes your mind)
Fight it / avoid it / remove it
Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your
laughter be turned into mourning and your
joy to gloom.
Acknowledge your weakness, regret your failures, quit celebrating your own “goodness.”
Quit enjoying your dabbling in worldly pleasures.
Humble yourselves in the presence of the
Lord, and He will exalt you. Mentally place your self before the throne of heaven, in the presence of the One True and Living God
What do you bring that is worth anything to Him?
What can we offer Him?
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THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY
Do not speak against one another; particularly, do not judge one another
Do not arrogantly or presumptuously make plans. Instead, submit your life and plans to God by seeking to follow His direction and His will.
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Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
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THE TEST OF HUMILITY
Do the right thing when you know the right thing to do.
(whether you want to or not!)
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It is about personal submission to God.
It is about a greater love for God than the world.
It is about a greater desire for His approval than the world’s approval.
It is a greater respect for God, than a desire to please yourself.
THE SIN OF OMISSION: KNOWING THE RIGHT THING TO DO, AND STILL NOT DOING IT.
We can only get there when we submit to God and cry out for A GREATER GRACE TO SAY NO TO SELF AND YES TO HIM.