James 4:1 – 10
The failure of desire
“Carving” – Greek word for (unrestrained)
gratification. Natural or sinful.
(Hedonism – philosophy that the pursuit of pleasure or happiness is the highest
good.)
Problem: Christian hedonism.
We do things to feel good, pleasure, happiness… unaccepting of pain. Mistake emotion and energy for truth.
I. The symptoms
of this crisis of desire.
A. Fighting:
1. [v 1] Internal battle.
a. Romans 7:15: I don’t
know what I’m doing, because I don’t do what I want
to do. Instead, I do the thing that I hate.
b. Romans 7:19: I don’t do the good that I want to do, but I do the evil that I don’t want to do.
c. Romans 7:24: I’m
a miserable human being. Who will deliver me from this
dead corpse?
d. Psychologist call this “cognitive
dissonance” (the difference/tension between
what we believe and how we live our life)
“Action changes belief.”
2. [v 2] External battle.
a. Insist on our own way/will – opposed
to someone else.
b. Become angry – anger is considered “sincere”
in American society – it means
we get what we want.
3. RESULTS:
a. We can become bitter – deep,
nagging, unconscious anger.
b. Prayer is replaced by effort.
B. Selfishness [v 3]:
1. Wrong motives (NIV)…
a. Literally “evil intentions” (in
character, influence, effect)
b. 1 John 2:15 – 16: Don’t
love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in them. 16 Everything
that is in the world—the craving for whatever the body feels, the craving for whatever
the eyes see and the arrogant pride in one’s
possessions—is not of the Father but is of the world.
2. Pleasures (lust/desire/craving)
3. RESULT:
a. Prayer is rejected
b. God does not grant the request
C. World likeness (“worldly”)
1. [v 4] A friendship with the world:
a. James calls this an adulterous
relationship: “unfaithful”
b. It makes us an “enemy” of God. [Back to our condition before we were saved,
see Romans 5]
2. [v 6] Pride is the root.
a. Opposed to God?
b. Opposed by God.
II. Strategies
to curb desire.
A. Know what the real battle is…
spiritual warfare [v 7]
1. Submit to God
a. Acknowledge (confess and repent)
sin.
b. Accept the gift of Jesus shed blood
on the cross.
c. Actually obey, don’t pretend.
2. Resist the devil
a. Military term – “to arrange in
battle against”
b. To take up battle position against
the devil.
1.) Recognize where the battle is:
REALITY: we spend too much time distracted and too much
energy wasted on each other.
Ephesians 6:12: We
aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces
of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens.
B. Clean up your act. [v 8]
1. Come near to God… TO DO
a. Our responsibility is to cooperate
with God.
b. Basic things to do:
1.)
Read/study the Bible
2.) Pray
3.) Attend church
2. Wash/purify: TO GET RID OF
a. Our responsibility is to cooperate
with God.
b. Basic things we can do:
1.) Consider your environment
(distractions and temptations)
2.) Is there something you cannot do
without? (it’s called an “addiction”
and most of them are not healthy.)
C. Humble yourself [vv 9 – 10]
1. The idea of humble = to agree with
God.
a. We agree that God is God and we are
not.
b. We understand our place…
c. We consider others.
2. The idea of grieve = genuine sorrow and
need.
a. Literally James is asking us to “be distressed.”
b. This happens when we put things into
perspective.
REALITY: When we are not grateful we think we deserve more. (We put Thanksgiving before Christmas so we
can acknowledge the source of the gifts we receive.)
III. The
rewards of conquering desire.
A. We feel peace.
1. We stop fighting with ourselves and
each other and do real battle with the enemy.
2. We endure fewer self-inflicted,
strife induced problems.
3. We enjoy more victories.
B. We feel “clean.”
1. Doing God’s will/work brings
satisfaction.
2. Avoid weakening ourselves with
conflict’s style:
(ill) Think of monkeys as cares/anxieties/desires. Monkeys need to be fed or they die and rot
and stink. Monkeys that are fed become
big ugly gorillas. Gorillas have their
way… we feel dirty, ugly, guilty, empty, without energy.
Moral: DO NOT PICK UP MONKEYS!!!!
C. God will lift you up
1. Freeing to know God will take care
of business. (The monkeys)
2. Relieves stress to let God do what
God does.
3. Glorious seeing prayer answered.