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Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip.
Now, here's what we notice as we dig into these verses. Not only does this Internal conflict Spill out into relationships with other people, but it also. Spills out into our relationship with God. Look at verse 2. You fight in war, that's with other people.
Yet you do not have because you do not ask. And some of your translations say, Because you do not ask God. That is what is implied.
Now, he's not saying, you know, if you would only pray about it, God would give you all your selfish desires. He's not saying that at all. What he is saying, however, is that you ought to, by prayer, have left it with God and walked away. Leave it with him. Trust him with it.
Yeah, you do not have because you do not ask. You ask, verse 3, that is, you pray about it. And you do not receive because you ask amiss or for the wrong motive that you may splend it or spend it on your. Pleasures. Have you read Psalm 37, where David said, Delight yourself in the Lord?
Do you know the rest of the verse? And he will give you the desires of your heart. Beautiful text. often misinterpreted to mean Just Get into God, and He'll give you every one of your little heart's desires. I don't think that's what it means.
I think what it means is when you make much of God and put him first and seek his glory, you delight yourself in the Lord, God will actually. Give you his desires. Implant the right desires in your heart. He'll give you the desires of your heart so that what you desire is what God desires. What James says Is even when you pray, you ask.
Amiss. I hope you realize that not all praying honors God. Not all prayers are pleasing to God. You recall that Jesus. Gave a story about two men.
This is Luke chapter 18. He said, Two men. went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other was a tax collector. And it says this: He said, the Pharisee stood.
and prayed thus with himself. He wasn't even addressing God. He just wanted to pray out loud and listen to himself praying and go, man, I'm good. That was an awesome prayer, I just said.
So he stood and he prayed with himself, and this is what he prayed: God, I thank you that I am not like other men. Unjust adulterers. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And I especially thank you that I'm not like that guy.
The tax collector. Jesus continued and said, Well, that tax collector was so ashamed he wouldn't even lift his eyes toward heaven, but he beat on his breast and said, Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Jesus said, It's that man, not the first man, that man that was justified and right before God because he had the right attitude of heart. You see, some of our prayers That should be Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, are actually more, my kingdom come, my will be done. And James says as much.
The conflict starts on the inside, spills to the outside, and even affects. Your prayer relationship. I wrote something down that I found helpful. I hope you find this helpful as well. When you pray, when the request is not right.
God says no. When the timing is not right, God says slow. When you're not right, God says, grow. But when the request is right and the timing is right and you are right, God says, go.
So James is saying God doesn't always say go. Because you're not right or the request is not right. you're actually praying amiss.
So, first step: recognize the source. Second step, to overcoming conflict. Realize The consequence. Realize the consequence. What is that?
Look at verse 4. Adulterers and adulteress's exclamation point. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?
But he gives more grace. Therefore he says God resists The proud. but gives grace. To the humble This is very serious. language, even harsh.
I mean to Talk to somebody in your church and say, adulterer? Adulterous? And again, you know, you end chapter three with peace and righteousness, and so you wonder.
So, did James go to lunch after chapter three, and then he had a really bad lunch experience, and now he's in a bad mood? No, I assure you that didn't happen. What is happening is this: he's addressing a Jewish audience. Very familiar with the metaphor adulter, adulterous, because in the Old Testament, There are several prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea. who all employ this term Referring to God's own people.
Why would God use that term referring to his own people? They were unfaithful. to the relationship they had with God. They were, in effect, spiritual adulterers. They were going out on God.
Even though they had a covenant with God. That's the idea of adulteresses or. adulterer. Here's the point James is making. You can get to a point.
When you are striving for what you want, So much that you not only fight other people and alienate other people, but you find yourself fighting God and alienating God, making God yourself. Enemy. Ruining the relationship that you have with God. Because God doesn't want to be your enemy. He wants to be your friend.
Jesus said to his own disciples, From now on, I don't call you my servants, I call you my friends. That's the relationship God wants to have with us.
Now when James is writing this, he is not suggesting that they could lose their salvation, but he is suggesting that they can flatline their relationship with God by holding on to strife. Think of it. Jesus said to Peter, his friend Get behind me, Satan. Remember when Jesus said that to Peter? Get behind me, Satan.
You are not thinking like God thinks, but like man thinks. Why would he say that? Because Peter was acting like an enemy, not a friend. Peter was trying to keep Jesus. from fulfilling the will of his Father by going to the cross.
Likewise, we can do the same thing. Did you know? That you can be a Christian. But a worldly Christian? Have you heard the term carnal Christian before?
It's right out of 1 Corinthians. The first few chapters, it pops up a few times. Carnal Christian, or I couldn't address you as spiritual, but carnal. This is how Paul wrote it: 1 Corinthians chapter 3. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual people.
But as carnal, As babes in Christ. Who is he writing to? He's writing to Christians, to believers. But Believers who are fighting, quarreling, and abiding. Just like we find in the book of James.
To be carnal is to be caught between two Spheres. Flesh and spirit. Two kingdoms, kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. I would describe a carnal Christian this way. He is enough of Jesus to be saved.
But he has enough of the world to be miserable while he's saved. He could be so much better off, so much happier, but like a spiritual fence sitter, not knowing really which way to end up, a little bit like Jesus today, a little bit like the world tomorrow, and they're sitting and tottering on the fence, knowing that fence, not knowing that fence is about to crash down. And you fall on one side or the other.
So recognize the source, second. Realize the consequence, what it is costing you spiritually. Third step in overcoming conflict. Repent of your attitude. Repent of your attitude.
Verse. Seven True 10.
Now, let me tell you something as we read this. Verses seven through ten are a series of commands, short, little. There's ten of them, short little staccato commands. One after the other. Therefore submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep.
Let your laughter be turned to mourning, your joy to gloom. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up. We always underline that last verse. We usually don't underline the verse right before that. But that's a whole series of commands.
I'm going to take you first to verse 8. Because this is the proper order in real life. The proper order in real life is Repentance must take place as soon as you discover you've offended God. This is Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to Skiff's teaching, Do you ever feel stuck when it comes to studying the Bible?
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Verse 8, the second part. He says Purify your hearts or cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Those are ceremonial words. A Jewish priest would wash their hands before a sacrifice.
That's the language he is employing for his Jewish audience. But then Verse 9, lament. And mourn And weep. You see, there's nothing, there's not even a hint of. Make an excuse for yourself.
You know, just tell people, well, I'm Irish. I get upset. It's just sort of who I am. Or, well, I'm hot-blooded Hispanic. You know, it's just, it's the way we are.
No excuses. He says, lament. Morn. And weep. These are all words that describe repentance.
Turning from what you know is wrong as soon as you discover that it is wrong. In the Bible, unbelievers are told to repent, but did you know that believers are also? Told to repent? In 1 John chapter 1, John writes, If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Then in Revelation chapter 2 and 3, Jesus writes seven little short letters to seven. church congregation, seven letters to seven churches. In six of those seven letters, Jesus tells the churches. Repent. Repent.
Repent, repent. Repent. Repent. He tells them to turn from something that is offending him. And repentance means I acknowledge that what I am doing or living like is not pleasing to God.
And I mourn because of it. That's the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit. Followed by blessed are those who mourn. That's salvation.
You first recognize I'm poor in spirit, I'm poverty-stricken before God, I have nothing that I can earn my way to earn God's favor, I got nothing, I'm bankrupt. And I thus mourn over it. And Jesus said, Happy or blessed, happy are those who mourn. The quickest way to joy is to mourn over what you know is standing in the way of joy. which is Sammy.
So James is very upfront about this. And I was reading a little book called Sold Out by two authors, Richard Gantz and William Edgar. One little quip in particular, they wrote this. Churches want to hear nice Optimistic messages. free of the mention of sin or a call for repentance.
Churches want nice, lean programs. directed at nice, clean families, leading to growth. Without sacrifice. They want their organization to become bigger and bigger, even as their God becomes smaller. and smaller.
If you want your God to be bigger and bigger and your life to be better and better, then at some point we must repent of the attitude that is fighting God and his people to get our own way.
So, to resolve conflict, you recognize the source, it's within. Realize the consequence. It hurts my relationship heavenward and repent of. Our attitude. Fourth step.
to overcoming conflict. Resist. The devil, verse 7, resist the devil. Therefore, submit to God, verse 7, resist. I love this.
Resist the devil and he will flee. From you. Why would James Feel the need to mention the devil when talking about conflict resolution. Easy answer. Because the devil is the one who wants you to fight your brother.
The devil would love it if instead of fighting the real enemy out there, you fight each other with your swords and cut each other to pieces. You see, the devil was the original fighter. He was the original rebel. Satan started the first war, a war in heaven that took out a third of the angels with him. He wanted what he wanted opposed to God's way.
And when you lift yourself up and strive to get your way, you are following in his footsteps. Also, when you resist the temptation to always be in control and have your own way, you are resisting the nature of Satan who wants you to act that way. Have you ever read The Screw Tape Letters by C.S. Lewis? Anybody remember that book?
Okay. I'm surprised that only a few of you have. I'd like to see an honest show of hands if you've read the book.
Okay, so. For the rest of y'all. Before you Kick the bucket. Read that book once, at least. you'll get some tremendous insight into the temptations of Satan in your life.
C. S. Lewis wrote it as if the devil named in the book Screw Tape is discipling a young demon on how to ruin people's lives. And he says this. My dear wormwood, this is Satan writing.
My dear Wormwood. The church is a fertile field. If you can keep them bickering over details, structure, money, property, personal hurts, and misunderstandings. But look at verse 6. And I love this, but he gives more grace.
We need a good injection of. Positivity about now, but he gives more grace. Therefore he says God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. That's good news, but it's sobering news. What verse 6 tells me is that if you don't resist the devil, you just might find that God will resist you.
Because if you don't resist the devil to make you proud and Awesome. I want you to know how cool I am. If you don't resist that, God resists you because God resists the proud. You see, you are never more like the devil. Than when you are proud, you are never more like Jesus than when you humble yourself.
Now, let me give you a fifth and final step in overcoming conflict. Finally. Rest in God. Rest in God. Actually, might edit that and say, run to God.
Notice in verse 7, 8, and verse 10, this composite command. Verse 7, therefore submit to God. Verse 8, draw near to God. And verse 10, humble yourselves in the sight. of the Lord.
See, it's one thing to Resist the devil. It's quite another thing to rest in God. It's one thing to run from the devil. It's another thing to run to God. Much better than seeing the backside of the devil.
is to see the face of God.
So To sum it up. This last point, I would just simply say. Pursue and Intimate. Relationship. With Christ.
Don't settle. For anything short of an intimate personal relationship. None of this. I go to church once a week, maybe. Every now and then, I think of God from time to time, pursue an intimate, Personal relationship.
To use Jesus' words, Abide in me. The word abide means maintain a close, intimate. connection with me. Abide in me. He said this, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it will be done for you.
Verse seven. Submit to God. It's a military command. It means to line up under. God's authority.
Like a soldier would take Orders from God. Any of you in the military ever?
Okay. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if your commanding officer tells you to go do something, but tells another soldier to go do something else. Do you say, wait a minute, I like what he's doing better. I want to do that. I don't want to do what you told me to do.
Would that happen? No, it wouldn't happen. Submit to God, line up under God, all of that to say this. If you say I gave my life to Christ. Did you?
Did you really give your life to Christ? Did you hand your life over to him and say, It's yours? I am all yours. Because if you did give your life to Christ, then why are you complaining that you don't have something? If you gave your life to Christ, then why are you jealous of somebody else's lot in life?
If you gave your life to Christ, why are you fighting another brother? or sister. Let God be God. Let God call the shots. Rest in him.
Rest in him. Leave things with him. And I love verse 8. This is where we must end. Drawn near to God.
He will draw near to you. If you go after God. He'll go after you. Don't you love the story of the prodigal son? Don't you love the part in the story?
Where the prodigal son wakes up and goes, Uh Duh. What am I doing? I gave up everything. I'm going back home. I'm going to beg for mercy.
And he starts going back home, and the story says, Jesus said, when his father saw him afar off. What did he do? He ran! He ran towards him and he embraced him and he welcomed him. You make one step toward God and he will sprint.
To you. You move one inch toward God and he will run to you. That's how much he loves you. We pursue the God, this is one of our axioms, who passionately pursues a lost world.
So, draw near to God. God will draw near to you. And if you do these five things, there are probably others that would help. But James gives us these five steps. Recognize the source.
Realize the consequence, repent of the attitude, resist the devil. Rest in God. in so many of the conflicts you have. will go away. They'll go away.
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