1181. What Do You Really Want? pt. 1

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. This week on The Daily Platform, we're featuring sermons preached from the Bob Jones University 2021 Bible Conference with the theme of sanctification. Today's sermon is the first in this series preached by Pastor Will Golkin of Gospel Grace Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. In James chapter 4, he starts with two questions. He says, From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lust, that war in your members? He says, You lust and have not, you kill, desire to have, cannot obtain. You fight in war, yet you have not, because you ask not, you ask and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts. You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do you think that the Scriptures saith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy, but he giveth more grace?

Therefore, he said, God resisted the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, he'll draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be afflicted, mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness.

Humble yourself from the side of the Lord and he shall lift you up. You cannot go in two directions at once. Anyone who watches or plays sports knows this. It's all about using momentum to your advantage, whether it's judo, basketball, football, or soccer. My favorite European club is Liverpool Football Club. They are presently the reigning champions of the EPL, but they're not doing too well right now. But last season, they had two wingers who were at their peak.

Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah. These dudes were otherworldly. They were just unbelievable. They're videos. I mean, just whole collections of videos on YouTube of these guys just making defenders look silly. These guys are the stuff legends tell us about. Their ability to twist and turn and put the ball through the defender's legs and then score on them. You just watch it and you just stand in awe because what they would do is they would so juke the other players.

The players were just a demonstration. You cannot go in two directions at once. And that's the point of our text.

Spiritually, you cannot go two directions at once. James, he gives us a term. In fact, some think that he coined it. We see it in verse 8.

If you look there, it's the last word. He double-minded. Purify your hearts, you double-minded. He uses the same term in James 1, verse 8. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. In chapter 2 and 3, he's just saying you can't go in two directions at once. You can't use your tongue to praise God in a worship service and then gossip and slander people in private.

You can't be evil towards those that are poor and somehow think that doing good to rich people, that it all works out. He says you can't go two directions at once. And then in James chapter 3, he talks about these people that they think they're spiritual but they have wisdom from below. And he says you think you're spiritual, stop lying to yourself.

You're living in a manner with bitter envy and jealousy. That's wisdom from below. That's not wisdom from above because wisdom that's from above is holy, peaceable, and teachable.

You cannot go two directions at once. So if we were to take our text and we were just to state it in a propositional manner, our relational issues often reveal a rebellious heart that is opposed to the will of God. However, God's grace is enough to give us a wholeheartedness for Him. Our relational issues reveal a rebellious heart that is opposed to the will of God.

However, God's grace is enough to give us a wholeheartedness for Him. And so as we work through James 4, 1 through 10, we're going to unfold it with really three main thoughts. The problem of our divided heart, God's grace for our divided heart, and a prescription for our divided heart. And so if we look at that first thought, the problem of our divided heart is in verse 1 through verse 3. From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence even of your lust that warn your members, you lust have not, you kill, desire to have, cannot obtain, you fight in war yet you have not because you ask not, you ask and receive not because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lust.

The problem of our divided heart. You know, if I was to come in here and I was to begin to say you're rebellious, you're idolatrous, you've got these idols that cause you to drift from God. We all nod, we kind of give the uh-huh, but I think a lot of us would just go right over us. We'd stay distracted in here this morning. We'd be thinking about other things.

We'd be prepping for our fundraisers and our friend events and whatever else is going on today, but we just kind of head nod. But what James does is he starts with the exteriors, the things that are easy for us to see, and he begins to slowly work into the heart. You see the problem of our divided heart is manifested through our divisiveness. It's manifested through our wars. Where do the wars and fightings come from?

One commentator said, he said I think we should just entitle this section, the scriptures, like why can't we just all get along? How many of you can think of a difficult person for you to get along with? Would you raise your hand? Do not point. Do not raise your hand for this next one.

How many of you have a roommate that's a little bit difficult to live with? Do not raise your hand. This guy, he didn't even raise his hand.

He just patted his roommate. That's, that's sweet. Have you ever thought, you know, it's just all their issue? Well, I wish they would just change. I just wish they, I just wish they weren't so awkward to quote Brother Steve.

I just wish they were just a little bit, you know, not, well bless their hearts. Where are the wars? Where do the fightings come from?

You see questions cause us to answer. What's their issue? What's their problem?

Why don't you like them? All these wars, we see the terminology on this text. He says the contentiousness, the unfaithfulness, the worldliness, the pride, all these things, the result, the wars and the fightings and the murders, these outward manifestations. The double minded believers in chapter three, they're full of bitter envy, strife, confusion, and every evil practice. You know, when you ask that question, where are the wars and fighting from? It causes us to focus on that other person.

I mean, if they would just wake up on time, if they just turn off their alarm, I mean, if they just clean up after themselves, I'm telling you, if they just go to class on time, if they just do their laundry, we point our fingers. And yet what does he do? He burrows in, he said, he said, where does it come from? And he answers the question with a question, come they not hence even of your lust that war in your members, this inward motivation for our divided heart. I just want something.

I have this desire. He says, so why is that the wars and fightings? Well, it's because the desires that are in your heart, if you look at verses one and two, you, you see three words that tell us about these desires.

They're, they're, they're translated in the version that we're preaching from as lost in verse one and then lost again in verse two. And then we see that word desire. He says, so, so where are the wars come from? They come from the desires.

Well, what's those desires. Well, it's our sinful human nature. It's our flesh at salvation. The old man died, the new man lives, but the flesh lingers for the Christian theologically sin no longer reigns, but it does remain. That's why Paul and Galatians said for the flesh lust against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. These are contrary one to the other.

So you cannot do the things that you would. So that first lost in verse one is he'd on a it's, it's, it's a desire or a craving for a pleasure, some central indulgence, a desire for, for what we can see. In verse two that lost, you want it very much zealous in, in, in the second desire in verse two, you to be filled with jealousy and envy and sinful ambition. It's this pleasure for some form of gratification right now, my way. Now, now I just want you to know something as we're talking about pleasure though, do not, do not conflate the two concepts. You've got pleasure, but then you've got pleasure outside of God's way and God's time. If you put those together, that's that sinful pleasure, but pleasure in of itself is a good thing. Who made pleasure? Have you ever read Screwtape letters? Who's read Screwtape letters?

Uncle Screwtape's writing to his nephew Wormwood and he says this, never forget. Then when we're dealing with any pleasure, it is healthy and normal and satisfying. We are in a sense on the enemy's ground. I know we've won many a soul through pleasure all the same. It's his invention, not ours. He made the pleasures, all of our research so far has not enabled us to produce one pleasure. All we can do is encourage the humans to take the pleasures, which our enemy has produced at times or in ways or in degrees, which he has forbidden. God is the giver of good gifts, but Satan loves to take a good gift and make it a primary thing.

Satan loves to take a good thing and turn it into a bad thing. I mean, for example, I mean, who likes food? Who likes food? Who's hungry right now? Well, so am I because I thought Chick-fil-A was open this morning.

I may or may not be very bitter, but it's not food that's sinful. It's too much food, right? What about relaxation? We had a phrase when we used to travel, no nap, no zap. How many of you have taken a nap in the last week, right? How many are going to take a nap today?

Naps are not bad, but how many of you have ever slept when you should have not been sleeping, right? It's not the pleasure. It's not the good gift that in itself is sinful or treasure. It's a good thing to enjoy the good gifts of God, to enjoy the nice items. But have you ever taken a good gift of God and made it into your God or friendship? Friendship is wonderful, but have you ever fallen prey to the fear of man?

Have you ever been more consumed with what somebody thinks about you than what God thinks about you? Yes. Academics, it's good that you study, all right? Don't walk away from here thinking I'm saying it's bad to study.

But have you ever taken your desire for a GPA and made it the main thing? What about order and organization? I was the youngest child of three. I had two older sisters, and they always arranged my stuff. They'd stop touching my stuff.

They would fix it, leave my stuff alone. Competition, I love competition. I love watching sports. I love all those things, but how many of us have ever taken a good thing and turned it into a sinful thing because we made it our main thing? It could be that you've got this desire to be the best theologian. You've got this desire to be the best pastor. You've got this desire to be the best at whatever, and yet you've taken this good gift of God and you've made it your main thing. Paul Tripp said a desire for a good thing becomes a bad thing when that desire becomes the ruling thing. Even a good thing can become a bad thing when it becomes the main thing. John Calvin said the heart of man is an idol factory, and what begins to happen is we take these little gifts.

This is the propensity of man. This is our bent is to take the things we see and make them bigger than God. In fact if you were to walk away from this morning with one concept it would be this. I want you to walk away with the concept that your idol is what you desire. The question that you need to ask yourself today when you get angry, the question you need to answer yourself when you fall to pray to the same old life dominating sin, the question you need to answer when you get angry or upset at somebody is what did I really want? What do I really want?

You see we could drill into behavior all day long but many of us would never be the different for it. We could talk about the need to change and I need to try harder but what needs to happen is we need to go deeper and drill into the realm of our affections and you need to answer what do you really want because that's your idol. How many of you know one or two of your own idols like like like if I was just to sit down with you and I go so what's your idol and you look at me and you just go well and maybe laugh because it's so obvious. How many of you know some of your own idols?

Would you lift your hand? Do you want to know mine are? Who wants to know my idol? As I study this passage, this has been a life passage for me as I've gone over it a number of times. You know I keep on coming up to the same idol and I got all these like surface idols.

I like this or I like this or like this. Can I just sum up Will Galkin's life and I want the maximum amount of public praise with the least amount of private effort. That's me. I want all the benefits of hard work without the responsibility.

What's your idol? What do you want? You know the product of these desires, frustration, conflict, and silence.

He says verse two and three you lust have not you kill desire to have cannot obtain you fight or you have not because you ask not you ask receive not because you ask amiss that you may consume it upon your lust. The inward frustration that the mood swings the anxiety the anger the depression. I mean how many college students have had seasons where they go in their dorm room and nobody else is there and they're just depressed.

They don't even know why they're depressed. They left their dorm room all happy but somewhere between leaving the room and going back to the room there was some expectation not met. Their idol was popped. Their conversation didn't go well. They were looking for the praise of men.

They were looking for somebody to complement their outfit. They were looking for something in a friendship or relationship and it didn't happen and they go back to their room and they're depressed. Inward frustration you lust have not you kill desire to have you cannot obtain you fight war have not ask receive not. I mean can you think of a bible illustration of somebody who wanted something very much and it didn't satisfy? What about Amnon? What does Amnon want? Who does he want? I don't think he wanted her actually. What did he want? He sets up a circumstance tries to convince Tamar to sleep with him. She won't so he rapes her and what does the bible say? With the same passion he had for her now he what?

He hated her. Do you know idols do not satisfy? Because idols cannot satisfy. How many times have you fallen for your own idol to be left there in despair depression and discouragement? How many times you chase the praise of man? How many times you've gone after your academic leveling up and you got there and it didn't satisfy?

How many times have you bought something and you're left there with a broken item and it didn't satisfy? Why? Because idols cannot satisfy.

They do not have the capacity to put life in your soul and that's why there's relational conflict. You see what he does here is he goes full circle. He writes this in almost with the chiasm.

What does he does? He goes fights and quarrels verse one. They come from wrong desires second part of verse one but then the frustrated desire in in verse two leads to quarrels and fighting. He kind of he she promotes a this endless cycle of how I want something and so I crash into a relationship and it doesn't satisfy and and I want something and and then I mess with the relationship and it doesn't satisfy. You see people are reduced down to becoming our agents or walls that agents to get our desires or walls in front of our desires. You see when I I want something very much I don't look at people's image bearers and how I can help them make it safely home. I look at people as little agents to get to my idol or I look at people as walls that are in front of my idol and so now I use people or I fight with people and I war with people because I've got something of a desire in my soul. So rather than love and serve I use people. You ever seen this couple it's like puppy love they just like all all just fun and like two little puppies and they're just like fun and love and then all sudden they're like they're like they're still together but they're clingy and they're like angry and they're like jealous and I mean I this is this is this happened so long ago but I remember we're doing this like youth evangelism thing and one of the guys that was with us and he had this rubber band he shoots it into the shoots it into the crowd of teens and it hits this girl and this guy comes out and goes don't be shooting rubber bands on my girlfriend and we're all like touchy touchy touchy well what's going on with that clingy possessive manipulative controlling behavior well well she's giving up the physical to get the emotional and he's giving up the emotional to get the physical they don't love each other it's not puppy love it's not even love it's it's animal lost it's like I'm gonna use you to get what I want it's it's manipulation it's fear driven that's why we gossip and destroy others because because I feel better if I can tear somebody else down that's why we pick on the weak that's why we destroy others that's why we cheat on tests that's why we lie to people because I want something see rather than love and serve I use people to get to my desires rather than love and serve I destroy people to get to my desires I quarrel I fight I wore that this murder that he's talking about it was a camper at a camp I was working at and this girl she made up this whole story about her dad dying and she told the story and all the staff is just kind of like you know really focused on her and turns out that her dad didn't die and I called her and the mom and I said so so what happened why did you tell that story I mean she said it this clearly I I just I just felt like life works better so she commits this imaginary murder of her dad dying so she can get attention and heavenly silence you see when I'm going after idols heavens the heavens are silent prayerlessness one because I just know I know if I'm addicted to my idol I'm I'm living this self-dependent life this proud life where it's all about me why should I pray I just gonna go get what I want you have not because you asked not we do not trust God to work there's a self sufficiency you see the humble spirit says Lord I just want your will today father I'll I'll just walk with you today whatever you bring into my life I mean God I just trust you I'm gonna work hard and trust you but when you can wake up and you go all day with your little planner and you get through all your little plans and you check off all the boxes and you pillow your head and you don't even talk to God something's broken that's not Christian a self how's bail working for you is he providing all your needs how's a straw mowek they don't satisfy because they don't live selfish praying this heavenly silence is because of prayerlessness you have not because you ask not but you ask and receive not because you ask a miss that you may consume it on your lust it's just um it makes no sense some of our prayers reveal such deep idolatry you should be broken over this you should be bothered by this you should listen to your prayers like stop stop in the middle of your prayer time and say what did I just pray dear Lord please heal my roommate because it's really irritating when they cough dear Lord help me on this test I did not study for because I meant to dear Lord please provide $10,000 so I never have to depend on you again dear Lord give me my idol because I like it a lot dear Lord please give me time to just binge on a show that destroys my soul dear Lord hurt them because they're taking away my best friend dear Lord let them die so I can date their boyfriend hmm I heard you seriously replay your prayers you might run into an idol you see our idols they get in the way of our relationship with God straight up who can think of one or two idols would you lift your hand double-mindedness it's a problem but we see the second thought we want to look at is God's grace for our divided heart you see God is not passive in our sanctification he is the initiator our ability to love him is that he first loved us God's grace is evident from this passage you you see we're gonna see that God is hostile to our divided heart he's jealous for our whole heart and he's gracious to work in us a whole heart verse 4 through 6 tells us it just starts off that God is hostile towards our divided heart you adulterers and adulteresses knowing not that friendship the world is enmity with God whosoever there shall be a friend the world is the enemy of God God resists the proud God is against sin God hates idols God hates idolatry I mean just read the Old Testament all throughout the Old Testament you see how God is warring against his covenant people these are the people that he entered into the Abrahamic covenant with these are the people that they're in this this unbelievable relationship with and yet God is saying I hate your idols and I hate your idolatry we see here from verse four and five you cannot love God in the world at the same time you just don't have the capacity for that you see God think with me the first three of the Ten Commandments what is it thou shall have what no other gods before me you see you can't go in two directions at once everything has to be rightly ordered that you have to love the Lord thy God with all the heart soul and mind you're to love God first and all the other loves are to be ordered under it when you try to put God and and your idol right next to each other it just doesn't work the Old Testament imagery is that when the people of Israel worshiped idols they were called adulteresses they were they were going astray they were playing the harlot they there's there's other more intense words that the Old Testament uses to describe people that are going outside of their covenant relationship to receive satisfaction Isaiah 54 talks about Israel as as the wife and then in Hosea to use the illustration it says for their mother played the harlot so when James is saying you adulteress and adulteresses he's not talking about a physical immorality though it could include that he's talking about a spiritual immorality you adulteress and adulteresses you're going outside of your covenant relationship to find satisfaction you cannot love God in the world at the same time the New Testament theology is that prior to salvation the Christian was separate from God Ephesians 2 12 through 16 and after and and you were the enemies of God Romans 5 verse 10 but after salvation you're one with Christ Galatians 2 20 you're friends with God Romans 5 10 but the present reality is that some of us are more comfortable with the world than we are with God or his people that should bother you you should be concerned we actually think that it's possible to keep both relationships going we're so blinded to our sin that the very nature of adultery is you're trying to keep two relationships going at the same time you're trying to keep all the blessings of being in this covenant relationship you're trying to keep all that without the responsibility of being given over wholly to that spouse you're you're trying to find some pleasure whether it's emotional or sexual or something over in another world and you think that you can keep it all going I mean that that's why adultery comes out I mean that's why movies have adultery because it creates suspense are they going to be found out I mean it are people going to hear about this that's why when we hear of the downfall of an icon or somebody that we've hold dear to our heart and we hear of their failures it's so shocking because they were they were thinking that it was hidden look at this text he's like no you not it's like it's like duh do you think duh it doesn't work does it doesn't work you cannot be a friend of God and a friend the world it he uses just this stern language not only as he calls adulteress adulteress this but he goes no you're not that friendship the world is enmity with God whosoever therefore be a friend the world is the enemy of God can I tell you something God is against your idols and that's a good thing sometimes in our day and age we talk much of God's grace and his forgiveness but can I tell you God is holy and he hates idols and he hates your idolatry and he is opposed to it and that is a good thing you've been listening to the first part of a sermon preached by Pastor Will Galkin from the 2021 Bible Conference at Bob Jones University join us again tomorrow when we'll hear the conclusion of this sermon on The Daily Platform.