Jul. 16, 2025

“ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD”

“LET’S STOP FIGHTING”

JAMES 4:1-10

War is a fact of life, in spite of treaties, world peace organizations, and the threat of atomic bombs.

So James discusses this important theme of fighting or war and he explains there were three wars going on in the world. He will also tell us how these wars can be stopped.

1.  We Are At War With Each Other- James 4:1

James 4:1 “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?”

People have a problem getting along. James has already mentioned several kinds of disagreement among believers:

• Class Wars (2:1-9)
• Employment wars (5:1-6)
• Church fights (1:19-20, 3:13-18)
• Personal wars (4:11-12)

Philippians 1:9-10 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.”

Matthew 7:1-5

We are not called to be judges; God is the only judge.

Jesus prayed:

John 17:21 “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

2.  We Are War With Ourselves- James 4:1-3

James 4:1 “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” 

Their problem? “Wars and fights”- we have wars, skirmishes, and individual attacks.

James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

And disorder and wickedness are the results of our own “jealousy and selfish ambition.”

James 3:16 “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”

vs.1 “pleasure” the Greek word (hedone) literally means enjoyments, this includes the desire to be successful, the desire to use your gifts and talents, the desire for relationships, for food, for leisure, for the necessities of life.

Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

*Selfish desires are dangerous things:

James 4:2 “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” 

Of course, few people actually commit murder in a literal sense, but we are all guilty of murder in our hearts and with our lips:

Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”

John 16:24 “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Fighters fail to pray. But some may object, “I’ve prayed and prayed for such-and-such, but He still hasn’t given me what I want!” James has an answer for this:

James 4:3 “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

The apostle John helps balance our perspective on prayer:

1 John 3:22 “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”

1 John 5:14 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

Now James addresses his readers as severely as any other passage in Scripture:

3.  We Are War With God- James 4:4-10

The root cause of war, internal and external, is rebellion against God.

James 4:4 “Adulterers and adulteresses! 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.”

How does a believer declare war against God? By being friendly with His enemies.

“World” here is the Greek word (kosmos) Here it refers to the world system at odds with God.

To sum up, frustrated inner desires lead to murderous thoughts, arguments, failure to pray, and prayer with wrong motives (4:1-3).

*The Prescription:

James 4:5 “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?”

So what is James saying? There are at least four possibilities:

*First, the human spirit, given to us when God created Adam, “envies intensely.”

*Second, God is intensely jealous for us to honor Him with our spirits.

*Thirdly, God’s Spirit within us is intensely jealous for our faithfulness.

*Fourthly, God is intensely jealous for us to honor Him by the Holy Spirit living in us.

God wants control of your life by His Spirit, and that means relinquishing your own control.

Galatians 5:16-18 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

James 4:6 “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

• Applying The Cure To Our Lives- James 4:7-10

James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Initially we must submit to God. This is an imperative, a command. 

Following the philosophy of the world is to follow the demonic worldly wisdom:

James 3:15 “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.”

This is the opposite of of following God. “Resist” stand against, and let God fight the battle. Satan will flee.

Then James tells us:

James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”

The Spirit seals us for redemption:

Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

And we have been given everything we need:

2 Peter 1:3 “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.”

Then how do we “draw near to God” in our personal relationship with Him? The next verses provide the answer in rapid fashion:

James 4:8-10 “…Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

• “Cleanse your hands”- stop sinning, doing evil.
• “Purify your hearts”- stop thinking evil.
• “Lament and morn and weep!”- feel remorse for your wickedness.
• “Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.”

James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

“ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD”

“PLANNING AHEAD”

JAMES 4:11-17

Psalm 33:11 “The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.”

James pointed out three attitudes toward the will of God. Of course, only one of them is the correct one, the one that every Christian ought to cultivate.

1.   Ignoring God's Will (4:11-14, 16)

James 4:11-12 “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”

We are not to judge our brethren in Christ, vengeance is mine says the Lord.

But James presented four arguments that revealed the foolishness of ignoring the will of God.

* The Complexity of Life (4:13) 

James 4:13 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit.”

• The Uncertainty of Life (4:14a)

James 4:14 “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

This statement is based on Proverbs 27:1"Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

Their attitude reminds us of the farmer in the parable of Jesus:

Luke 12:16-21

"And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry'" (v. 19).

What was God's reply to this man's boasting?

vs.20 ”Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee" 

Life is not uncertain to God, but it is uncertain to us. Only when we are in His will can we be confident of tomorrow, for we know that He is leading us.

*The Brevity of Life (4:14b) 

James 4:14 “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

James borrowed that figure from the Book of Job where you find many pictures of the brevity of life.

Job 7:6 "My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And are spent without hope.”

Job 7:9 "As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,
So he who goes down to the grave does not come up."

Job 8:9 "For we were born yesterday, and know nothing,
Because our days on earth are a shadow.”

Job 9:25-26 “Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. 26They pass by like swift ships,
Like an eagle swooping on its prey.” 

This is referring to the royal couriers that hastened in their missions.

Job 14:1-2 “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. 2He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.”

Ps. 90:12 “So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Knowing and obeying the Word of God is the surest way to success 

Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Psalm 1:3 “He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”

*The Frailty of Man (4:16)

James 4:16 “But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” 

Man's boasting only covers up man's weakness.

Prov. 16:33 “The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord.” 

2.   Disobeying God's Will (4:17)

James 4:17 “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

2 Peter 2:21 “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.”

Why do people who know the will of God deliberately disobey it?

Luke 12:47-48 “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”

What happens to Christians who deliberately disobey the known will of God? (Heb. 12:5-11)

Disobeying God's will today may not seem a serious thing, but it will appear very serious when the Lord returns and examines our works 

Colossians 3:22-25

3.   Obeying God's Will (4:15)

James 4:15 “Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”

To be sure, there are some things that must be true of all Christians. It is God's will that we yield ourselves to Him (2 Cor. 8:5). It is God's will that we avoid sexual immorality (1 Thes. 4:3). All Christians should rejoice, pray, and thank God (1 Thes. 5:16-18). 

The will of God is "tailor-made" for each of us!

*God wants us to understand His will 

Ephesians 5:17 “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

We must also prove God's will (Rom. 12:2). The Greek verb means "to prove by experience." We learn to determine the will of God by working at it.

People who keep asking, "How do I determine God's will for my life?”

The secret of a happy life is to delight in duty. When duty becomes delight, then burdens become blessings. 

"Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage" (Ps. 119:54). 

What are the benefits of doing the will of God?

The Christian who knows, loves, and obeys the will of God will enjoy God's blessing. His life may not be easier, but it will be holier and happier.

His very food will be the will of God (John 4:34); it will be the joy and delight of his heart (Ps. 40:8).