Church Wars // James 4

James 4 // Church Wars

 

Unfortunately for my triplets, they never had the chance to be an only child and one thing that is guaranteed to come with being a triplet is sibling rivalry.  I would say it all began at about 2 years old and the conflict comes and goes…but right now our biggest conflict is getting on the bus for school…me first, me first, I’m always in the middle, I don’t want to be last, I’m not going to school, oh yes you are, no, then I’m not going either, fine, I’ll get to sit all by myself…and the war goes on…and then dad has to put on the boxing gloves and try to bring peace to the conflict…just as much as anyone who has been a part of a large family knows what sibling rivalry is, so it if you’ve been around the church for a little while, you know what Church rivalry is…

Church conflict not something that any one of us are too unfamiliar with…we fight over doctrine, the direction and the dollars…what we believe, what  we hope for , where we find purpose all can and oftentimes become a conflict and issue of contention…and we put up the boxing gloves…yet in James terminology … we go to war…

 

Why are churches, new and old, conflict-prone?

• Is it because God calls difficult and damaged people into fellowship with him?
• Is it because our culture is ever - changing and sub-cultures are ever - evolving?
• Is it because there are so many different musical preferences and we are just driven by an entertainment culture?
• Is it because of the consumer-culture that has invaded our churches?
• Is it because of different interpretations of the Bible and different theologies?
• Is it because churches are liable to power-plays?
• Is it because people come from different church backgrounds, and expect their new church to be like their old church?
• Is it because people who feel they are losing influence and power use the church to gain their control back?
• Is it because people can get over-excited about small issues, like the colou of the new carpet?
• Is it because people in ministry sometimes find it difficult to work together?
• Is it because we are dealing with the most important issues in the world:
  • That God created us to be with Him and our sin separates us from him
  • That we are declare that through Christ all are saved and given eternal life
  • And that eternal life is something to be lived out right now…

 

 

Why is there war in the church?  (3 Reasons)

 

#1.  An Insatiable Appetite (v.1-3)

• • • • ENVY = driven by thing we cannot obtain, resulting in a deep feeling of discontentment or resentment.
      • LUST = driven by an intense desire for things you cannot have or should not have
      • PLEASURE = driven to satisfy pleasure often times through the things of the world.

 

This insatiable attitude breeds a culture where we:

• Cannot be grateful for what we have from God.
• Cannot rest in who we are in Christ
• Cannot celebrate the successes of others
• Cannot be secure from the snare of comparison and competition
• Cannot admit our own jealousies or insecurities
• Cannot be content because of the disorder on the inside.
• Cannot see answers to prayers (our prayers are blocked and hindered.

 

These attitudes unchecked will inevitably blind us to the good gifts God has already given us. It will undermine our ability to fulfill the role God has for us as a church.

 

#2. A friendship with the World (v.4-6)

 

• • • • You become a spiritual adulterer
      • You become an enemy of God
      • You stir the Jealousy of the Spirit

 

SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLES:

KING SOLOMON - 1 Kings 11:1-10 = flirtation with foreign women resulting in the DIVISION of the Kingdom of Israel.

KING HEZEKIAH - 2 Kings 20:12-19 = allowing the enemy access to God’s treasure eventually would lead to the CAPTIVITY and EXILE of Jerusalem…are we allowing the world to invade the inner court of our sanctuaries?  To gain access to what is God’s…if so we potentially put the church at a risk for captivity and exile…

PROPHETIC WARNING OF EZEKIEL — Ezekiel 16:26-29 = committed harlotry with Egypt; Assyria; and Babylon…you’re playing with world, flirting with these nations, because you were INSATIABLE.  I wasn’t enough for you God says…

 

Our pursuits in this world become dangerous when they violate our allegiance to God or activate His jealousy of us.

 

How do we stop wars in the church? (5 ways)

• • • #1.  Resist the devil. — are you in compliance with the devil, are you living out the resistance that stops his flow and power in your life.
    • #2.  Draw near to God — This is the command that bears a promise.  You draw near to God, He will draw near to you. 

 

Psalm 145:18 tells us that the Lord is near to all who call on him

Jeremiah 29:13 reminds us that if we seek God, we will find him when we seek Him with all our heart.

 

I love the worship song that says “The More I seek You, the more I find You”… our seeking of God is perpetual, its continuous, and indefinite…meaning if you want more wisdom, seek it and you will find more…if you want more passion, seek God and He will fill you with more joy, love, peace…

The Psalmist writes about a deer that pants for water, so my soul pants for you…are you thirsty today?

 

• • • #3. Purify your hearts. — Then James says, purify your hearts and cleanse your hands…you double-minded.  Remember, Paul fought this internal war in Romans 7, saying who will rescue me from this double-minded war…I do what I don’t want to do…and then he writes in chapter 8, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…

 

In the Bible, cleanliness means being pure, spotless, without blemish, in its perfect original and God-designed righteous state. Something can become “unclean” by being defiled, but to become clean means to restore something to its natural and innocent state.

Purity is found in the blood of Jesus Christ, symbolically cleansing you from all unrighteousness.   Are you washed in the blood? 

 

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:22).

 

• • • #4. Grieve your sin.
      • Lament — referring to a deep sorrow or regret often vocalize in songs or passionate expression, sometime public involving a ceremony of repentance.  This is why we offers songs that give you a voice to lament, this is why we have altars in our church, this is why we recite scripture…to lament…
      • Mourn — meaning to respond with a deep emotional sadness, emptiness, a longing for something that was lost…these are times when we get quiet with God, reflect on our sinful condition, contemplate the behaviors and actions of our sinful nature, and privately express our brokenness over the grieving of God’s spirit.
      • Weep — and sometimes we need to cry, we need to shed a tear, we need to release an actions that reflects these emotions…Psalm 56:8 says tat the Lord keeps count of my tears, he records my misery, and puts my tears in His bottle.  We cry tears in our adverstiy and affliction, but what about crying over the moments that we break the heart of God?

 

• • • #5. Humble Yourself in the Sight of God. — What does James mean here?  You don’t have the final say & what you say should not be spoken with evil intent…See the problem is so much the mouth as it is the heart…

….You don’t have to go too far and you are going to find yourself around imperfect, weak and sinful people. 

….Another reason is that its so much easier to point the finger than it is to show mercy. And walk alongside with somebody to love them through the change.

…..But James would say the hardest part of this struggle is the pride that is deep within us, that causes our heart to be deceived into thinking we’re more wiser, disciplined, and righteous than we really are.

 

It’s so much easier to take a convicting sermon and be thankful that somebody who isn’t here needs to hear it, rather than appreciate the sovereign grace of God that He placed you here because you needed to hear it.

 

…our judgment must be submitted to God’s judgment, we must keep our judgment of others in check with our humility to God…

 

Do not live outside or above the will of God. —James also tells us to rise above arrogance and presumption….don’t think you can live outside the will of God even if you choose to do so…your life is a vapor and God is sovereign over your time spent here on earth…

 

Proverbs 16:9 — “the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

Provers 27:1 — “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do no know what a day may bring”

Proverbs 19:21 — “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

 

James is not not giving us a magical phrase “thy will be done” that secures the future we’ve always wanted or desired…

• Your future is unpredictable and there is a mystery waiting to unfold, but God is the Only One who can promise you that the mystery of your future will play out His goodness in your life.
• He’s saying there is uncertainty, ambiguity and a path that is yet to be determined for your future, but God knows the plans He has for you, to prosper you and give you a hope and a future in Him and His purpose
• James is saying For with God all things are possible, with God all things work together for Good, with God you will not grow weary, with God you will run and not lose heart, with God you can do everything, with God you find contentment in every circumstance, whether high or low, plenty or in want, with God fear has no control over you.

 

From the lyrics of “Fear is not my future”

Let God turn it in your favor

Let God work it for your good

Fear is not your future

Sickness is not your story

Heartbreak is not your home

Death is not the end

 

So Hope in the Lord, trust in the One who takes hold of your right hand and says Do not fear, I will help you…

cast all your anxiety on Him for He cares for you, Trust in the Rock Eternal, Be Still and know that He is God and not you!

 

For God gives Grace, grace that will cause satan to flee,

grace that give you a greater awareness of His presence with you, 

and a grace that will lift you up and bring you out of the war and into His peace!