“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:1-10 NIV
There is a tug of war in all of us: Within ourselves,With God,With others
- Why is there a tug of war within ourselves?
- We want what we don’t have
- We have desires that are out of control
- We are double minded
2. Why is there a tug of war with others?
- We want our own way
- We use people and love things, rather than loving people and using things
3. Why is there a tug of war with God?
- We don’t pray
- We ask with the wrong motives
- We seek fulfillment from the wrong sources
3. How do we stop the tug of war?
Humility
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Vs. 6
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Vs. 10
I Need To…
- Give in to God: “Submit yourselves, then, to God” Vs. 7
- Give no place to the devil: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Vs. 7
- Get closer to God: “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” Vs. 8
- Grieve over my sin: “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts…Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” Vs. 8-10