Pleasure seekers
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The document discusses how selfish desires can lead to conflict and warns against friendship with the world. It encourages submitting to God, resisting the devil, drawing near to God through repentance and humility. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
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Pleasure seekers
- 2. Jas 4:1-10 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? (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. (3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. (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. (5) Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"?
- 3. Jas 4:1-10 (6) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." (7) Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (8) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (9) Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. (10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
- 4. Warfare Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? Selfish Desires Losing sight of the bigger picture.
- 5. Wanting You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Exaggerated Language Extreme Measures
- 6. Wishing Yet you do not have because you do not ask. (3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. God is our provider God is our protector
- 7. Worldly 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. Adultery
- 8. Winning Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? (6) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." (7) Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Reinstated Affection Honest Humility
- 9. Wailing Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (9) Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. (10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. Reformation
- 10. Circle of Repentance X Kairos 1. Observe 6. Act Repent Believe 2. Reflect 5. Account 3. Discuss 4. Plan
Editor's Notes
- Remember the book of James was written to Jewish Christians that were dispersed throughout the neighbouring provinces. They were living as Jewish Christians which meant they believed in Christ but still practiced Jewish religion and Jewish culture. This epistle therefore gives us insight into the issues faced by believers steeped in worldly culture, it helps us in our investigations into what it means to be part of this world but not of this world. How are we to be missional in a context that is not so very different from our Christian values. Previously we considered James’ mention of rich and poor in Christian community, the tongue and the two types of Wisdom. Today we will consider the issue of divisions in a community.
- The Jewish believers were experiencing a breakdown of community. The chief expression of their faith that separated them from the world was their sense of unity in community, it is what kept them going and also what gave them a testimony. This was being eroded from the inside because of their selfish desires. They lost their sense of the importance of the bugger picture, instead of living for something they were living for themselves for their own selfish gain.
- James uses exaggerated language to get through to the hearts of these believers. How often do we see people in sin diminishing their actions, underplaying their guilt and getting agitated when other believers calls their sin on its real name.People will go to extreme measures to get what they really want. Christian husband’s will cheat on their wives to get what they really want, Christian business people will defraud others just to get wealth.
- In their lusting after the things of the world they forgot that God was their provider. Our lust blinds us to what we really need but our conscience knows we are missing the mark therefore we don’t really go to God but often just abuse the Word to justify our actions.God is our protector against our own selfish desires, He keeps us from succumbing to our own short-sightedness and weakness. We must wrestle with Him, seek His face as an antedote for our own Eveready selfishness.
- Selfish desires lead to adultery, breaking covenant with God and seeking our pleasure elsewhere. Going outside of His provision to seek our desires at the table of the enemy. We proclaim to be lovers of God but yet we are not with Him we are to be found with another, we don’t appreciate and value what He gives us we are always looking over the fence and wanting what another has.
- To win back His heart or in reality to win back our own heart we need to recognize again that we need Him and put Him in His rightful place in our hearts. We must come in honest humility recognize the wanderings of our hearts and submit ourselves to His will.
- To be reformed we must repent, we must recognize the depths of our depravity. We must let our hearts be cut deeply and root out completely the sin that hides in the shadows. We must not just be emotionally remorseful but be disciplined in repentance. We cannot just cut of the visible kakiebos but must get rid of the root.
- To be reformed we must repent, we must recognize the depths of our depravity. We must let our hearts be cut deeply and root out completely the sin that hides in the shadows. We must not just be emotionally remorseful but be disciplined in repentance. We cannot just cut of the visible kakiebos but must get rid of the root.