A number of years ago I took what is called a “Strength’s Finders” Test. It was a test designed to uncover my natural talents – the ways I am naturally wired, my inborn predispositions, things I do instinctively and naturally give me satisfaction. I tested high in the following talents: Communication, Connectedness, Harmony and Maximizer. One of the purposes of taking the test was to affirm the strengths God had placed in me so that I could serve out of a place of strength, not weakness. And one of those strengths that surprised me was the strength of harmony.
Here are a couple characteristics of harmony I resonate with: I value peace. Therefore, I’m disturbed by conflict. I value harmony in my marriage, in my family, in all my relationships. That’s why if I’ve ever hurt someone, I want to repair the relationship as quickly as possible. Another aspect of harmony is that I want to see people get along. If people around start spouting their opinions in disagreement with others, I have a strong distaste for that kind of thing. So my goal is to try and steer people away from confrontation and help them see areas of agreement. So, I want to bring people together, to see them work together or live together in harmony. That may be one of the reasons God called me to be a Pastor. After all, when God created the Church, one of the characteristics He most wants to see displayed among us is harmony. He calls all kinds of people with all kinds of differences to live and serve together in this new kind of community called the Church, so that we might show the world that there’s a different way to live – to live in peace with one another.
That’s why last week’s message struck a chord with me. And I hope it struck a chord with you. Because we live in a world that is sharply divided; a world where there is so much anger, slander, discord and strife. And since God values harmony in His Church, He doesn’t want a culture of strife infiltrating His Church. Therefore, He wants us to have nothing to do with a self-serving worldly wisdom that divides, but to embrace a godly wisdom that is pure, peace-loving, considerate, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. For when we apply His wisdom to all our relationships; especially with one another – He can develop a culture of peace; a culture where every person is treated with dignity and love; a culture of Shalom. For When the shalom of God is lived out among God’s people there will be prosperity, physical and emotional health, contentment, security and salvation. There will be peace!
But before we can create the kind of peace that God desires, we need to deal with the root causes of conflict. You see, I’m not the only one who has a strong distaste for conflict. God also hates conflict, and especially among God’s people. So as we return to God’s Word today let me encourage you to open your Bibles to James 4:1-10, where James shows us the way to a peace that works that begins by rooting out:
The Causes of Conflict Again he begins by asking a rhetorical question: 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. James 4:1-3
In these verses and the verses that follow he points out three causes of conflict that we need to eradicate among us. And the first cause of conflict James speaks to is our:
Self-Serving-Interests As we have seen, there were many in James’ church who had a desire for power and authority (they wanted things their way), and one of the ways they sought this power was to court the favor of the rich. As such they ignored the poor and played favorites with the rich. And now as we come to this passage we see that would use intimidation and even violence to get their way. As a result, there was no harmony here. It was destroyed by self-serving-interests.
I was reminded this past week of how self-serving interests infiltrate the church. Church planters often encounter “wolves in sheep’s clothing” when they first plant a church. They are often disguised as very enthusiastic and well-meaning people. They shower you with compliments: “You’re such a good preacher”, or “I love your focus on making disciples.” So at first, they seem to be totally with you, and many are. But in Church-planting, we learn to be wary of anyone who thinks we are “all that.” For that’s the strategy of someone who is motivated by their self-serving interests. They want to get in good with the pastor because they have an agenda they want to see worked out in your church. And this kind of person is drawn to church plants, because their agenda had been rejected at a previous church. These are the wolves in sheep clothing who if are given power, can split a church. They are self-serving, and when they don’t get their way they quarrel and fight, causing conflict in God’s family. That’s one cause of conflict. Here’s another:
Self-Centered Prayers Rather than pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done” a self-centered prayer focuses on what they want done, and on how their name might become great. Now in James church these self-centered prayers were apparently asking for material “things” so that they could spend their money, flaunt their possessions, and make themselves look successful. But James makes it clear here that that asking for selfish gain does not honor God. Rather, it reveals a heart that seeks to manipulate God – making God a vending machine for the purpose of their-own selfish gratification, their-own ends.
Sound familiar? We see this kind of praying taught by those who promote “the health and wealth gospel.” They teach you that God wants you to “have it all” now. Their worldly wisdom manipulates you into thinking that God exists to serve your worldly desires. They teach that God exists to give you the life of your dreams. But the problem with that way of thinking is that the life of “our dreams” is a life based on what the worldly values of power, money, privilege and possessions, comfort and safety. Their worldly philosophy promote a life that’s all about you, and not about God.
But if you are a true follower of Christ you see right through this. We know that when Jesus saves us, He owes us nothing. We know our sin and rebellion deserves punishment. But rather than condemn us for our sin; God chose to love us. And out of His love for us came the riches of His mercy toward us in Christ. And when we realize God gave His Only Son to die for us to forgive us; we are grateful.
So a true Christ-follower doesn’t pray self-centered prayers. For us God is not some cosmic vending machine to be manipulated for our own ends. No, He’s to be honored and worshiped for His mercy. But if we ever loose sight of God’s mercy, we will be tempted to use God for our ends, and the result will be conflict. For self-centered praying is another root of conflict that can derail God’s church. Now here’s the third root of conflict:
Friendship with the World James writes: 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. James 4:4 James makes some strong and cutting statements here. Here he equates “friendship with the world” as being an enemy of God. He’s trying to wake up these people who’ve been led astray. “You’ve fallen for the wrong lover!” “You love the values of the world over the values of God.” “You’re living for yourself and that means you are cheating on God!”
Spiritual adultery is a poison in the church. Putting your interests ahead of God’s and treating God like a vending machine is the same as being God’s enemy. Imagine, if that’s how your child treated you: If your son or daughter only came to you for what they could get from you? How would that make you feel? How does it make you feel when someone befriends you so they can get something from you? It’s manipulating, insulting, it’s demeaning, and ungodly.
And this is the kind thinking that destroys marriages. Think about what our world tells us. Marriage is a 50/50 proposition: You marry me for what you’re getting from me, and I marry you for what I get from you. Then when one end of this arrangement doesn’t deliver; she’s not as pretty as she once was; he’s no longer romantic and rarely lifts a finger to help; so you say, “This isn’t what I bargained for.” And when he or she is no longer holding up their end of the deal, you get angry, frustrated, and you start looking for someone who will give you what you want. Pretty selfish, isn’t it? Well that’s what happens when we use God only for what we can get from God. And what happens when God doesn’t give us the life we think we should have? That’s when people walk away from God. “I’m done with God.” He didn’t protect my child. He didn’t give me the marriage I wanted. I went to church every Sunday, prayed, read my Bible, lived a good life… but God hasn’t blessed me like He should.” So I’m walking away. And that story is becoming all too familiar today. Lots of people walk away from God today because they think God owes them something.
But here’s the good news: God never walks away from us. That’s why James writes: 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.” James 4:5-6 God longs for you. God put His Spirit in you when He saved you. So it doesn’t matter if you’ve walked away from God, He’s still pursuing you. It does not matter if you’ve become self-serving or self-centered, God wants you back. But He gives us more grace.
Let that sink in, and listen to Alec Motyer explains this grace: “What comfort there is in this verse. It tells us that God is tirelessly on our side. He never falters in respect of our needs, He always has more grace at hand for us. He is never less than sufficient, He always has more and yet more to give. Whatever we may forfeit when we put self first, we cannot forfeit our salvation, for there is always more grace. No matter what we do to him, He is never beaten… His resources are never at an end, His patience is never exhausted, His initiative never stops, His generosity knows no limit: He gives more grace.”
And that’s good news. You may have caused conflict in your marriage, your family, with a friend, or even in the church. You may have insulted God by living for yourself and pursuing the pleasures of this world. You may have used God or walked away from God. But know this: God never runs out of grace for you. He forgave you at the cross, and His forgiveness is still available to welcome you home. God loves you, that’s why He forgave you in the first place. There is nothing too horrible that you’ve done to Him that will keep Him from loving you. For He gives more grace!
All He asks of you, is to turn back to Him. How do you do that? That’s how James concludes this passage, by showing us the ways of peace – the way of reconciliation with God. And The Ways of Peace are this: 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 4:7-10
There is not a more detailed path to peace with God; then what James lays out for us here. And it all starts with this command to Submit to God “Submit yourselves, then, to God.” The term “submit” is a loaded term in our culture. But it’s a term that begins in the will, with a choice. Submitting to God simply means surrendering the reigns of your life to God. It’s your “Jesus take the wheel” decision. So trust is a big part of submission. It’s coming to the place where you can trust God enough to order your life under His loving rule. It’s being able to say, “I want what you want, so I trust you enough to surrender my will to yours.”
Have you done that? Are you willing to let God lead you? Until you have done this, you will be vacillate between your will and God’s will, and you will not know peace. You will be double-minded as James says. So submit to God. This is where peace with God begins, with surrender of your will.
Once you’ve done that then you are to Resist the Devil Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Sin is believing the lies of the evil one who says you need some thing or person or status, all the while disbelieving God who says, “You need Me.” Resist the devil and he will flee. Whatever power or influence the Devil may have, God is greater. When you are tempted to go to that site on the Internet, resist him. When you are tempted to speak selfishly to your spouse, resist him. When you’re tempted to discouragement anger, doubt, pride or worry, resist him. Resist and he will flee and you’ll know peace.
Next, Seek God Repeatedly Come near to God and he will come near to you. James tells us to draw near to God, which implies that we have turned away from Him. Maybe, you’ve just kept Him nearby for emergencies, or you’ve kept him close enough to worship Him on Sundays, but the rest of the time, you’ve left Him behind while you live your life the way you want. But when you do that, you are not experiencing a life with God. God saved you to be with you. So seek God repeatedly. This isn’t a one- time deal, but a daily deal, a moment by moment relationship. And God is good. If you continually draw near Him, eventually you will know He is with you in every situation. And you’ll know His peace. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.
Next, Pursue Purity Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. God calls us to purify our hearts, our minds, our desires, our motives, and the very core of our being. God has made us clean by the blood of Jesus. God saved you to be different from the world, to be pure. As John says, But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3 This is a call to a new way of living in our world. So by our purity we will shine like Christ in the darkness!
Next, Treat Sin Seriously Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom We live in a day just like James. Christians are callous toward sin. “I just made a mistake.” “I’m only human.” But James tells us not to be so trivial with sin. At one time Christians truly agonized over their sin. It grieved them to offend God. It burdened them when they failed God. They knew what it cost Jesus to take their sin upon himself, so like God, they hated their own sin. When was the last time you grieved over your own sin? Sin is a serious thing. It destroys life, marriages and churches. So let us treat sin seriously.
And finally, Trust God Completely Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up. Trusting God completely means letting go of your rights. It’s trusting in God rather than taking matters into your own hands. Oh how quick we are to defend ourselves, fend for ourselves or promote ourselves. But trusting God means waiting on Him to work on our behalf. Trusting God means waiting for Him to lift us up. After all, when all of God’s people are trusting God to lift us up, to do His will, to serve His way… then we are trusting God to lead His Church. And when we do that, there will be peace.
So there you have it. If we want to experience God’s peace in our marriages, our relationships, and in our Church, what God’s Word is saying to us today is this:
Repent: Turn away from the wisdom of this world and submit to God; humble yourself and trust Him in all your ways and He will give you peace. Let’s pray
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