Friends of God -James 4:1-10

Introduction(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)

(1) What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? (2) You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. (3) And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. 

(4) You adulterers!  Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. (5) What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?  (6) But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” 

(7) So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. (9) Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. (10) Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. 
James 4:1-10 – NLT(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)

1. What causes quarrels and fights– (MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)

• It used to be that we could disagree with one another and be friends but we are living in a time of tribalism where, for some, if you don’t accept their view on something you are the enemy and they don’t want to talk to you. There is no attempt to reason or find common ground.
• But this should not be among believers. and yet James says people are jealous and scheming and even murder. Which i believe is probably not literal but equating the hatred in ones heart toward their brother or sister in Christ with a murderous spirit.
  • We are all on the same team.(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
  • why we should avoid conspiracy theories. (MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)

Isaiah 8:11-12 The LORD has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. 13 Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.

(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)

1. We cannot be at peace with others when we are at war with ourselves(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
2. Friendship with the World is incompatible with Friendship with God.(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
3. A Call to Repentance.(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)