Real Harmony (James 4:1-17)

Pr Michael Koh
11-08-2019

James 4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Things to Avoid
4 [a]What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? [b]Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask [c]with wrong motives, so that you may spend it [d]on your pleasures. 4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “[e]He [f]jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit therefore 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 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 [g]Yet you do not know [h]what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 [i]Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your [j]arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one who knows the [k]right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

James is speaking to Christians that there is a possibility of us living out of the wrong source.

Though Christ has given us new life, there is such a thing as a body of sin. And our desires are the disease because of the fall. We become sort of narcissist.

We are now a new creation but there are certain things about our Christian lives that are disturbing.

Romans 6:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
6 knowing this, that our old [a]self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be [b]done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

Romans 6:12-13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting [a]the members of your body to sin as [b]instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as [c]instruments of righteousness to God.

Our old nature has been rendered powerless but it's there. But we are no longer obligated to it. We've been set free from it but it is there still.

Because Christ has set us free, every day we can resist sin because He has set us free from the power of sin.

Romans 8:5-8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Many Christians set their minds on the flesh. They understand that promises in the Scriptures but they are not experiencing it. They are still living in a life of bondage.

It is possible that as Christians we are living from the wrong source--the body of sin.

God does not condemn you but He may be pointing a finger upon the place in which you are living.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. You did not rise from the dead by yourself. We experience the resurrection in so far as we are risen with Him.

Colossians 3:3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Christ calls us to every day hide ourselves in Him.

James 4 talks about our diseased desire. He is very clear about making distinctions. He attacks religious behaviors that are externally crafted but do not come from the right source.

God will deal with you and He will crush you. God is a loving God. He would want it more than you want it yourself. Because He is generous, He will do more in your life. 

You want to be in Christ.

The body of sin is orientated towards self and the principles of the world (a world filled with lust and pride). The world is tempting you and telling you lies that you deserve more.

Your answer is in James 4:6-10.

Submit yourself to God. Harmony is a subset of peace. Shalom has to with the order of God and the presence of God. It has to do with God Himself. Allow God to rule in your heart. Peace is not just a statement or a promise. Peace is Christ. He is our peace who has broken down every wall. Peace is more than things. Peace has to do with our Prince of Peace coming to take down the wall that is raging against our soul. All our spiritual prayers are just techniques. You are the most precious one in Him. He is obsessed by you. Is it too much to ask of you to be obsess with Him? God calls us to be in relationship with Him. Spend time with Him and allow Him to wash out all the things that are standing between you and Him.

The peace of God has an order and a structure. It is not just a word. Spend time with God.

Peace involves resistance. It means victory over the devil. Distinguish it between a harmony that is a false harmony. We want community so much that we are willing to sacrifice righteousness because of that. Do not be complicit to that person's disease. Resist the devil. Evil comes in little drops. Stop it where it is now.

Draw near to God and He will begin to cleanse you. Be patient. He will be the One to seek you out.

Cleanse yourself. Draw near to Him. Resist the devil. Submit to Him. And the desires of God will become your desires.

RELATED:
REAL JOY (JAMES 1:1-18)

REAL FAITH (JAMES 1:19-2:26)

REAL WISDOM (JAMES 3:1-18)


REAL HARMONY (JAMES 4:1-17)

REAL BLESSING (JAMES 5:1-20)