Sermon Tone Analysis

The Biology of Faith

A Study in the Book of James

Winning the War Within

Children’s message - our resource in temptation is our union with Christ.

We are in Christ, His Spirit is in us.

That enables us to win the battle of temptation.

Who I am in Christ.

The Battle Between comes from the War Within You.

(ESV) 1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?

Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

All of us experience and cause conflict.

But the battle between people starts within.

This is so important to remember.

Because the first thing we do is seek to blame someone else.

When our children were young, they occasionally had conflict with each other as brothers and sisters.

I know that is hard to believe but it is true. 4 kids close together in age, different personalities and a very small house occasionally led to conflict.

We had one question every time they would begin to blame their brother or sister for doing something… “Were you doing right?”

I don’t want to hear about your brother, I want to know were you doing right?

It is the first question I want to ask myself.

When there is tension, how did I add to it.

How did my motives, desires, failures add to the conflict.

We need to win the war within by the power of God’s grace before we even explore the battle between.

You desire and do not have, so you murder.

You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.

Pleasure is not sinful in itself.

In fact true pleasures all come from God.

He created them and He made them to be enjoyed when they are pursued as His gifts and according to His instructions.

What is wrong is to live for pleasures, for comfort and pleasure to be the driving force of your life..

The only other uses of this word in the New Testament suggests this idea: , where Jesus describes those who fall among thorns as “choked by the. . .

pleasures of life,” and , which refers to people as “slaves to various passions and pleasures .”

James’ emphasis is on a desperate search for one’s own pleasures and gratifications.

The truth is when we pursue selfish desires it is not that we desire too much but that we settle for too little.

We choose the shadow promises of sin rather than the daylight warmed reality of God’s gracious goodness.

As a result there is a war within the heart of a Christian.

Our selfish nature is in conflict with the Spirit of God.

And that battle spills over into our relationships with one another.

This is written to the church.

Divisions in the church are not new, but we must clearly recognize where they come from:

Our selfish desires The attack of the enemy who seeks to divide and destroy

Evidently the conflict in the church had gotten so bad that murder had occurred.

And if a literal murder did not happen what was happening was just as serious because it was causing division in the Bride of Christ.

He wants us to look deeply at our own desires and see how they are leading to conflict.

What James is doing cutting through to our very hearts.

He is using the exact same logic as Jesus when he said,

(ESV) 21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’

22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go.

First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Holding anger in our hearts towards another believer is committing mental assault upon one who is made in the image of God, loved by Him and in the case of believers, one Jesus died to save.

Our attitudes matter immensely to God.

Notice James does not seem concerned about who is in the right and who is wrong, His focus is on the right response of our hearts towards others when we experience conflict.

An Obedient response matters more to God than who is in the wrong.

It is more important to do right than to prove to others that we are right and they are wrong.

It is matter of faith.

If I truly believe God is God, that He is loving, that He is good, that He is in control then I can trust Him completely.

Even when we are wrongly accused or our motives are questioned, we are to put our trust not in the justice of humanity but in the greatness of God.

God already knows all the details.

He knows all the mitigating circumstances, and He is a perfect judge who is always right and always just, but thankfully He is also merciful and gracious.

God will use the conflicts we experience to reveal the war within our hearts.

That it an incredible blessing.

James calls us to be like Jesus.

Especially when there is conflict in the church.

(ESV) 43 “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

We are to respond like Jesus, because we are also sons and daughters of our Father in heaven.

Conflict comes from the war within our selfish desires - sin.

The Principle: When your thirst outweighs your thanks you are losing the war within.

When our thirst for what we do not have exceeds our thankfulness for what we have been given we are in great spiritual danger, Sin is waiting at the door of our hearts.

(ESV) 13 Is anyone among you suffering?

Let him pray.

Is anyone cheerful?

Let him sing praise.

Part of God’s strategy to win the war within is taming our desires through prayer and praise.

The Problem:

Make no mistake there is a war within you and I.

And the outcome of that war will either build up the body of Christ or lead to conflict.

The great ancient book the Art of War by Sun Tzu reminds us of a very important truth.

All warfare is deception.

The way to victory is to see through the deception and know the real enemy.

Assessment of Self & Enemy

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Sun Tzu, The Art of War

James is revealing some truth about our sin.

Remember this is written to believer’s.

Those who are fully saved and justified through faith in Jesus Christ, but are struggling with living out their union with Christ.

They are often deceived by counterfeit desires that wage war with the soul.

You desire and do not have, so you murder.

You covet 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 wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

4 You adulterous people!

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

We can be spiritually saved but physically living like an enemy of God.

That will never work.

Here is what keeps us from experiencing our union with Christ Jesus.

Desire/Lust - You want what you do not have Covet - You want what someone else has Faithless: You do not ask - You trust in our own resource and ability Selfish: You ask with the wrong motive - to spend God’s gifts on yourself Spiritual adultery - the war within reveals the unfaithfulness of our hearts.

We love the comforts of this world more than we love God who gives them.