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This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on November 16th 2025, by Lasya. For the audio & video, please click here. For the worship, please click here.
War and Peace
How many of you left your hometown at one point or another?
How do you feel when you move to a new city/country? Like you don't belong, so
you need to prove yourself, like you finally get to do what you want?
James is writing to the dispersed believers across the known
world. They are dealing with persecution, but also opportunity. They are
immersed in the gentile way of life and the ethos of the world seems to be
getting into them a bit. He’s hearing a lot of words but not enough action, a lot of thoughts but not
enough wisdom and a lot of plans but not God’s purpose. Do we see any of
this in our own situation today?
Let’s look at James 4 and here is the set up to it:
James 3: 13- 18 “13 Who is wise and
understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the
meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish
ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This
is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual,
demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be
disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first
pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits,
impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in
peace by those who make peace.”
James makes a distinction between worldly wisdom and
heavenly wisdom, and the distinguishing factor is the motive of bitter jealousy
and selfish ambition. But wisdom that comes from God is unadulterated- no
hidden agenda, it reaps a fruit of righteousness as it is sown in peace by
peacemakers - blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of
God.
Peace is a weighty word, and it is not merely the absence of
war, but the presence of God. So how do we lose peace? James is bringing some
wisdom. He uses this method of asking questions to let us ponder the deeper
issues of the human heart.
James 4:1-17
James points out 3 ways in which our peace is compromised. Don’t
look at these as condemnation, but an inspection of the walls of our peace. We
have more anxiety in our day than any generation before. We are richer than
ever before but unhappy. Think about your own lives… is your peace compromised?
It’s likely one of these things:
- Fights
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is
it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
James does not address the nature of the conflict, only the
condition of our hearts. 2 battles - one on the inside and one on the
outside.
Romans 7:18-19 “ 18 For I know that nothing good
dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right,
but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want,
but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” Does this sound familiar?
Have you experienced this battle?
Passion here refers to hedonistic pleasure - wanting to be
comfortable, to feel good. Our hearts have a throne and whatever is enthroned
in that place is the driver for all the decisions we make. What is on the
throne of your heart? Illustration of a life driven by comfort v. wanting to
please God.
V. 2 - You desire and do not have, so you murder. You
covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. Example of the very
first murder - Cain and Abel. Cain wanted to be approved the way Abel was. But
God did not give in to his emotions - he said, If you do well, will you
not be accepted?
2 Outworking of punishment - external quarrels, internal
judgement.
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.
How is our prayer life? What does our prayer list look like?
The question is twofold - Do you pray? COME FOR PRAYER
MEETINGS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR PRAYER LIST! What do you pray for?
Why do you want the things you want? The self care movement has completely made
us selfish. When is the last time you’ve been blessed with something that you
didn't spend on yourself? The word Spend is the same verb used to
describe the wasteful spending of the Prodigal Son in Luke
15:14.
So where do fights come from? When 2 selfish people rub
shoulders, there is conflict. 2 ways to resolve it… either let God soften our
edges or don't rub shoulders. The issue with the latter is that there is a
deeper problem. In our digital age, we can think we don't fight with
anyone. But we cannot have quarrels if we don't have real relationships.
2. Friendships
Whether we acknowledge it or not, we have friends and
enemies. Popular quote “You are the average of the five people you spend the
most time with”. The second we open our eyes, there are calls for our
attention, affection, time… whose calls do you answer the most?
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. 5 Or
do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns
jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
Meeting with God for 15 mins in the morning and not thinking
about him the rest of the day is a chore/ business meeting, not a friendship.
What occupies our thoughts when we are free? Abraham was called a friend
of God. Means, he desired to respond to God in obedience more than the passions
of his own heart.
Romans 8:7 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is
hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.”
Why does God desire submission and humility? Does he want to
control us? Not at all.. Quite the opposite!
Gal 5:1 , 13-18 ”It is for freedom that Christ has set us
free… You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your
freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For
the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as
yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will
be destroyed by each other.”
How do we get out of this mess?
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it
says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit
yourselves 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 wretched and mourn and weep.
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble
yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Our relationship with God - cause and effect relationship -
friendship with the world means enmity with God.
Let’s practice this each morning:
- submit
yourselves to God and he will give grace ,
- resist
the devil and he will flee,
- draw
near to God and he will draw near to you
- Humble
yourselves and he will exalt you
3. Future
The final thing on peace is the future - anxiety stems from
not knowing the future.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or
tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade
and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.
What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then
vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live
and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such
boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to
do it, for him it is sin.
How many planners do we have in the house? The real issue here is not about planning, but the source of it. We need to realise that our very breath is given us by God, so how much more should we seek him for the purpose of our lives.
Proverbs 3:6 “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will
make straight your paths.”
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