Sermon James Chapter 4

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[2] The title of the sermon: “JAMES CHAPTER 4.”

• Let’s start there in verse 1 of James Chapter 4.

[3] James 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

• Wars and fightings between us come from lusts that war in your members or body parts.
• Many so-called “Christians” today blame everything on Satan.
• But does the Bible say everything is Satan’s fault?
• People say, “If we could just get rid of Satan, everything would be perfect.”
• The Bible doesn’t say this anywhere. “Come they not hence, even of YOUR lusts.”

It’s you that is lusting after things. What is lust? It’s a desire to have something you don’t have.

• Lust is equal to coveting or wanting what someone else has.
• For example, let’s say a Christian is angry with someone because their kids love this other person.
• Their kids love to be around this person at church. The Christian woman doesn’t like this.
• She wants what that other person has. She wants her children to act that way towards her.
• These are simple examples that no one thinks about.

So that woman starts a war for no reason except her own lust or her own desire to have what someone else has.

• And it doesn’t matter what it is. You could be jealous of the cooking of another woman.
• You could lust after her cooking skills. Or her hair. Or her attitude. This lust or coveting starts wars.
• Fights are started over this lust. You want something someone else has. This creates envy and strife.

Coveting isn’t just money, homes, cars, jobs. It’s all of the very small and minor things that lead to wars.

• God says, “Thou shalt not covet.” Thou shalt not desire anything that someone else has and lust over this.
• Doing so is a wicked sin. It’s not just a man’s wife or a woman’s husband. It’s small things too.

[4] James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

• When you lust, you have not. That’s why you lust. It’s because you don’t have it. And you don’t need it.
• But you want it because you don’t have it. If you’ve never had a huge home before, you want one.
• I’ve had one before. Don’t want one. I’ve wanted a big Chevrolet Silverado dually truck before.
• I never had one. That’s why I wanted one. They aren’t worth it. But I wanted because I didn’t have it.
• “Well, I would really love to have one of those because I’ve never had one.” Hey, they aren’t that great.

Ye kill, and desire to have. Killing is the opposite of having. We get rid of the good things and want other things.

• “Ah, I’ve had that before. Don’t want that. I want something new.” But yet, you cannot obtain it.
• So ye fight and war over these things. God says, “Yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”

For example, if that woman lusts over the love and kindness that a man and woman show to her children, then she should ask God for that same love and kindness.

• You wouldn’t want to attack those people who have this love and kindness. This is a good thing to have.
• Why would you want to attack someone over these good things.
• Instead of lusting and attacking, seek God and tell Him you desire to have this same good thing.

Another example: people attack good pastors all over this country for many reasons.

• Those pastors are doing good things: teaching truth, winning souls. They get attacked by their brethren.
• Why? God tells you why in this chapter. Lusting, coveting, and desiring what someone else has.
• Instead of doing this ASK GOD for these things. Don’t attack someone who is doing good.

[5] James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

• If you are asking for something for the wrong reasons, you ask amiss. You missed the mark.
• You missed the point of asking God for something good.
• Ask for wisdom for the right reasons, and God will give you wisdom.

If you ask for wisdom so you can get rich, you ask amiss. You’re out of order.

• If you ask for wisdom because you want to win souls to Jesus Christ, God will give you this wisdom.
• If you want to win more souls to Christ because you want to win some monetary award, you ask amiss.
• Any time you’re going to consume whatever you ask for upon your lusts, you will not receive it.

When you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you’re saved. But think of this. What is saved about you?

• What changes about you? This is very important to understand. Your flesh causes you to lust after things.
• Does your flesh change when you are saved? No, you’ll have this same flesh and same desires.
• You will still want to lust after the same things. Same flesh before and after you’re saved.
• If you lusted after alcohol before you were saved, you will lust after alcohol after you’re saved.

You know you have a false preacher when they tell you that all your desires will go away once you’re saved.

• They then go on to give you a works based salvation. They say, “You must do this, this, this, this.”
• And nothing they say matches with the words of the Bible.
• We will continue to have desires of things we don’t need. We continue to lust when we walk in the flesh.

The Book of James is written to saved Christians. We fight and war among ourselves over our lusts.

• We need to stop this lusting by choosing to walk in the Spirit. If we choose the flesh, we’ll lust.
• We’ll fight. We’ll war among each other. Our spirit/soul is a new creation once saved, but not our flesh.
• And yes, this is directly why good pastors who both believe the right things will fight and war STILL.

When you get down to the root cause of this war and fight, you will find lusting in the body.

• The new man and the old man within will fight against each other.
• Feed the flesh and the flesh is in control. Feed the spirit and the spirit will be in control.
• Go after the things you lust after and your flesh will grow stronger. You will sin more.
• Go after the things of God and your spirit will grow stronger. You will sin less. Starve the flesh.
• Don’t feed the flesh. Starve the flesh. Stop the lusting, coveting, and desire as it feeds the flesh.

[6] James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

• An adulterer will move his desire to have his wife to another woman. This is lusting after another woman.
• She is not your woman. You have your own wife. Put all your desire for a woman towards her alone.
• If you’re feeding your flesh with all these other things, you are more likely to be an adulterer too.
• We leave God when we sin. This is a like a marriage to God. When we sin, we whore around.

Same thing goes for women looking at other men that are not their husband. You feed the flesh.

• If you love alcohol, and you feed this flesh, you will be much more likely to be an adulteress.
• Why? Because you feed the flesh constantly. When you feed the flesh, you are like an adulterer.
• If you love food and you eat too much constantly, you are more likely to feed your flesh in other things.
• If you won’t read your Bible, study God’s words, pray, go to a good church, you will feed the flesh.
• Many people will eat to feel comfort versus getting their Bible out to feel comfort.

When you make all these friendships of the world, you will have enmity with God. What does that mean?

• Enmity is being an enemy of God. You oppose God when you make friends with the world.
• The world wants you to lust after things of this world and the people of this world love you when you do.
• All the people who have millions of followers on social media are usually very lustful people.
• They do things that feed the flesh of others. This is the truth. They get people to covet after them.
• They get people to want what they have. This is why they are so popular with this world.

“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

• When everyone loves you, this means you compromise the truth of things. You play all sides.
• You want everyone to love you so you please them and give them what they want. Not what they need.
• You give them what they want to see and hear. And this makes you popular with the world.
• “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

As a saved person, you do not want to turn into the enemy of God.

• You don’t want to keep doing what you’re doing. For example, many people have issues with drugs.
• This is because you lust to feel good. You won’t depend on God to help you feel better.
• You want this artificial feeling that the drugs give you. You agree with the world that drugs are good.
• You will become an enemy of God. You might lose your life. Be very careful becoming an enemy of God.

[7] James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

• We lust to envy because of our flesh. Feed the flesh and this leads to envy.
• Envy is worth than a fool’s wrath the Bible tells us. You’ll do things that don’t even make sense.
• You’ll steal from people who only helped you because of envy. Why would you do that?

Because you lust to envy. You feed the flesh with cigarettes, false preaching, false religion, emotions.

• You feed the flesh with fear of everything around you but God. You will lust to envy.
• The Scripture doesn’t say any of these in vain. The Scriptures are not worthless.
• Cain lusted to envy. He thought he would do it better than God’s way. God’s way is the way.
• There is no better way. When you think you know better than God, you will lust to envy.
• You don’t want to be like Cain. We listen to God’s words and do what He says.

[8] James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

• God gives more grace. If not, we would be destroyed. He has mercy on us when we do wrong.
• He is kind to us in punishment to us. He corrects us or chastens us. He resists the proud.
• He gives grace unto the humble. So, would you want to be a proud person? This is lust.
• Here’s the only verse in the Bible with both the word pride and lust in the same verse.

[9] 1 John 2:15-16 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

• This teaches the same things that we’re learning in James Chapter 4.
• Pride, lust. Not good things. Being proud means God will resist you. You don’t wat that. You lose.
• We must stay humble. We know what we’ve done in the past. We know what we still do.
• This is why we are humble. The only reason we’re saved is God and Jesus Christ.
• The only reason we haven’t been destroyed is God’s grace and mercy.

[10] James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

• When you continue to feed your flesh, the devil will not be fleeing from you. He wants destruction of you.
• So, what do you need to do? Stop feeding the flesh. Feed the spirit. Use the word of God.
• Be a doer of His word and not a hearer only. When you hear something in God’s words, submit to it.

For example, the world teaches you that hating anything is evil. This is wrong. God tells us to hate the evil.

• God tells us to love the good. God hates. He tells us so in the Bible. He says, “I hated them.”
• We are not to love pedophiles, murderers, serial killers, and evil people who won’t stop.
• We don’t love Hitler and lift him up. We don’t love drug dealers.
• We don’t love police who kill others on purpose. We don’t love false preachers or sodomites.

We hear the words of the Bible, we know that He knows better, and we get on His side immediately.

• This is called submitting to God. When He says to not lust after another woman. We see this.
• We hear this. We take this in. And we stop lusting after other women. This is submitting to God.
• If we won’t, the devil will stick around. He will tempt you with evil. He wants you dead.

[11] James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

• Don’t be double minded. This mean you have a mind of the flesh, and you have a mind of God.
• Don’t allow the flesh of your mind to take over. Your mind knows what’s right and wrong.
• Don’t do both right and wrong. Choose the right. Cleanse your hands of sin. Purify your hearts.

Don’t just read the Bible. Don’t just go to church and listen to the words. DO THE WORDS. Take action.

• Do them with the right heart. This is how you draw near to God. We want God near. God doesn’t lie.
• Do these things, in this Bible, and God says, “I will draw near to you.”

[12] James 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

• We have both natures within in. They war against each other. But we can choose to walk in the Spirit.
• When God says, “Be ye holy,” we are only holy when we walk in His Spirit. It’s Him being Holy within us.
• But we have this other nature that can take over if we’re not very careful and diligent in our ways.

Because we have this other nature, be afflicted and mourn over this. Weep over this. There is a time to weep.

• I read something I wrote a long time ago the other day, and wow, not good. Horrible. It made me sick.
• Weep over these things. Hey, I’ve done wrong. It’s not a time to be happy over these things.
• I don’t want to be like that. Nasty, sick, horrible things. But I thought it was good at the time. No good.

What I would laugh at back then would make me sick today. Joy is turned to heaviness.

• The flesh takes away all joy. Remember these things. Keep feeding the flesh and end up dead.
• I’ve done some very stupid things in my life that I am sorry for. I mourn over these things.
• I remember these things. I weep over them because they are sickening. All sin is sickening.

If you let the love of nasty music take over you, you are feeding the flesh. You should be weeping over this choice.

• I’ve made that huge mistake before. Don’t let the urges of the flesh take over you.
• God warns us of these things so many times. Hey, there’s a war going on inside of you.
• Do you want to win? Listen to what God says.

[13] James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

• You might be thinking that I am wrong about these things. You might be thinking that God is wrong.
• “Well, I can handle all the Hollywood movies and worldly music. It won’t bother me.”
• “I can handle the Helevision. I can still feed my flesh and overcome all these things. They won’t kill me.”

Hey, you aren’t listening to God. Those things will kill you. You feed the flesh a little at a time.

• And you want more. And you will feed the flesh more. I’ve been there. Done that. I am not a novice.
• I should have ended up dead. The devil wasn’t fleeing from me. He was taking me down.
• I was too much of a fool to see this. But thank God He brought me back or I wouldn’t be here right now.

I give all credit where credit is due and all the credit goes to the Lord God Almighty who saved me.

• I hate the things that I did in the past, and I don’t dwell on them but I haven’t forgotten. Stay humble.
• Fall to the ground in the presence of the Lord. Sackcloth and ashes. Fear and trembling.
• And THEN He shall lift you up. He pulls you up out of that fire destroying you second by second.
• When you fall, He picks you up when you’re flat on your face.

[14] James 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

• We are not to judge someone unrighteously. Are we to judge righteously? Yes we are.
• I am to judge my wife and children. I am to get them on the right path.
• It is not the job of my wife to get me on the right path. It’s not her job to judge me as I choose right.
• If someone is on the right path, there is no judgement required. Keep your mouth closed.

If we have a brother or sister that is following God’s words, we aren’t to speak evil of them.

• If they are doing wrong, such as fornicating in church, we are to judge them righteously according to God’s word.
• The punishment is they will be kicked out of church for fornication.
• But, if they aren’t fornicating, following God’s words, trying their best, we do not judge them.
• “Speak not evil one of another, brethren.”

If you speak evil of someone who is doing right, you speak evil of God’s law. You become a judge of God’s law.

• For example, when I preach against sodomites, homos, fags, queers, lesbians, I get judged.
• Most so-called “Christians” judge me unrighteously. I preach according to God’s law.
• And then you judge that I’m wrong. You are judging God’s law.

[15] 1 Kings 15:11-12 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. 12 And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

• I’ve said this before. I am not the king of this land. It is not my job to remove the sodomites.
• If I were king of this land, which will never happen, but if I were, I would take away the sodomites.
• They would not be living here any more unless they went back and hid in the closet and I didn’t know.

Now, will you judge me for this? Will you think and speak evil of me for this?

• If so, thou art NOT a doer of the law, James 4:11 says, but a judge of the law.
• Just think what God is thinking when you judge His law, which means you are judging Him.
• You are now up in the judge’s seat, and you’ve brought the Almighty God down below you to judge Him.
• Do you think it works that way? No, it doesn’t. He’s still up there. We’re still down here.

In other words, don’t judge me for teaching and doing the right things according to God’s words.

• If I do evil, yes, judge me. Tell me that I am wrong. Show me that I am wrong. I need to get it right.
• I am not perfect. But I’m going to try to be perfect by walking in the Spirit of God.

[16] James 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

• You aren’t “THE LAWGIVER” who is actually able to save and destroy a soul.
• You can kill a body, but you can’t kill a soul. You can’t save a soul. You don’t even know how.
• How would you send a soul to heaven? You don’t know how. All we can do is rely on Jesus Christ.

We can teach others the Gospel. We can’t make them believe. We can help them to get saved.

• But we aren’t THE SAVIOR of the world. Knowing these things, “Who are thou that judgest another?”
• Who art thou that wants to condemn others for following God’s words?
• Some people envy a man or a woman who follows God’s words. We should be for them.
• Not against them. I want to help those people as much as I can.
• I don’t want to help those who go against God and hate God.

[17] 2 Chronicles 19:2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD.

• Who do you want to help? Do you want to feed the flesh of the drunkards?
• Do you want to feed the flesh of all the people out there so they can continue to do evil?
• Do you want to give them what they want? Don’t feed the flesh of other people.
• We want to feed them good things. We want to help those who are feeding the good things.

For example, we don’t want to tithe to Southeast Christian Church. We don’t want to tithe to Joel Osteen.

• We don’t want to feed all of those desires. Then they go on to feed the flesh of the people.
• They speak swelling words against God such as: “GOD OWES YOU.” They speak blasphemy against God.

Do you really want to judge them as good and help them? Judge righteous judgment.

• Yes, I judge Southeast Christian Church as evil because they preach a works based salvation.
• Yes, I judge Joel Osteen as evil because he has no clue what the Bible actually says ANYWHERE.
• Now, if there’s another man who does good, such as Pastor Steven Anderson, I will help him.

Why? Because he teaches the right things. Because he loves and wins souls to Jesus Christ with the right Gospel.

• People judge him as evil because he preaches against homosexuals. Not me. He preaches right.
• You will not hear me say that he’s wrong and evil. The ones who do are judging the law of God.
• He is preaching the law of God. Pastor Aaron Thompson preaches the law of God.

I will help him. People will judge these men as evil. I will not. I can see their works. I can see their fruit.

• I can see that they have a zeal for winning souls to Christ, baptizing them, and teaching them the law.
• Which side are you on? Are you against the men who preach the right things?

Another example. Women of this world don’t want to be keepers at home.

• When they judge me as evil for preaching women should be keepers at home, you judge God.
• When you judge me as evil for saying that women should have long hair and wear dresses, you judge God.
• A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth to a man. And vice versa. Men shall not wear dresses.

When I preach that it’s a shame for a man to have long hair, you judge me unrighteously and judge God the same.

• When I preach that women can’t be pastors in churches, you say that I’m wrong. You judge God’s law.
• I just repeat what He says. That’s all.
• When I say that God throws people into hell, and you say no He doesn’t, you become a judge of God.

Can you imagine when you are just about dead and you are at the lowest point of your life?

• Your life is almost vanished. You aren’t so puffed up and arrogant any more.
• Will you be so ready to judge God as wrong? Are you going to puff yourself back up with life?
• No, that life you have within right now is the light of Jesus Christ who makes you alive.
• You only have life because of Him. Will you be His judge? Will you tell Him that He’s wrong?

[18] James 4:13-14 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

• Some people count on things before they have them. This is arrogance. “I will have all these things.”
• “I will get gain as I blaspheme God and His laws.” Understand that you aren’t God.
• You aren’t running things. “Hey God, where do YOU want me today?”

“What is your life?” Have you ever thought about that? Where are you going? What are you doing?

• Some people want to choose the things of the flesh. I’m going to choose what I want.
• I’m going to feed this flesh. I’m going to get gain with this or with that.
• I’m going to spend my life buying and selling THINGS for great gain. What are you doing?
• Wake up. I’m going to store all of these things that I don’t use or need. I just want them.
• Why? What are they doing for you? What are you storing up that’s so great?

You don’t know what’s coming tomorrow. So how are you spending the time you have in this life?

• The sand in your hour glass might be almost gone. It’s running out.
• How do you want to spend the little time you have left? Do you want to spend it judging God?
• Do you want to spend it feeding the flesh? Do you want to spend it on worthless and vain things?
• I don’t. I want to help others find everlasting life through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• I want to teach others the right ways so they can teach their family, friends, and children.

I am just a vapour. I appear here for a little time on this earth. And then I will be gone.

• These words of God, though, they will never go away. And I stand with His words.
• People in this world will want to get rid of me faster. But I want them to be saved.
• I want them to go to heaven. And they hate me for telling them the truth. This is sad.

Someone won’t listen because I want them to go to heaven. I preach faith. They hate me for it.

• They want things to be about them and their works. They want to judge God. I don’t. I can’t.
• I will never be the judge of God. What He says is right. I choose His words to preach.
• What do I want to be doing at my last breath? Preaching God’s words.

[19] James 4:15-16 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

• If we think we’re going to do something, we should be saying: “IF THE LORD WILL.”
• If His will be done. We are to pray that His will be done on this earth. We do not do what we want.
• We want to do what God wants.
• If you think you’re going to do what you want, and you can, you are boasting.
• “I can do whatever I want to do.” This sounds like a rebellious teenager. “I’ll do what I want.”

Well, God says to do this right here in His words. Everything you find in here. This is what you do.

• If you don’t, you feed the flesh and you’ll end up sounding like this: “I’ll do what I want.”
• “No one can stop me. Not even God can stop me.” This sounds like Pharaoh. He hardened his heart.
• Then God hardened his heart and he became a reprobate. Pray for God’s will and not your own.
• If you pray for your will to be done, this is boasting and all such rejoicing is evil.

Parties are thrown all the time in which they rejoice in the evil that they’ve done.

• For example, there were huge parties and gatherings for all the baby murderers during this election.
• They won the right to murder their own babies. They rejoice while saying, “We will do what we want.”
• God says, “Thou shalt not kill.” And they kill. And they rejoice and celebrate this evil. They boast of evil.
• You don’t want to be a part of ANY of these things or even have a similar appearance in anything.
• Do not boast over evil that’s being done. Never say, “I will do what I want.”
• Always say, “I will do what God wants.” What’s His will in this world? Preach the Gospel. Save people.

[20] James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

• You know what to do. We preach and teach the Bible here. You’re listening. You know the Gospel.
• You know the Bible. And you don’t do what He says. This is sin.
• If you don’t preach the Gospel, this is sin. If you know not to feed the flesh but do it anyway, this is sin.
• If you say, “I’m going to start doing what I need to do next year.” Why wait? If so, it’s a sin.
• If you say, “I’m going to stop drinking alcohol next year.” You might die before next year. Do it now.
• If not, it’s sin. If you to pray for someone and do it not, this is sin.

[21] John 13:15-17 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

• If you know to do what Jesus says, and you don’t do it, you will not be happy.
• You will be happy if you do what Jesus Christ has commanded you to do. This brings joy and happiness.
• Don’t you want to be happy? It’s time to be a doer of His word and not a hearer only. Joy will come.

Let’s pray.