When you make your peace with God you declare war on the devil. And he declares war on you. He seeks to rob, kill, destroy. He wants to rob you of your: Peace Power PurityPerson (identity) Satan is our adversary who makes accusations for our agreement. We should refuse to agree with the accuser. The battle takes place on three fronts: Personal - the fight within you. Relational - fighting with others Kingdom - fighting for others. The more victorious you are over the personal battle, and the more you stay out of the relational battle, the more prepared and powerful you are in the kingdom battle. James addresses this. The believers were losing the personal battle and engaged in the relational battle so it was distracting them from the kingdom battle. Vs 1 - “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” If you lose the personal battle you’ll engage in the relational battle. What was the personal battle they were losing? Vs 2 - “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight…” They were filled with “want.” Psalms 23 tells us, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not WANT…” If you’re filled with “want” you are losing the personal battle. Vs 2b-3 - “…You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”“Pleasures” - the personal battle is lost when you focus on pleasure over people. All sin is about gratifying your flesh. If you lose the personal battle you’ll engage in the relational battle and be useless in the kingdom battle. Win the battle by focusing on people over your own pleasure.
James 4:1 (11/23/22)
Winning the Three Battles
November 23, 2022 • Benham Brothers • James 4:1
James 1:2-4 (11/21/13)
November 21, 2013 • Benham Brothers
James was writing to Jewish christians spread throughout who had fled Jerusalem because of Stephen's death James' encouragement was for them not to flee but to endure, to persevere The key to persevering in the midst of a trial is How You Receive It - as a gift from God to lead you to completeness in Christ How to receive a trial properly: 1) Consider the source of the trial - - is this trial from God or did it come from you (vs 13-15) - in either case you need to endure, but if it came from you then you need to start with repentance. Consider Cain - when anger was birthed in his heart murder crouched at his door - the sin that's crouching at your door is a product of what's in your heart. What are your temptations? 2) Ask yourself, "what is God saying to me?" 3) Focus on the reward - this gives you hope, and hope does not disappoint A trial is a "trial" and not a conviction (like in a court case - innocent until proven guilty) - God has promised victory if we simply endure If we don't endure and we quit then we lose - the trial is over and our "jail time" starts. We can stay out of jail if we just endure it
James 1:2-4 (11/19/15)
November 19, 2015 • Benham Brother
• James was writing to people who were scared because of intense persecution. • When God brings a trial it's for the testing and purification of our faith. • Strength comes through strain. • Two keys to enduring a trial: • 1) Receive it properly, as a gift from God. • 2) Focus on the reward for enduring it, like an athlete (Paul). • If you receive a trial as a gift and you focus on the reward you will endure. • Enduring a trial leads to maturity and completeness in Christ. • Two aspects of a trial: • 1) A trial is a trial - no sentence has been passed because no verdict has been given. • In court, when you're in a trial you haven't lost until you're convicted of a crime. • 2) There are two types of trials - the kind we bring on ourselves and the kind God brings. • We need to recognize the source of our trial to experience the joy of it. • vs 6 - to make it through a trial we need to shift from AM to FM - Analysis Mode to Faith Mode. • We are not to try to "make sense" of everything that happens to us. • Faith obeys God even when things don't make sense.
James 1:5-6 (11/16/17)
November 16, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* A prayer I’ve prayed every morning…… * But when you pray make sure you’re on FM and not AM. * Faith Mode vs Analysis Mode. * What God does doesn’t always make sense to us - often it doesn’t. * AM is based on human reason. * FM is based on God’s wisdom - God can throw that mountain into the sea if He wants it there! * Let’s pray in faith mode and watch God give us what we ask.