James 4:1  From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
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.
3  Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
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.

Another tragedy took place yesterday. This one happened in Madison, Wisconsin. A 15 year old girl took a pistol to school and shot and killed two people and wounded a few others and then killed herself. The detail that will make this situation unique is that it took place in a “Christian” school. We have the benefit of the internet today. That helps us to research many things. The school in question is called the Abundant Life Christian School. They give us a clue as to what they believe in their very name. Their doctrinal statement tells us their emphasis is on the Holy Spirit. They believe the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is a distinctly different event from salvation. They are typical Charismatics. Charismatics are willful false teachers.
We do not yet know much about the girl that committed this crime. We know it was not the gun’s fault that people were killed and injured. It was a person who did not have a right understanding of life and faith. When a person has the mindset that girl had, they will find a way to follow through on their plans. It is important for adults to be adults. It is important for adults to be saved and to develop Biblical convictions. Godly adults set an environment where children can learn the truth. They guard their children’s environment to help them to hear the truth as the priority in their lives. Godly parents do not throw their children to the wolves and hope they will come out ok. We need to pray for the family of this shooter. We need to pray for the rest of those involved in that school and in that town. We need to pray for one another. Each person must choose their course in life. Children are given brains by God. Not every child that is taught properly will accept the truth. However, when parents willfully subject their children to lies, it does not help.
In our text God contrasted the teaching of peace in chapter 3 with the chaos that was too often found among professing Christians. Too often born again Christians do not get along. Pride is a sin that we all need to be aware of and we need to guard against it. Wars have been fought over religious matters. The Catholics have been guilty and still are guilty of starting wars over religion. They want control and they will use force wherever they can get away with it.
James was not writing to unbelievers like the Catholics. He was addressing wars and fightings among saints. We see here that saints can be quite carnal. As a pastor, I have witnessed too much fighting. Even prior to becoming a pastor, I witnessed fighting in church because someone wanted to be in charge when they had no right to be in charge. God made it very clear where fighting comes from. It is when we allow lusts that are already causing problems inside our own lives, to spill over and affect others as well. It is important to deal with lusts early on. There is nothing to gain in lusting after things. The flesh says there is something to gain. The Spirit says there is nothing to gain. The flesh can be quite powerful. Born again Christians must not walk in the flesh. We must walk in the Spirit. That is a victory we can have if we humble ourselves before God.
In verse 2 we see the consequences of letting lust take control. Lusting never brings the desired results. What a person lusts for is always brighter as a lust than it is when the lust is further developed. We know that from Solomon and his many wives. His first marriage was contrary to God’s will, but it was his choice. He chose to add many more wives to that one. He was never satisfied. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines and was not happy. He shows us his frustration in the book of Ecclesiastes.
We see that lust in King Herod’s life. He was a married man, but he assumed his brother’s wife would be a good addition for him. He lost control of his own life by committing adultery with his brother’s wife. He married her and was living in adultery. John the Baptist was there to help him to see he was doing wrong, but Herod did not want to hear that. He was in turmoil within himself and he feared John and the Jews. His adulteress wife had a great hatred for John as well and her heart was harder than Herod’s. She involved her daughter in the murder plot. Later when Jesus was fulfilling His public ministry, Herod was still haunted by his murder of John. He did not find rest in fulfilling his lusts.
Herod was not a saved man. Saved people have the blessing of the indwelling Holy Spirit Who works on the heart of the sinful saint. God promises to chasten His child when he sins. Christians will never gain by lusting and fighting for what the flesh wants.
Some years back there was a prominent Independent Fundamental pastor who took his own life. It was a shock to many of us. I do not know the details of that man’s situation. I know that something was eating him up and even though he was a pastor, he did not turn to God to deal properly with his sin. He chose to end his life. That did not fix his problem. That also hurt many other people.
James wrote this almost 2,000 years ago, but in every generation, Christians still battle this issue.
Christians are commanded to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Twenty six times in the New Testament we are commanded to take heed to ourselves. We need a close walk with God so that we will hear what God is saying to us through His Word. He will guide us if we walk humbly with Him.
James says the problem is because we do not ask and thus we do not have what we need. True saints know it is useless to ask God for what we lust after. However, there are things we need that would satisfy us if we would just ask God to help us to see things from His perspective. We need to see those things more clearly.
James stated that even when we ask, we ask amiss. Why is that? We have a wrong plan for life. We want things we do not need and we want them to satisfy our lusts. People believe men like Kenneth Copeland who promises the moon and shows off what he has managed to swindle out of people and he says all “Christians” should be able to live the same way. There are only so many suckers and not every person is a shrewd salesman. There are many gullible people who are willing to sacrifice and give to deceivers in the hope that some of that will spill over to them as well.
There is this idea of “paying it forward”. The devil wants us to think that we need to see a tangible return on our giving. We are slow to learn of the importance of investing in Heaven. We are very earthly minded. I say all this realizing that I have not “arrived”. The apostle Paul gave his testimony in Philippians 3. He had not “arrived” yet as he wrote that.

Philippians 3:14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

I am not an apostle. Every true saint has been given a high calling from God in Christ Jesus. Being a light in a dark world is a high calling. Having that light purified is important.
In verse 4 we see the problem we face. Physical adultery is sin. Too many people are involved in that and too many preachers are endorsing that. James is addressing spiritual adultery. True saints make up the Bride of Christ. He is the Bridegroom. He is to be the Lord of every born again Christian. He is in charge. We serve Him. The blessing is when we submit to Him. The more we learn to submit the happier we will be, if we are truly saved. The devil is always there to try to convince us that we should not get too serious with God. God knows full surrender to Him is the right thing for us.
We are seeing more and more professing Christians increasing their friendship with the world. The adoption of CCM music and rock music is an example of that. The immodesty that dominates so many professing Christian’s lives is another example of that. The diminishing of the holiness of God is also a problem. God spoke of the friendship of the world. That includes many things. God also stated that is enmity with God. The Christian cannot be a friend of the world and be at peace with God. The New Evangelical crowd claims they are at peace with God but that is because they have redefined peace. It is obvious they are not at peace with God because of the continuing changes they need to see in their own spiritual pursuits and what they demand from their religious associations.
James is very clear here. If I want to be a friend of the world, I am an enemy of God. That is a simple fact. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig. You can corrupt the Word of God and call it a Holy Bible, but it is still corrupt and unholy.
The devil has been attacking the Word of God since Genesis 3. He knows that if he can remove that sure Word from our minds and from our lives, he has won. Sadly, he has won in many people’s lives. The good news is that God’s Word is still quick and powerful. The true saint will be pierced when he chooses rebellion over blessing.
In Matthew 7 Jesus warned of those who chose another gospel rather than the truth. They can call out “Lord, Lord”, but that does not mean anything in God’s sight. We cannot corrupt God. That is the good news. If you are seeking friendship with the world, you would be wise to listen to God’s warnings here. If you are saved, God will be working in your heart to bring you into a closer walk with Him. If you are not being chastened even though in rebellion, you should be concerned. You are not His child. That should concern you.
It does not help to go see a doctor who only tells you what you want to hear. You need one that will tell you the truth. There are very few doctors that are telling the truth these days. Most chose to accept the lies surrounding the Wuhan virus.
Spiritually, there are very few men like James today. Most have accepted the lies of the perversions. Most are content to accept sin into their own lives and into the life of their church. The wise person is the one who submits to God’s Word and counts the cost. It is worth it to submit to God’s Word. The rewards in heaven are far greater than the superficial material gains here.
Pastor Bartel