Returning to James chapter four, James chapter four, we welcome you. We want to thank you for making the effort to come to the house of God this evening. Thank you. We appreciate your encouragement and your support. And we trust that the Lord will bless you for coming to the house of God this evening. James chapter four, and we'll read just the opening seven verses of the chapter together. Whence come wars and fighting among you? Can they not hence, even, of your lust that war in your members? 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. Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lust. 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 an enemy of God. Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore, he saith, God resisteth the proud, but give a grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Amen. Let's pray. Loving Father, open our hearts to thy word. Give the preacher now the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and may our souls be challenged and blessed. We ask of thee, we offer prayer in the Savior's Holy name, amen. When the Apostle Paul wrote his first epistle, he penned the following words in the second chapter of that epistle, in the chapter, or the verses 15 and 16. He said, 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. 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 off the father but is off the world. John was reminding his readership that they are at war on three fronts. The Christian wages war with the world with the flesh and with the devil on a daily basis. It is this truth that James then takes up in his epistle here in the opening verses of James and the chapter four. It is this truth that he affirms that we are warring against a trinity of evil, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Now, James has already hinted at this trinity of evil when he describes the wisdom that does not come from above. Look there back at the chapter number three and the verse 15. The wisdom that descendeth not from above, but is earthly, worldly, it is sensual, fleshly and devilish of the devil. And so he's already spoken a little and hinted at this trinity of evil, but he comes now to speak of it again in these opening words of James and the chapter number four. And we want to consider James's commentary on these three enemies that the Christian faces on a daily basis and what the Holy Spirit would say to us from James's council regarding the Christian's enemies, the Christian's enemies, that's our subject matter. for this evening. Now the Christian's first enemy that James refers to here in this chapter is the enemy of the flesh. The flesh. Now preachers often speak about the flesh. It is a term that appears some 147 times in the New Testament. But what is the flesh? What is it? Well, it can be one of three things. It can be first of all, it can speak of our bodies. We are fleshly beings. We are bones and upon those bones is flesh. The physical constitution can sometimes take on this term flesh. And then it speaks of weakness, the weakness of the flesh. Remember what Christ said there in the garden of Gethsemane to his disciples who had become weary in praying and had fallen asleep. He said, the spirit is willing. But the flesh is weak. The flesh is weak. It speaks of weakness. And then the third time it speaks of that corrupt nature. The old man, the fallen man, our fallen nature, the flesh. Paul would speak about the flesh, he's basically there in Romans chapter 7, and how within his flesh there dwelt no good thing. And so this term the flesh can be used in one of these three ways, in a physical sense, in a psychological sense and in a spiritual sense. Now in the opening verses of chapter 4. James comes to speak about a very thorny and about a very difficult message or issue that no preacher ever wants to deal with within the church of Jesus Christ. And it is the issue of division and disunity within the body of Jesus Christ. It seems that it has come to the attention of James that there was civil war, that civil war had broken out in some of the assemblies of believers that he is now writing his epistle Look there at the opening words of verse number one. Words that pull no punches. He was writing to believers here and he says, From whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Now the term wars, it can mean disputes, strife, quarrels. The term fighting can mean controversies or contentions. Now James is not writing, as some would suggest, he's not writing about national wars that the Jewish people and other nations were having at this particular time. No, I can say that because he's writing about wars and fightings among you, among you as a company of believers, as an assembly of saints. This fighting and this warring was happening among the people of God. It was in house and James deals with it. He doesn't sweep it under the carpet. He doesn't try to ignore it. He deals with the issue head on, head on. Now these are not battles over theological issues. These are not battles with regard to fundamentals of the faith, but rather, these are squabbles about matters of non-eternal consequence they're fighting over. I don't need to tell you that wars and fightings can break out among the people of God over the most petty. and the most insignificant issues and matters. We have an example of it happening in the Word of God. You think of the early church there in the New Testament, the Book of Acts. All it really took was a grouping within a church to be overlooked, to be overlooked for civil war to break out in its ranks. You'll recall how when the members And when the number, sorry, of the disciples was multiplied, Acts 6 verse 1, there rose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. In other words, they were simply overlooked, bypassed by the oversight. by those who were ruling within the church of Jesus Christ. And as a result, there now comes murmuring, complaining. There is infighting among these two groupings within the early church, the Grecians and the Hebrews. And this is the kind of infighting and warfare that James is dealing with and talking about here when he writes about fightings and wars among you. It wasn't on some fundamental of the faith, on the doctrine of justification or salvation. No, this was simply they weren't getting enough food. They weren't getting enough food. I could list numerous reasons why God's people turn They're guns on each other, but you're well aware of all the reasons. Aye, and maybe you're at war. Maybe you're at war tonight with a brother or with a sister because of one or more of those very reasons. I smiled when I read the following list. as to the various weapons and strategies of choice used in church fights and quarrels and wars. There are those who use missiles, attacking church members from long range. Then you have guerrilla tactics, ambushing the unsuspecting. And then you have snipers, well-aimed criticisms. And then you've got terrorism, no one is immune from being hurt. in such an attack. Then you have minds, ensuring that others will feel in their efforts to serve God. Espionage, using friendships to get potentially damaging information about others. Propaganda, using gossip to spread damaging information about others. Cold war, cold war. freezing out an opponent by withdrawing or refusing to talk to him or to her, or the last one, nuclear attack, being willing to sacrifice the entire church if the goals of my group are not met. These are some of the tactics used in the infighting and wars within the Church of Jesus Christ. James uses very strong terms in verse 2 to speak of the conflict that he is dealing with. He speaks of them killing, fighting, he speaks about war. And the violent terminology that he uses, ye lust and have not, ye kill and desire to have and cannot, ye fight and war, yet ye have not because ye hast not. That violent terminology expresses the intensity and the destructiveness of the conflict that was taking place within the church of Jesus Christ at that particular time. Now in light of James's words, The question that needs to be answered is what caused this warring? What caused this infighting? A clash of personalities? A divergence of opinion? Bad communication? Or a lack of communication? Differently held opinions on some particular issue? These are some of the reasons that we would come up with, with regard to why such was taking place among the Church of Jesus Christ. But brethren and sisters, God puts it down to one thing. The flesh. The flesh. The old man, the old nature. It is because of the flesh too often that war breaks out between members of God's family. Jameson, the commentator, makes a good point when he wrote, the cause of quarrels is often sought in external circumstances, whereas internal lusts are the true origin. Note what he says. come they not hence verse one even of your loss that war in your members And so James puts the blame right at the doorstep of God's people. Don't be blaming outside circumstances or events, but rather the blame lies at the door of the church of Jesus Christ. James makes it very clear that quarrels and disputes come from our lusts that war within our members, our flesh. We come to realize Then from James's words, that external wars and fighting are simply the outworking of an inner strength. that too often rages in our flesh between the old and the new natures. Paul would speak of that inner conflict there in Galatians 5, 17. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. These are contrary the one to another so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Too often, too often it is the fallen flesh that is the source of strife and contention within the body of Jesus Christ, and it ought not to be so. It ought not to be so. James, in light of conflict within the church, identifies and pinpoints a failure on the part of God's people that had led to such war and infighting breaking out among the ranks. At the end of verse two and into verse three, he writes, ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss that ye may consume it upon your lust. Now, James is dealing here with the matter of prayer, and he states that they had not asked, and whenever they had asked, they had asked amiss. Now, the question is, what should they have been asking for? What should this body of believers, what should they have been asking for? Some of them were maybe asking that God would deal with their brother or sister that they were in conflict with, but this is what they were to pray for. No, rather they were to pray and they were to ask God for what we have in the previous chapter and what it was that. Heavenly wisdom. Heavenly wisdom. Sadly, the flesh will employ the earthly wisdom that James speaks of in chapter number three. And what is the outcome of using fleshly wisdom? Well, we read of it in James chapter three on previous occasions, bitter envying and strife. That's the outcome. bitter envying and strife in her own lies and in the body and in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas if the wisdom from above is employed, if wisdom is asked for and obtained from God in prayer, we read what that wisdom does because we read that the wisdom from above is verse 17 of chapter 3, it's pure then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy, good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. A lack of peace within the body of Christ is evidence of a lack of prayer within the body of Christ. Because if we were praying as Christ would have us to pray and praying for what God would have us to pray for, then thank God the outcome of that would be that which is peaceable and would endeavor to keep the unity the brethren in the bond of peace. What did Christ pray in his high priestly prayer? He prayed that they may be one. And he prayed it twice. He prayed it twice. This is what he prayed for with Calvary's shadow looming large over him. God's people would be one. How it goes against the prayers of Christ, Then when brothers fall out with brothers, and sisters fall out with sisters, because Christ is praying that we may be one, and yet we find ourselves at each other's throats. Yes, over insignificant and petty issues, Christ prays that they may be one. Oh, let's cease from this infighting, this squabbling within the Church of Christ. Let's exert our efforts into winning the lost and fighting the good fight of faith. Oh, the flesh, what an enemy it is. The flesh too often rises up. It is the cause of conflict and fighting. What's the answer? Crucified life. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. In the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith. Thank God and the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me to have the flesh put to death. That's the answer. The second enemy that James mentions in the chapter is the world. Look there, James 4, now in the verse number four. 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 an enemy of God. Now you think I'm blunt in my preaching. Imagine sitting under James's ministry. James pulls no punches, no gray area here on this particular issue. He's very clear, stating that a person, a person who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God, that's it. A person who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. He speaks of them as being adulterers and adulteresses. Imagine being in that meeting. When the letter was written and read out for the first time, it's blunt, it's direct, but it needed to be heard by the congregation. What had happened, brethren and sisters, is that they had prostituted themselves. That's strong language, but that's what happened. They had prostituted themselves and they were culpable of committing spiritual adultery. In modern day terms, a love triangle had been set up. A love triangle between God's people, God, and the world. James deals with this particular love triangle. God and the world competing for the affections and for the time and the efforts and the heart of the child of God. And sadly for many within the assembly, they had allowed the world to come in and steal their hearts away from Christ. And their love for Christ had now been moved on to another love. They'd left their first love and they were now culpable of spiritual adultery. And James tells them. This ought not to have been so. John Phillips wrote, physical adultery is bad, but spiritual adultery is immeasurably worse. He said, when we accept Christ, we are spiritually married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead. Any liaison with the world constitutes spiritual adultery. A.W. Pink defined what spiritual adultery is. He said, spiritual adultery is giving into the world that love and devotion and time and strength which the Lord alone is entitled to. Friendship with the world, Are you in love with the world tonight? Am I? We love this world too much, if truth be told. We love its possessions and its pleasures. We love its ease. We love its popularity and praise. We love it. And yet, those who love the world, friendship with the world is enmity, war with God, These are strong terms indeed. How does friendship with the world find expression in our lives? Well, one commentator, Albert Barnes, he wrote this. He said, it is shown by their conformity to all in which the world is distinguished from the church as such. In their seeking the friendship of the world or finding their friends there rather than among Christians. preferring the amusements of the world to the scenes where spiritually minded Christians find their chief happiness and pursuing the same pleasures that the people of the world do with the same expense, the same extravagance, the same luxury, and making their worldly interests the great object of living and everything else subordinate to it. Brethren and sisters, when riches and honors, and pleasures, and custom, and theme, and power, and worldly friendship become the purpose of our existence, and they form the preeminent thought pattern in our minds, then we can be sure that we have fallen in love with the world. We've fallen in love with it. And no man can serve, neither can they love two masters. As the Christian is to be in the world, we are not to be off the world. But sadly, that is what happened to those James was writing this letter to. They had cozied up. They had cozied up to, and they had fallen in love with the world. We need the Spirit of God to examine from preacher to hearer. Have our hearts examined to determine whether We're a friend of the world or a friend of God. Rather, we're living only for this life or for the life hereafter. If we're really in love with Jesus Christ or if we're having a secret love affair with the world. Many believers, it's not even a secret love affair anymore. It's just out in the open. We see it. in their appearance and their desires and where they go and what they do and where they are even on a prayer meeting night. It's no longer even a secret love affair. It's a full flaunting of love for this world. Thomas Guthrie wrote, if you find yourself loving any pleasure better than your prayers, Any book better than the Bible? Any house better than the house of God? Any table better than the Lord's table? Any person better than Christ? Any indulgence better than the hope of heaven? Take alarm. Take alarm. This world is no friend to God or grace. All that is in this world is passing away, and if we build our lives on just this world, we build our lives on sinking sand. Let us seek to love the Lord with all our hearts and soul and strength and mind, so that whenever the world attempts to steal our love away from Him, It finds no weakness in us that will cooperate with such a temptation to depart from God and result in us setting our love on other things. the third enemy of the Christian, and very quickly, he identifies as a devil. Look down to verse seven. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The title devil that's used by Jains is the term diabolos. We get the English term diabolical. I'm sure you've heard the term diabolical. Anything that's diabolical is referring to something that is befitting the devil. It's diabolical. It befits the devil. That's where we get our English term from. The word diabolos can mean false accuser, slanderer, and that's what the devil is. He's the one who falsely accuses and slanders the Christian to themselves. He does that. He tells us how useless we are and how sinful we are and what a failure we are. He's the slanderer, the accuser of the brother, but he also accuses us before God. Can you imagine what he says to Christ? There's those Christians, and they're the ones you died for. He went in before a God to accuse Job. The fact that the Christian is to resist the devil, according to James here in verse seven, is evidence enough that he is the enemy of the child of God. We don't resist someone that we're a friend of. We don't resist them, we embrace them, we welcome them. We talk with them. Oh, but no, we're told here to resist the devil. The term resist, evidence is that the devil is the enemy of the child of God. And therefore, we are not to sign some non-aggression pact with the devil, no, we are to stand against him, we're to oppose him. We're going to come to think about that next week. But why is the devil our enemy? Well, it is due to our union with Jesus Christ. That's why he's our enemy. I don't think he's very much threatened by this preacher, by his efforts in the gospel, really. But because I am in union with Jesus Christ, that's why he's my enemy, because he's Christ's enemy. Christ's enemies are my enemies. The better hatred that the devil has towards believers is because they love the Savior, they desire to honor him. And having escaped out of the snare of the devil, by the new birth, the devil resents the Christian's loyalty and devotion that was once directed to him by the sinner, now going to the one that he has waged war with since the day that he attempted to overthrow God in heaven. And therefore, he seeks to deceive, to distract, to damage, to discourage, to disqualify, to destroy the child of God. And many, many are his schemes and many are his methods that he employs to accomplish those very goals. And we need to remember that the devil is our arch enemy. Not our brethren and sisters, we must not be ignorant of his devices. It must be discerning to realize that he has the ability to transform himself into an angel of light and to have his own ministers to be transformed into ministers of righteousness. You see, the mature Christian, and that's what James is dealing with in the whole epistle, the perfecting, the maturing of the child of God, they recognize that they've got enemies. They're not under some delusion. As some would preach in the gospel, well, all will be plain sailing after you come to faith in Jesus Christ. No, the mature, the perfect Christian understands that they're going to be at war, and these will be their enemy, the world, the flesh, and the devil. And they will need, and that they are to be resisted and overcome day after day. That's what we're going to think about next week in the will of God, because having identified the enemy, James then brings to our attention how we overcome the enemy. He's so practical in his teaching. He doesn't leave us high and dry. There you go, you've got the world and the flesh and the devil to deal with. Off you go. See what works. He doesn't do that. The Spirit of God through the penmanship of James, he gives us certain things that we are to do if we are to overcome these three enemies. May God help us. to understand that we have these enemies to deal with. And then may God give us the grace to be overcomers and not overcome by them. May the Lord bless his word to our hearts, even for Christ's sake, amen. Let's pray.