·
Trustworthy
faith has a proper perspective on worldly wealth - 1:9-11
·
Trustworthy
faith endures temptation successfully - 1:12-15
·
Trustworthy
faith knows every good and perfect thing in life is from God - 1:16-18
·
Trustworthy
faith is self-controlled - 1:19-20
·
Trustworthy
faith applies the word of God to life - 1:21-25
·
Trustworthy
faith has pure and undefiled religion - 1:26-27
·
Trustworthy
faith is fair to all and unprejudiced - 2:1-13
·
Trustworthy
faith is evidenced in tangible works - 2:14-26
·
Trustworthy
faith controls it's words - 3:1-12
·
Trustworthy
faith relies on heavenly wisdom - 3:13-18
In chapter 4 of James we will consider more examples of trustworthy
faith. In chapter five we will see the triumphant nature of trustworthy faith.
James begins chapter 4 by asking a question, "Where do wars and fights come from among you?" By asking this
question James will pinpoint the causes of conflict. He will introduce his
readers to the reality of an enemy working behind the scenes. James will
introduce us to the reality that a spiritual war is behind the outward wars we
experience individually and corporately in the church. This unseen war even
manifests itself in civil wars within nations and as well as international wars
pitting nations against nations. All conflicts and wars are the product of an
underlying spiritual war.
The leading antagonist in this underlying spiritual conflict is referred
to as "Satan" (1 Chronicles 2:11; Job 1:6-12; Matthew 12:26; Mark
1:13; Acts 5:3;26:18; Romans 16:20), the "devil" (Matthew 4:1, 5, 8,
11; Ephesians 4:32; 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:26). These are the primary names used to
refer to this greatest of rebels. He is an angelic being created by God
Almighty. From the scriptural description of him it appears he may have been
God's beautiful worship leader, a magnificent creature - "You were the seal of perfection, full of
wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every
precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx,
and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your
timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were
the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy
mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You
were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was
found in you" (Ezekiel 28:12-15). But though God has created Satan
with such magnificent beauty and had given him such a privileged position,
Satan was not thankful but instead chose to be proud and unthankful. And so God
cast him out of heaven. Scripture states, ". . . And you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of
the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of
the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you
corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground,
. . . ." (Ezekiel 28:16b-17).
Another name for Satan is "Lucifer" (Hebrew helel) which means light bearer, shining one, morning star, or day star (Isaiah 14:12). He
is a created angelic being who took his eyes off of God and put them on himself
in pride. Satan is a created being not
equal with God in any way. When Jesus responding to His accusers He
mentioned Satan stating "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your
father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand
in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks
from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John
8:44). Part of Satan's deception is to present himself as an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians
11:14). Satan presents himself as light; as something good and valuable; as
something or someone that is attractive; someone equal to and a viable
alternative to God. But Satan is no equal to God. He is created and as one of
God Almighty's creatures he must submit to God's authority (e.g. Job 1 and 2).
Pride was the downfall of Satan. Because of his pride God's word states
of him, "How you are fallen from
heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you
who weakened the nations!" (Isaiah 14:12). He refused to be thankful
to God for the beauty with which God made him and rebelled against God Most
High his Creator. God reveals in His word of Lucifer's self-centered pride,
"For you have said in your heart:
"I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the
north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most
High" (Isaiah 14:13-14).
God's revelation of Lucifer through the prophet Isaiah states that he
"weakened to the nations!" (Isaiah
14:12), "made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed cities, .
. . ." (Isaiah 14:16-17). If he
can move nations to conflict, he can surely do the same amongst individual
people.
In the New Testament the apostle Paul exhorts believers to "be strong in the Lord and in the
power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil"(Ephesians 6:10-11). He
substantiates this exhortation by speaking of a network hierarchy of Satan and
his demons saying, "For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood [i.e. we do not struggle merely against
people], but against principalities,
against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual
hosts of wickedness in heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). It is believed that when God cast
Satan out of heaven He did so along with a third of the angelic beings that
chose to follow him (Revelation 12:4, 7-9).
With that in mind Paul then goes on to mention the weapons God has
provided to fight in this unseen spiritual war: "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand, Stand therefore,
having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of
righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to
quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and
the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all
perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:13-18;
cf. also 2 Corinthians 10:3-4).
Lucifer and his minions do have power, but as we will see in the
inspired words of James, their power is limited and God has provided a strategy
to defeat them. Trustworthy faith realizes the reality of this spiritual war
and fights against the enemies of God.
To persecuted Christians Peter was inspired to write, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary
the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist
him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced
by your brotherhood in the world" (1 Peter 5:8-9). James is also
speaking to a physically persecuted church
and his words speak to us of God's tactics for spiritual warfare. It is
to these insights we turn to now.
James 4:1–17 (NKJV)
4 Where do wars and fights come from
among you?
Trustworthy
faith realizes we are in a war. "Wars" (Greek polemos)
are a fight, battle, war, dispute,
strife, quarrel. "Fights" (Greek
mache) refers to fighting, striving, controversy, combat, disputes. James is writing
to believers and he acknowledges that there are at times wars and fights that
take place among them. Wars and fights among the brethren of the church, based
on context, are the product of spiritual warfare. This is a sad reality. It is
a problem that needs to be solved. Jesus said a house divided cannot stand
(Matthew 12:22-30). One of the most basic military strategies is to divide and conquer. So knows he is no
match for the Spirit empowered Christ-centered church. So he uses the divide to
conquer tactic. Too often the church falls for his schemes. James is inspired
to show us why this happens and how to avoid succumbing to this tactic.
The phrase "come from among you?" tells us that James focus is primarily
on wars and conflicts that take place among
Christians. There is no doubt that wars and conflicts outside the church
involve the carnality and sin alluded to here by James. But in an unsaved world
wracked by sin wars and conflicts are not out of the ordinary; we can expect
them. James is speaking of wars and conflicts that take place inside the church or between Christians.
Wars and conflicts should not occur
among Christians. We have the Holy Spirit within and one of the aspects of the
love-fruit of the Spirit is peace (Galatians 5:22-24). Christians should be
different; above wars and conflicts; more humble and spiritual in their
relations with one another. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
Sometimes those in the church are undistinguishable from those outside the
church. Sometimes Christians lower themselves to conflicts that make them look
little different than unsaved people. This, my brothers and sisters, should not
be.
Do they
not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
Trustworthy
faith understands that outward conflict comes from inward conflict. James identifies the first cause of conflict
among us. He does so with a rhetorical question. The problem is "desires
for pleasure" which is a translation of the single Greek term hedone which refers to sensual delight. We get the English word
hedonism from this term. It is a lust
to fulfill anything that feels good. God has created pleasure as a feeling for
us to enjoy life. The problem of pleasure occurs when a person becomes obsessed
with pleasure and/or seeks to fulfill his pleasures outside the parameters of
God's word.
The phrase "That war in your members" speaks to us about the
"flesh" or our sinful nature. This is the heart of the problem. Even though we are saved from our sin through
faith in Christ we still have a sinful nature. In this life we exist with a
fallen sinful nature. It is that part of us that is inclined to be selfishly
sinful. It is that part of us that relies on our own understanding and own
perceived strength. There is nothing good in this nature (Romans 7:18). When we
accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord and the Holy Spirit indwells us it creates
a situation where there are two natures (one prone toward sin and one prone
toward the holiness promoted by the Holy Spirit) that are at odds with one
another. It is possible to suffer great inward conflict because of these two
natures within (e.g. Romans 7). But through faith in Jesus and the power of the
Holy Spirit we can live victoriously over this pleasure seeking unwanted tenant
within (e.g. Romans 7:25; 8:1-39; Galatians 5).
Satan tries to inflame our sinful nature. He
seeks to get the Christian to focus on pleasure as opposed to purity in the
Spirit. This is battle ground of the spiritual conflict; our heart. We are
constantly posed with the need to decide to either follow the pleasure-centric
self-centered sinful nature or follow the holy ways of the Holy Spirit. God's
promise is to provide a way to deny the flesh (i.e. sinful nature) and move
forward toward being conformed to the likeness of Jesus (Romans 8:29; 2 Peter
1:3-4).
2 You
lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and
war.
Trustworthy
faith realizes the ways of the sinful nature are a dead end. To follow the pleasure seeking sinful ways of
the flesh is a dead end. James says, "You
lust and do not have." That is the definition of addiction. If you
choose to follow the lusts of your sinful nature just understand you will never have enough. Like an
addict hooked on drugs you will never
attain a high satisfying enough. You will always crave more. You
will be driven to use any means to satisfy your pleasure seeking lusts - "You murder and covet and cannot
obtain." You will go so far as to assassinate the character of others
or even actually murder them. But you will never find what you are looking for.
"You fight and war."You
are at odds with one another because of you pay more attention to your sinful
nature lusts than you do to the Holy Spirit within. This is the dead end of the
sinful nature.
An insightful comment on the problem here is:
The
reason we put down other people, gossip about other people, fight with other
people is because we want something from
other people. It can be as stupid as thinking, Talking about that guy
will make me look better to this guy. Yet the only way to get what our heart really craves is not to prey on
others, but to pray to the Father.[1]
"The only way to get what our heart really
craves is not to prey on others, but to pray to the Father." And therefore
it shouldn't surprise us to see James through process now continues with an
allusion to prayer.
Yet
you do not have because you do not ask.
Trustworthy
faith prays. In chapter
three we said that the words we use are a good indicator of our spiritual
condition. Jesus said, "For out of the abundance
the mouth speaks" (Matthew
12:34). But another indicator of our spiritual condition is prayer.
James indicts these divided brethren for
their prayerlessness. Those who fight and war with each other expose their
state of spiritual weakness and distance from God. It is certain that those who
choose to fight against brethren are lacking in their prayer life. That is
James indictment against these infighters.
Prayer is important. Prayer is our lifeline
to God. Prayer is like an oxygen hose for our spiritual lungs. If we fail to
pray we will suffocate spiritually. Adam Clark, the great Methodist minister of
the 18th century stated:
“Apostasy
begins in the closet. No man ever backslid from the life and power of Christianity who continued constant and
fervent in private prayer. He who prays without ceasing is likely to rejoice forevermore.” [2]
Prayer brings God's peace into our lives
(e.g. Philippians 4:6-7). When all hell is breaking loose around us and we are
getting caught up in it, that is especially the time when we should pray.
E.M. Bounds, a pastor and great man of prayer
in the 19th century, said this about the importance and purpose of prayer:
“Prayer
affects men by affecting God. Prayer moves men because it moves God to move men. Prayer influences men by influencing God
to influence them. Prayer moves the hand
that moves the world” [3]
“Prayer
takes hold of God, and induces Him to do large things for us, whether personal
or relative, temporal or
spiritual, earthly or heavenly. . . . The great gap between Bible promises to prayer and the income from praying
is almost unspeakably great, so much so that
it is a prolific source of infidelity. It breeds unbelief in prayer as a great
moral force, and begets doubt really as
to the efficacy of prayer. Christianity needs to day, above all things else, men and women who can in
prayer put God to the test and who can prove His promises. When this happy day for the world begins, it
will be earth’s brightest day, and will
be heaven’s dawning day on earth. These are the sort of men and women needed in
this modern day in the Church. It
is not educated men who are needed for the times. It is not more money that is required. It is not more machinery, more
organization, more ecclesiastical laws,
but it is men and women who know how to pray, who can in prayer lay hold upon God and bring Him down to
earth, and move Him to take hold of earth’s affairs
mightily and put life and power into the Church and into all of its machinery.”
[4]
“The men
who have done mighty things for God have always been mighty in prayer, have well understood the possibilities
of prayer, and made most of these possibilities . . . . It is the effectual, fervent prayer that influences God. . . .
When prayer fails, the world prevails.
When prayer fails the Church loses its Divine characteristics, its Divine
power; the Church is swallowed up
by a proud ecclesiasticism, and the world scoffs at its obvious impotence.” [5]
John Chrysostom (349-407), archbishop of Constantinople,
prominent early church father and known as a "golden tongued orator,"
said this about prayer:
“The potency of prayer hath subdued
the strength of fire; it had bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest,
extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of
death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds,
rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the
progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an
all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never
exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is
the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.” [6]
We miss out on God's blessings when we don't
pray. And when we prayerlessly miss God's blessings our flesh incited by the
devil seeks more divisive means to prosper. When there are problems in the
church or between believers you can be sure a lack of prayer is part of the
problem.
3 You
ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on
your pleasures.
If a warring believer is praying, they are
praying out of focus with the Lord. They pray with an eye toward using God to
fulfill their sinful lusts or, "that
you may spend it on your pleasures. Prayers should focus on God and His
will not our desires and our will.
James speaks of those who do pray ("You ask") but who "do not receive, because you ask
amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." There is right and
wrong praying. Jon Courson gives us clarity about this when he explains:
“I do pray,” you may say. “But
I don’t get what I ask for.”
That’s because you’re asking amiss. Prayer
is not giving orders. It’s reporting for duty. And
once a person finally understands that prayer is not man saying, “Bless the
business; bring in the money;
solve the problem,” and God saying, “Aye, aye, Captain,” his prayer life will be revolutionized.
Prayer
is saying, “Father what do You want
to do in my life? I want You to do what You see
is best for me because I get mixed up so easily.”
I
walked into his room during his nap to find one-year-old Peter-John lying on
his back, eagerly reaching for an object
dangling just inches above his head. Living in a rustic cabin in the woods at that time, we were sometimes
surprised by the visitors we would
have. And this particular afternoon was no exception, for I was surprised indeed to see the object for which
Peter was so intently reaching was a black widow spider.
We’re just like Peter-John. We lie on our
beds or kneel beside them and, through prayer, grab
for things we think would be so wonderful, failing to realize they are nothing
but black widows. Therefore,
every bit as exciting to me as prayers God does answer are those He doesn’t answer because I know
I’ll see that what I thought was so intriguing and tantalizing will prove to be poisonous and deadly. Oh, may
we learn not to give orders or grab
spiders, but to do what Jesus did in the Garden: to submit to whatever the
Father has for us.[7]
Prayer
is not giving God orders, it's reporting to Him for duty. Remember that.
Martin Luther expressed the value of prayer in spiritual
battle when he coined the lyric, "Satan trembles when he sees, the weakest
saint upon their knees." Because of that Satan will do everything he can
to keep people from praying and to instead keep them preying.
E.M. Bounds affirms the importance of prayer in spiritual
warfare when he says:
“One of
Satan’s wiliest tricks is to destroy the best by the good. Business and other
duties are good, but we are so
filled with these that they crowd out and destroy the best. Prayer holds the citadel for God, and if Satan can
by any means weaken prayer he is a gainer so far,
and when prayer is dead the citadel is taken. We must keep prayer as the
faithful sentinel keeps guard,
with sleepless vigilance.” [8]
Don't let the enemy divert your attention
from prayer time with the Lord. Without prayer we don't receive our marching
orders. Without prayer we don't receive inspiration and courage from God.
Without prayer we go into battle blind and weaponless and that is a guarantee
of defeat.
4 Adulterers
and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with
God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy
of God.
Trustworthy
faith is not spiritually adulterous. Trustworthy faith is not a friend of the
world but a friend of God.
When we choose to fulfill the lusts of our sinful nature by going after the
alluring temptations of Satan which he provides from the world, we are
committing spiritual adultery. When we put the things of this world before our
relationship with Jesus we are being unfaithful to Him. Such temptations may
indeed include actual acts of adultery and betrayal to our wives, but on a
deeper spiritual dimension we are committing spiritual adultery against Jesus. Trustworthy faith realizes friendship with
the world is diametrically opposed to friendship with God.
5 Or
do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us
yearns jealously”?
6 But He gives more grace.
Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud,
But
gives grace to the humble.”
Trustworthy faith
is not proud or self-centered but depends on the Holy Spirit and God's grace.
"The Spirit
who dwells in us yearns jealously." "Yearns" (Greek epipotheo)
means to yearn, to dote upon, intensely
craves possession of, desires, longs for, earnestly desires. "Jealously" (Greek phthonos) means envy, jealousy. With these words James is inspired to tell us that
the Holy Spirit has a passion for us. It is as though He envies the passion we
too often have for the pleasures of the flesh. He desires we desire Him and His
holy ways like we sinfully go after the things of this world. This is not a "vain" (Greek kenos) or purposeless, empty statement of God's word. The Holy Spirit wooed
us to Christ and has a persistent desire for us to live in a deep abiding
relationship with Jesus. We are part of the bride of Christ. The Holy Spirit
serves as our matchmaker and once we are wed to Jesus the Spirit wants us to be
faithful to Jesus.
If
you’re a dad, you can understand this.…
Your sixteen-year-old daughter can’t stop
talking about him. So finally a week or two later,
he shows up on his Harley in black leathers, a marijuana joint hanging out of his mouth, a swastika tattooed on his arm,
a patch over his eye, a flask of whiskey in his
pocket, a Playboy bunny on his shirt, saying, “I like your daughter.”
Although
your daughter says, “Isn’t he dreamy?” you know he’s nothing but a nightmare—and that she’ll be hurt badly if
she gets on his Harley and goes down the road
of life with him.
That’s how the Holy Spirit feels when He
sees us getting on the back of some Harley we think
is dreamy. He’s not mad at us, not
disappointed in us, not hurt by us, but jealous for us as a dad is for his
daughter.[9]
If Satan proudly rebelled against God Almighty it is not
difficult to see how he would use pride as one of his major strategies to move
others to rebel against God too. To be "proud"
(Greek hyperephanos) means to see oneself or make oneself seem to be
above others, haughty, make oneself conspicuous above others, put oneself at
the center of attention as preeminent. God "resists" (Greek antitassomai)
or opposes, resists, put oneself against those
who are proud.
Then it states, "But gives grace to the humble." This is taken from Proverbs
3:34. We need God's grace. The Apostle Paul wrote to the carnal Corinthian
Christians:
·
1
Corinthians 15:10 (NKJV) - 10 But by the grace of God I am
what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more
abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me.
We can only survive in this spiritual war by God's grace.
What we need for victory in the battles of this spiritual war is God's grace.
And God gives grace to those who humbly ask Him for it. He does not give grace
to those who proudly demand it. God keeps the proud at arm's length until they
exhaust their personal resources. God will wait until we are humbled to take us
to Himself and give us the grace we need.
God gives grace "to the humble." The answer to
pride is to have a healthy "humble"
view of yourself as a sinner who needs to depend on God's grace. We all for
fall short of God's glorious standard of righteous holiness (Romans 3:9-21, 23)
and can only be forgiven of our sins and be justified before God as a gift of
His grace through faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21-26; 5:1-21).
Barometers predict storms by
measuring air pressure. Prayer-ometers indicate pride by measuring prayer pressure. .If I
don’t pray in a given day, it is the ultimate indication of pride because it is the proud person who says, “I don’t need to pray about
it. I can handle it.”[10]
So what are we to do? What are
God's instructions, His boot camp lessons, His marching orders in this
spiritual war?
7 Therefore
submit 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 Lament
and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy
to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He
will lift you up.
Trustworthy faith understands
it is in a spiritual war. The "Therefore"
links what precedes with what will now follow and based on the following
mention of the devil we see that conflicts in the body of believers are due to
the working of the devil and his schemes. We are in a spiritual war. It may be
unseen to the naked eye but it is more fierce than any seeable war. God has
given us weapons for this spiritual war (e.g. Ephesians 6:10-18). But just as
important as the weapons given to us by God are the tactical training
instructions for the battles of this war. What are God's tactical training
strategies?
First, submit to
God. "Therefore submit to God." "Submit" (Greek hypotasso)
means to subordinate yourself to, be
under obedience to, to obey, be subject to, submit yourself to. The first
thing we need to do in spiritual warfare is to put ourselves under God's
command. We should simply live by the motto God
said it, that settles it for me. Really, that God said it settles it
regardless if it settles it for me. But we need to bring ourselves under God's
command and obey His every order. If He says it or writes it out for us, we
need to obey what He has written.
Second, resist the
devil and he will flee from you. "Resist
the devil and he will flee from you." "Devil" (Greek diabolos) means literally false accuser, slanderer, devil. We need
to be aware we are in a spiritual war. And part of this awareness is to
actively "resist" (Greek anthistemi) or stand against, oppose, to set one's self against, to withstand, take a
stand against the devil. We do this in the name of Jesus not in our own
strength.
We shouldn't resist the devil in pride. To do so is to
play into his hands. Instead we remember God's word that states, "Yet Michael the archangel, in contending
with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring
against him a reviling accusation, but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'" (Jude
9). We rely on the strength and power of the Lord and the authority of the name of Jesus!
But we need to take an active position against the devil.
Jesus said the gates of hell would not be able to withstand the charge of His
church (Matthew 16:18). That speaks of going on the offensive. Get up off the
couch, get out of bed, get up from wherever you are and begin to war on the
floor in prayer. Then, once you have His marching orders, march, to the glory
of God!
Third, draw near to
God. "Draw near to God and He
will draw near to you." The most important position to be in when in
the spiritual war is to be close to God. That
James advises us to draw near to God implies we don't always do that. We need
to consciously stay close to the Lord. Apart from God we can do nothing (e.g.
John 15:5). We need to stay close to Jesus. When Satan comes knocking on our
door, we had better ask Jesus to answer for us. Like a child being threatened
by a bully we need to hide behind Jesus.
Seeking
Thee
Lord, I seek Thee for renewing
Of my faith and of my love.
Rush and care are my undoing –
Touch me, Savior, from above.
Pass me not, O holy Savior.
Leave me not to grope and fail.
Through Thy blood I seek Thy favor.
With Thy grace I can prevail.
Faith moves in to claim the promise.
Peace revives and floods my soul.
Make me now Thy chosen chalice,
Giving drink that makes men whole.
Seeking Thee, seeking Thee,
Touch and give me liberty.
-
Leonard Ravenhill (From Revival God’s Way, p. 27)
God's promise is that if we sincerely come close to Him, He will draw close to us. It doesn't say
God might or maybe God will draw near
to us, it says God WILL draw close to the one who draws close to Him.
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. That’s a promise!
Don’t let anyone cast aspersions
on God’s goodness or nature by saying, “I tried to get close to the Lord, but He is just so far from me.” The Bible
says He will draw nigh—always.
People say to me, “I’ve tried, but I can’t
seem to connect with God.”
“I don’t believe you,” I lovingly answer,
“because God’s Word says He will always draw near
to us if we draw near to Him. And I have found this promise to be true, for,
without fail, every time I have
been serious about seeking God, He has made Himself known to me through a Scripture, in my heart,
or through the body of Christ.”
Sometimes, gang, we need to lovingly say
to those who whine about feeling far from God,
even though they claim they have tried to draw near to Him, “You’re deceiving yourself, or you’re trying to deceive me
because God’s Word says that if you take the time
and expend the energy to draw near to Him, He will draw near to you.”[11]
Fourth, focus on
God; be cleansed outwardly and pure inwardly. "Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you
double-minded." We need to be serious about coming to the Lord. We
need to turn off the TV, take off the ear phones, put the paper down, and set
aside any other distraction and focus on God. We need to seriously and
sincerely tune in to Him. You can't have a meaningful time with the Lord if you
are multitasking with a hundred other activities. God wants our undivided
attention and He deserves that.
Sometimes having a quiet place helps us to remove
distractions so that we can give God our undivided attention. Maybe it's a
special quiet spot at a park or beach. Maybe it's a special place in a meadow
or mountain. Maybe you take a ride in your car, ride on your bike or walk or
run. Whatever you need to do to get away and get close to God, do it! Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
And if there are things that we have allowed into our
lives that are contrary to God and offensive to Him (i.e. sin) we need to deal
with that and remove them. If there is anything that is challenging or
competing with our wholehearted holy devotion to God in our heart and life, we
need to remove that. We need to "lay
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, . . . looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:1-2).
We need to confess our sins and receive the forgiveness
of God and be washed clean by the blood of Jesus (e.g. 1 John 1:7 and 9). We
need to "purify" (Greek hagnidzo) or make clean, sanctify, purify our heart from being "double-minded" (Greek dipsychos) or vacillating, two-spirited, wavering, uncertain, doubting,
double-mindedness. We need to be totally committed to the Lord. We need to
be entirely devoted to Him outwardly and inwardly. We need to seek the holy
life promoted and provided by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. This will
remove any basis of accusation the devil and his demons might bring against us.
When we live a holy life we knock out the teeth of the prowling lion's
accusations.
Fifth, be broken
before the Lord. James writes, "Lament
and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to
gloom." This doesn't sound like the feel good seeker friendly message
of the contemporary church! "Lament"
(Greek talaiporeo) means to be wretched, to realize one's own misery,
be afflicted, to toil heavily, to endure, to labor. "Mourn" (Greek pentheo) means to grieve, to
mourn. "Weep" (Greek klaio) means to sob, to wail aloud, weep as a sign of pain. "Gloom" (Greek katepheia)
refers to be downcast in look, heaviness,
sorrowfully expression, shame, dejection, gloom. These are all words that
express brokenness.
This brokenness is contrasted with "laughter" (Greek gelos)
which is lighthearted superficial feeling
that comes from the immediate gratification found in the world. "Joy" (Greek chara) here refers to cheerfulness, calm delight, gladness, all
based on the temporary things of this world.
What should we be broken about? Leonard
Ravenhill wrote of brokenness saying:
The true
man of God is heartsick,
Grieved
at the worldliness of the Church,
Grieved
at the blindness of the Church,
Grieved
at the corruption in the Church,
Grieved
at the toleration of sin in the Church,
Grieved
at the prayerlessness in the Church.
He is
disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no
Longer
pulls down the strongholds of the devil.
He is
embarrassed that the Church folks no longer cry in
Their
despair before a devil-ridden, sin-mad society,
“Why
could we not cast him out?” (Matt. 17:19).[12]
What should we be grieved about? For what should our
heart break? How about the lost souls of the world? How about the countless
people headed toward a and eternal destiny in hell? How about a world headed
toward and perilously close to an eternal cliff that will plunge them into
eternal disaster? How about the ravages of sin all around us? Yes, when we
begin to look around us through the eyes of Jesus we will have a broken heart
for the world like Jesus (cf. Jesus' parables of Matthew 25).
This
Is Brokenness by John Collinson
Sometimes
it is asked what we mean by brokenness. Brokenness is not easy to define but can be clearly seen in the reactions of Jesus,
especially as He approached the cross and in His
crucifixion. I think it can be applied personally in this way:
WHEN
to do the will of God means that even my Christian brethren will not
understand, and I remember that
“Neither did His brethren believe in Him” [John 7:5], and I bow my head to obey and accept the misunderstanding,
THIS IS BROKENNESS.
WHEN
I am misrepresented or deliberately misinterpreted, and I remember that Jesus was falsely accused but He “held His
peace,” and I bow my head to accept the accusation without trying to justify myself, THIS IS BROKENNESS.
WHEN
another is preferred before me and I am deliberately passed over, and I
remember that they cried, “Away
with this man, and release unto us Barabbas” [Luke 23:18], and I
bow
my head and accept rejection, THIS IS BROKENNESS.
WHEN
my plans are brushed aside and I see the work of years brought to ruins by ambitions of others and I remember
that Jesus allowed them to lead Him away to crucify Him [Matthew 27:31] and He accepted that place of failure,
and I bow my head and accept
the injustice without bitterness, THIS IS BROKENNESS.
WHEN
in order to be right with my God it is necessary to take the humbling path of confession and restitution, and I
remember that Jesus “made Himself of no reputation” and “humbled Himself unto death, even the death of the cross”
[Philippians 2:8], and I bow my
head and am ready to accept the shame of exposure, THIS IS BROKENNESS.
WHEN
others take unfair advantage of my being a Christian and, treat my belongings
as public property, and I remember “they
stripped Him... and parted His garments, casting lots” [Matthew 27:28,35], and I bow my head and accept
“joyfully the spoiling of my goods”
for His sake, THIS IS BROKENNESS.
WHEN
one acts towards me in an unforgivable way, and I remember that when He was crucified Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them;
for they know not what they do” [Luke 23:34],
and I bow my head and accept any behavior towards me as permitted by my loving Father, THIS IS BROKENNESS.
WHEN
people expect the impossible of me and more than time or human strength can give, and I remember that Jesus said, “This
is My body which is given for you...” [Luke 22:19],
and I repent of my self-indulgence and lack of self-giving for others, THIS IS BROKENNESS.[13]
Are you willing to be broken for the things that Jesus
was broken for? Are you willing to experience brokenness if that is what it
will take to help you understand Jesus better and go deeper with Him?
Sixth, humble
yourself before God. "Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." "Humble yourselves" (Greek tapeinoo) means to depress, to humiliate in heart, to abase, to bring low, to make low,
to reduce, to being into a humble position. While the world and much of the
church is obsessed with not being
depressed or low, the Christian is to purposefully put themselves under and
adopt the lowest position before their Lord. The closer we come to God the more
clearly we see our sin. The closer we come to God the more unworthy we will
realize we are (e.g. Isaiah 6). It is only when we have purposefully and
genuinely presented ourselves as humble living sacrifices that we are
positioned to see and live our His holy will for us and defeat our enemy the
devil (e.g. Romans 12). Satan rebelled in pride. He sought to lift himself up
in the sight of God. The child of God must humble themselves in the sight of the
Lord and trust Him to lift them up.
In these six heart attitudes and tactics for the
spiritual war we see James inspired to instruct the soldiers in God's army to
be just the opposite of the devil and
his demons. Satan rebelled but we must submit. Satan gave in to sin and
selfishness but we must resist it with every fiber of our being. Satan forsook
God and walked away from Him, we must draw near to God and get as close to Him
as we can. Satan filthied and defiled himself with lusts and sin, but we must
seek holiness inside and out of us. Satan rejoiced in sin but we must lament
and mourn it. Satan rose up in pride but we must humble ourselves before the
Lord. Can you see the difference my precious brothers and sisters in Christ?
Can you see the ways of the world that have infiltrated your life and heart?
Confess your sins to God. Repent. Seek the Lord! Be revived!
Fire
begets Fire
“Satan
would have us increase even in Bible knowledge, I believe, as long as we keep from prayer, which is the exercise of the
instruction we have received through the Word. What
use is deeper knowledge if we have shallower hearts? What use is greater
standing with men if we have less
standing with God? What use is personal physical hygiene if we have filthiness of the mind and of the
spirit? What use is religious piety if we have soul carnality? Why strut with physical strength if we have
spiritual weakness? Of what use is worldly
wealth if we have spiritual poverty? Who can take comfort in social popularity
if he is unknown in hell? Prayer takes
care of all these spiritual maladjustments.” [14]
The
Filth of the World
“Ány
man who has so assessed himself ‘filth of the earth’ has no ambitions – and so
has nothing to be jealous about. He has
no reputation – and so has nothing to fight about. He has no possessions – and therefore nothing to worry about.
He has no ‘rights’ – so therefore
he cannot suffer any wrongs. Blessed state! He is already dead – so no one can kill him. In such a state of mind and spirit,
can we wonder that the apostles ‘turned the world
upside down’?” [15]
11 Do
not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and
judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge
the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is
one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
Trustworthy faith
doesn't usurp God's position by speaking evil of others but instead lives by
the law of love. "Speak
evil" (Greek katalaleo)
means to speak against, slander. It
means to speak to oppose instead of speaking to unite. This breaks the supreme
law of God, the law of love.
James says, " He who speaks evil of a brother and judges
his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the
law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge." What "law" or principle is James alluding to here? Jesus said:
"‘You
shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
(Matthew 22:37-40).
In Galatians is
states, "For all the law is
fulfilled in one word, even this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Galatians 5:14). When we speak
evilly and against our brothers or sisters in Christ, we break this law of
love.
The point James is inspired to make here is that "There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save
and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?" In other words don't usurp God's position in dealing with
others. God alone is in a position to judge, not us. There are times where
we use God's truth to correct and reprove (2 Timothy 3:16-17) but we aren't to
act like God to others. James in reality is saying don't follow the ways of Satan who sought to usurp God's authority and
steal it for himself.
The only authority we have is authority delegated to us
by God. And God's authority is mediated and delegated to us through His word. Whatever we speak
therefore needs to be spoken as the Holy Spirit moves us and is to be firmly
based on the truth of God's word (in context). It is our responsibility to love people. It is Gods' responsibility to
judge people. We dare not cross that line.
We aren't qualified to judge others for a number of reasons.
First, we don't
have all the evidence.
We may have outward (fruit) evidence but that is only half the evidence.
Earlier in James in explaining the difference between James's and Paul's view
of saving faith we said James was focusing on how humans living on the
horizontal plane can assess faith while Paul is focused on faith from God's
perspective. (James 2). But in judging accurately there is heart-motive
evidence that needs consideration. Beyond physical heart surgery human's can't
examine true heart motivation for the things we do. Only God knows the heart (1
Samuel 16:7; Jer. 17:8-9). Therefore in our limited position and
capability to gather and assess all the evidence we are not in a position to
truly judge anyone.
Second, eternal
Judgment can only be done by Holy God. We are sinful like those we judge and therefore warped in
our assessment and weighing of evidence. We don't have the necessary just and
righteous, objective and true perspective to judge. We have a sinful nature
which taints our view. This makes us prone to hypocrisy when we judge (cf.
Matthew 7). God alone is Holy and without sin. Only God is without sin and
therefore is alone qualified to judge.
Third, it isn't
our place to judge.
People belong to God their Creator and answer to Him (Romans 14:4, 7-8). We
have no right to judge God's creation. Governments are delegated positions to
judge secularly by God (Romans 13). Church government is delegated authority to
judge in the church (e.g. 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus). But God alone is Judge.
He says, "There is one Lawgiver,
who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?"
Fourth, it is
satanic to judge.
Satan sought to take God's place on the throne and was cast from heaven because
of it. We act like him when we seek to do something only God can rightfully do
(Ezekiel. 28; Isaiah 14). When we go around with a judgmental spirit know
that you are putting yourself under the influence of the first self-imposed
judger Satan himself.
We are called to love people . This includes speaking a
truthful (corrective, reproving) word in love at times. But judgment belongs to
God. Some may look at this as "judging" but in truth it isn't.
There is a line in the sand between judging others and spiritual fruit
inspection. Jesus spoke of this in HIs Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7.
Jesus said "Judge not, that you
be not judged" ( Mat. 7:1.). The reason for this prohibition of
Jesus is that we are prone to judge hypocritically (Mat.7:2-6). Our sinful
nature makes us so inclined. The guidance of the Holy Spirit in the born again
Spirit filled Christian can help us subdue this sin nature, but totally pure
objectivity and honesty is hard to come by amongst humans; even Christian ones.
We have to rely on the Spirit. This is why the context of Jesus' words next
speak of prayer. Through prayer we rely on and receive guidance from the
Spirit. It is only through much prayer that we should enter into this
assessment process (Mat. 7:7-12).
Because we must enter heaven by the "narrow gate" (Mat. 7:13-14) we should know
ourselves and others to assure we are in the narrow way. We can be self-deluded
and there are disingenuous followers of Christ (Mat. 7:21-23). Satan is a
deceiver who along with his hoards are always seeking to divert us off God's
path. God has given healthy ways and serious warnings to keep us going in the
right direction. More on that in a moment.
Jesus said we should "know them"
(of specifically "false prophets" but this can be applied to all
people in general too - Mat. 7:15-20). There is such a thing as spiritual fruit
inspection. The enemy seeks to deceive and keep people in a fog of darkness. In
such fog it's easy to get off course. We need to know where we are going and
who we actually are. God has not left us in the dark. There is a certain way laid
out by Jesus for knowing who we in truth are and where in truth we are walking.
It is by God's word .
We must apply God's word to all; ourselves and others. This
is the only way to be on solid ground spiritually (Mat. 7:24-27). This is the
astonishingly self-revealing authoritative word of Jesus (Matthew 7:28-29). His
word is the only reliable means to truthfully tell us if we are on the straight
and narrow or expose us if we are in the broad way.
But be aware, this assessment often leads to conflict. When
we lovingly share from God's word truth-parameters with people living outside
those parameters it is their own guilt and fear and God-given/Spirit-conviction
for sin that often brings a reaction to the one bringing that information or
message. That reaction is often like that of a wounded animal. They might
strike out physically or with words such as, "Hater!" Or "You're
not the judge of me!" Or "Bigot!" Or "Who are you to judge
me?" These are all misguided responses. They are still under the enemies'
deception. Such responses are people reacting against God by striking out at
His messenger.
The messenger shouldn't be surprised at this. We should
expect it. The sinful nature doesn't react well to being exposed and losing its
comfortable sinful rule. The Spirit shakes up the person to see their sin so as
to show them the way of salvation. This is a necessary part of the gracious
salvation process. Without it people would perish eternally. With it they
may find repentance and faith in Christ. God is good enough to reach out to the
lost (e.g. Romans 2:4). God desires none to perish (2 Peter 3:9). So it is
worth the risk of riling up people to see the reward of their salvation.
It's as though God tells us, "You love em, I'll judge
em." We aren't to pass a final eternal damning sentence on people. But we
are to speak His truth-parameters in love. As the Spirit guides us we can
become an instrument in HIs saving work. And remember, the Spirit's work
includes others as well as ourselves. That's why Jesus said, "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and
with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look
at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own
eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck fro your
eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! first remove the plank
from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your
brother's eye" (Matthew
7:2-5). Pray until you see clearly in God's word. Then share in love.
13 Come
now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend
a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you
do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It
is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead
you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or
that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such
boasting is evil.
Trustworthy faith doesn't
godlessly and proudly live with no concern for the will of God but relies on
God's will for each day. Satan rebelled against and forsook God's will for
his existence. Satan rebelled against the position God created him to fulfill.
Satan presumed he knew better than
God. Similarly, when we presume to plan for the future we act foolishly. Our
lives are a vapor in light of His eternality. When we plan for our future to
make our profits we act like the devil.
Instead we need to be governed by "If the Lord wills we shall live and do this or that." We
need to first seek the Lord in all things. To run our lives separate from a
consideration for God's will and ways is to "boast in arrogance" and "All such boasting is evil" or degenerate, hurtful, evil, under evil influence, diseased, morally
culpable, derelict, wicked (from "evil" - Greek poneros). When we live our lives without seeking God's will we are living like
the devil wants us to live; we are becoming devilish.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to
do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Trustworthy faith acts on
opportunities to do good. This
speaks to us of our perspective in life. We shouldn't live in a way that seeks
to fulfill the lusts of our flesh. Instead we should live with an eye to be
used by God and do the good that God sets before us to do. There is such a
thing as a sin of omission. When God
presents us with opportunities to do good, we should see such opportunities as
orders from the Lord. Scripture states, "Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).
We storm the gates of hell and fight the enemies of God with good works. We overcome evil by doing good. Every time we do
the good God gives us opportunity to do, we strike a blow for God and blacken
the eye of our enemy Satan. Remember that.
We are in a spiritual war filled with many daily spiritual battles. God
used Paul to speak to us about the weapons God's provides for this war. God
used James to relay His strategies and tactics to live triumphantly in victory.
A trustworthy faith is victorious when it obeys God's marching orders.
Leonard Ravenhill, a fiery revivalist and man of burning
hot prayers wrote:
I’m of the opinion that the
devil has a list of the “The Ten Most Wanted Men.” These are men he fears.
Would you like to be one of them?
Oh, to pray so
as to be known in hell!
Oh, to pray so
that demons have to quit their prey!
Oh, to cause
pandemonium in perdition when we intercede!
Oh, to liberate
the captives when we make intercession with tears!
Oh, to push the
devil around instead of him pushing the Church around!
Oh, to know the
groanings that cannot be uttered!
Some say that
this is praying in tongues – not so in my reckoning. If the groanings cannot be uttered audibly by the
Spirit, I am sure they cannot be uttered by me! Hannah prayed, “but her voice was not heard” (1 Sam. 1:13). .
. .
As God is my
witness, I want to pray with groanings “that cannot be uttered.” I want to be taught what cannot be taught –
only caught as the Spirit anoints.
Lord, I
tearfully ask:
Teach me to
pray with groanings so that there are earthquakes in hell.
Teach me the
groanings of the Spirit until angels stand in awe.
Teach me
Spirit-born intercession that changes history.
Teach me the
birth pangs of the Holy Ghost until hell-shaking revival is born.
Lead me into travail that will
hold back divine judgment from the nations for a little season.
Let me be a living sacrifice on
the altar of prayer, “bleeding to bless,” until flood tides of mercy sweep the
nations.
Lord, break my heart in
intercession until my eyes, like those of Jeremiah, are a fountain of tears weeping
for the slain of an educated, but spiritually dead, people. [16]
Trustworthy faith knows there is a spiritual war going on and seeks to
be used of God to fight in it. Victory is ours in Christ. We need to get into
the fray. The battle for us begins as we war on the floor in prayer. Let us
pray and then let us prey and take back what the devil has stolen.
[1]
Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson’s
Application Commentary (p. 1527). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[2]
E. M. Bounds, The Possibilities of Prayer (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book
House) 1979 edition of 1923 issue of book. Page 45
[3] E. M. Bounds, The
Possibilities of Prayer (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House) 1979 edition
of 1923 issue of book. Page 41
[4] E. M. Bounds, The
Possibilities of Prayer (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House) 1979 edition
of 1923 issue of book. Page 107-108
[5] E.M. Bounds, Purpose in
Prayer (Grand Rapids , MI
[6] E.M. Bounds, Purpose in
Prayer (Grand Rapids , MI
[7]
Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson’s
Application Commentary (p. 1527). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[8] E.M. Bounds, Purpose in
Prayer (Grand Rapids , MI
[9]
Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson’s
Application Commentary (pp. 1527–1528). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[10] Courson,
J. (2003). Jon Courson’s Application
Commentary (p. 1528). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[11]
Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson’s
Application Commentary (pp. 1528–1529). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[12] Leonard Ravenhill, Revival God’s Way (Minneapolis, MN:
Bethany House Pub. 1983) p. 69
[13] Canadian Revival Fellowship PO
Box 584 Regina, SK S4P 3A - http://resources.grantedministries.org/article/this_is_brokenness_j_c.pdf
[14] Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries, (Minneapolis, MN:
Bethany House, 1959, 1987) pgs. 89-90
[15] Leonard Ravenhill, Why Revival Tarries, (Minneapolis, MN:
Bethany House, 1959, 1987) pgs. 141-142
[16] Leonard Ravenhill, Revival God’s Way (Minneapolis, MN:
Bethany House Pub. 1983) p.98, 99
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