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What causes fights and disputes?

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작성자 카마리오한인연합감리교회 작성일22-12-09 05:29 조회630회 댓글0건

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Date: 11/27/22

Sermon Title: What causes fights and disputes?

Context: James 4:1-3

(James 4:1) What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?

(James 4:2) You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.

(James 4:3) When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

 

Preaching Note  

1. There is a church called 'Right Foot Church' in Tennessee, USA. This church took the foot-washing ceremony seriously. When the pastor had a foot-washing ceremony, he washed the members' left feet first. A deacon gave advice to the pastor after the foot-washing ceremony. “Pastor, why didn’t you wash your right foot first? Did you wash your left foot first? The right foot is right. Next time, please wash your right foot first.” The pastor thought about it. ‘What if the right foot first and what if the left foot first? It's not even biblical...' So after that, he just washed the members' left foot first. The deacon was angry that he had been ignored and incited the church members to leave the church. They built a church across the street from the church. The name of the church was 'The Right Foot Church'.   

Q.1 What caused me to fight and strife?

 

2. James 3, to which today's Bible text belongs, distinguishes between wisdom from above and from the earth. The wisdom of the earth is that of the flesh, and belongs to the devil. Earthly wisdom is bitter envy and rivalry (3:14-16). Envy and rivalry lead to fights and strife. The wisdom from above is pure, peaceful, kind, gentle, full of mercy and good fruits, without prejudice or hypocrisy (3:17). The book of James distinguishes between wisdom from above and earthly wisdom, and emphasizes the fruit of wisdom that brings peace.

    In Chapter 4 of James, the content is about the causes of fights and disputes in the church community. “What causes quarrels or strife among you? Is it not from the lust of the flesh that is fighting in your members?” (v. 1). It says that the cause of fights or disputes in the church community is because of “the greed of the flesh.”

    The book of James continues to speak of the causes of quarrels and strife. “You are greedy and if you don’t get it, you murder.” It says that the result when greed is frustrated is murder (v. 2). It is a hypothetical contingency rather than actual events. If the envy and jealousy that comes out of greed are not limited, the danger of violence becomes a reality. “If you covet but don’t have it, you fight and fight” (v. 2). Quarrels and fights are always harmful. The book of James emphasizes that strife and fighting come from evil desires. We dream of more possessions, more money, more status, and more recognition. The cause of fights and disputes is the wrong desire to have more than we have, to envy and covet what others have.

Q.2 When do I harm others for my own pleasure?

 

3. In the last part of verse 2, he talks about 'why greed does not succeed and fails'. “You do not get because you do not ask” (v. 2). You cannot get what you want by being greedy, jealous and fighting. The reason we don't get is because we don't ask. It is because we do not pray to God. When you don't get, quarrels and fights happen, but because not getting is not praying, Our quarrels and fights are the same as not praying.

    At that time, what most people wanted to gain in the church community was to be recognized as a leader. It was a boast of wisdom and intelligence. However, in the case of many people, the right wisdom was not there. James emphasizes that the reason is that he did not seek wisdom and understanding from God.

    In verse 3, the second reason why greed is frustration. “They ask and do not receive, because they ask wrongly, so that they may spend it on their own pleasure” (v. 3). The second reason greed is frustrated is because of the wrong prayer. Praying for your own selfish desires is a wrong prayer. Praying from the wrong motive is not praying in faith (Reformed Study Bible, 2287). Christians must seek wisdom with sincere faith, not with a desire to exalt themselves or fill their pleasures.

    The book of James does not say that all pleasure (delight) is wrong, but that it is wrong to not aim at the glory of God. Not all prayers please God, but the Bible says only prayers that are in line with God's revealed will please God.

Q.3 What does God want from me?

 


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