In God We Trust - James 4:11-17

Faith Fellowship Boca · In God We Trust - James 4:11-17

 Key Verses - “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” - James 4:13-14

 

Trusting Myself Means…

 

A. Trusting my Instincts.

 

Translation:  We often call this an “Educated Guess”

 

B. Trusting my Experience.

 

Translation: I’ll trust my successes from the past...and my preparation for the present.

Application:  Experience can lull us into a false confidence.

 

James 4:16 - “As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.”

 

C. Trusting my Judgment.

 

Translation: I’m smart...I’ll just use my Brain power.  

 

Question:  What happens when things don’t make sense? 

 

D.  Trusting my Heart.

 

Translation: I feel strongly about this.

 

Problem:  Our hearts can be misled.

Trusting God Means…

 

A. Starting with God’s Will.

 

James 4:15 - “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”  

 

Matthew 6:33 - “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 

** How to “Start with God’s will”?  

 

1)  Consult the Bible – has God revealed his will for my situation?

 

2)  Prayer – what is God saying to me about my situation?

 

B. Seeking Godly counsel.

 

Henri Nouwen - “Perhaps the main task of the minister is to prevent people from suffering for the wrong reasons.”

 

Proverbs 15:22 - “Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success.”  (NLT)

 

Proverbs 19:20 - “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom for the future.”

 

Remember: Trust only those who are, themselves, trusting God.

 

C. Analyzing the Situation.

 

** God wants us to consider the variables, options and costs.

 

Luke 14:28 - “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?”

 

Application:  Counting the cost keeps us from impulsivity.

 

D. Striving for Holiness.

 

James 4:17 – “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”

 

Colossians 3:17 - “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

 

Application:  Striving for holiness keeps us intentionally focused...

 

…and being Focused keeps us alert to pitfalls that may trip us or the doors of opportunity that may open.

 

 

"Meaningful Friendships" - James 4:1-10

Faith Fellowship Boca · "Meaningful Friendships" - James 4:1-10

3 Friendship Breakers

 

Friendship Breaker 1 – Unchecked Hedonism.

 

James 4:1-3 – “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? 

Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?”

 

** James says this Unchecked Hedonism is the root of our Friendship Breakers...the result being: 

 

² You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

 

Proverbs 10:3 - “The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the 

craving of the wicked.”

 

Question: “Why do we Christians continue to crave things to the point that it only divides us and sets us against one another?”

 

Friendship Breaker 2 - Unfaithful Philandering.

 

James 4:4a – “You adulterous people!”

 

Isaiah 54:5 - “Your Creator will be your husband. The Lord Almighty is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.”  (NLT)

 

Jeremiah 3:20 – “‘But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,’ declares the Lord.”

 

Point:  Flirting with the world results in spiritual infidelity.

  

Friendship Breaker 3 - Enmity with God. 

 

James 4:4b - “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

 

** Imagine that... the one who was the object of God’s affection “makes himself” an enemy of God.

 

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”  (Matthew 6:24)

 

Point:  There are no other categories: you are either “Beloved of God” or “Enemy of God”

5 Friendship Makers

Friendship Maker #1 – Follow God’s prescriptions.

 

James 4:6-7a – “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God.”

 

** Listen carefully – “God opposes the proud” because Pride:

 

1.     Cannot admit it is deficient.

2.     Believes it is self-sufficient.

3.     Will not confess its own sin.

 

Friendship Maker #2 – Push back against Satan.

 

James 4:7b - “Resist the devil...”

 

Point: It’s as simple as this...We resist the devil when we refuse to surrender to the impulse of sin.

 

1 John 4:4 – “...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world..”

 

A word of PROMISE... “Resist the devil and he will FLEE from you.” (v. 7b)

 

Friendship Maker #3 – Seek God while the door is still open.

 

James 4:8a - “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

 

Point: Drawing Near happens when we release the “ballasts” that holds us down.

 

Friendship Maker #4 – Change when you’ve been wrong.

 

Unknown – “Laughter and joy are not evil. However, the particular moments when we meet God as sinners demand a serious repentance rather than hilarious celebration.”

 

James 4:8b-9 – “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.”

 

Point: Repentance is the reset button that activates grace.

 

William Barclay – “The terrible sorrow of the realization of sin moves on to the thrilling joy of sins forgiven.”

 

Friendship Maker #5 – Know your place.

 

James 4:10 - “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

 

“Humility” = thinking of yourself as God thinks of you.

 

Point: When we think of ourselves as God does... “humility” frees us to:

 

1.     ...keep a right perspective about the highs and lows of life...not warped by the world’s philosophies/priorities.

 

2.     ...not beat up yourself for sin...but to not EXCUSE yourself, either.

 

3.     ...approach God with confidence... knowing we WILL be accepted by him through Jesus.

 Bruce Wilkinson - “Jesus wants you to know that the consequences of your actions  and beliefs today can change your eternity in astounding and wonderful ways - and He doesn’t want you to waste another minute believing otherwise.”

The Way of Wisdom - James 3:13-18

Faith Fellowship Boca · The Way of Wisdom - James 3:13-18

Defining “Wisdom”:

 

·      “Understanding” = textbook knowledge, “the way things are designed to work”

·      “Wisdom” = applying God’s design

 

Proverbs 4:7 – “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”

 

Jesus – “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for 

my sake will find it.”  (Matthew 10:39)

 

Note 1:  We cannot find Wisdom on our own…through our efforts.

 

Job 12:13 - “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.”

 

Note 2: Wisdom is available when imparted by God.

 

Proverbs 9:10 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

 

Note 3: Wisdom is the key to inner fulfillment, peace, contentment

 

Proverbs 3:13 – “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, ¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. ¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. ¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.”

 

Point: So…Wisdom leads to the Highest Life…elevates our purpose/living to a heavenly status.

 

 

Dare 1:  Be noticeably Humble.

 

James 3:13 - “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humilitythat comes from wisdom.”

 

Point: Humility is designed to be our greatest witness.

 

Romans 12:2 (J.B. Phillips Translation) – “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God remold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.”

 

Dare 2:  Be boldly genuine.

 

Jesus said (Matthew 5:37) – “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

 

James 3:14 - “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.”

 

Point: If predictability is a sign of genuineness, be predictable.

Dare 3:  Be intentionally single-minded.

 

James 3:15-16 - “Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

 

“Disorder” (v. 16) = Anarchy

 

Point:  Wisdom reveals itself a single-mindedness of focus  and purpose.

 

Dare 4:  Be extraordinarily consistent.

 

James Sennett - “The only way to be ‘truly’ consistent is as a non-Christian.  If we are to be Christians at all, we will be inconsistent ones. We will be right some of the time and wrong some of the time. What Jesus asks of us is that we strive to take the ‘right some of the time’ and make it an ever-increasing portion of the time.” 

 

Point:  Consistency is a reachable goal for every Christian…because it is God’s goal for us!

 

James 3:17 - “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

 

Note: Check out this list of what our characters/lives could look like WHEN we live the Way of Wisdom:

 

·       “Pure” = devoid of worldly motives

·       “Peace-loving” = Right relationships...no ulterior motives

·       “Considerate” = thinking of others

·       “Submissive” = ready to obey

·       “Full of Mercy” = sympathy for others who suffer injustice

·       Full of “Good Fruit” = Mercy that leads to helping others

·       “Impartial” = undivided, unwaverign

·       “Sincere” = literally: without hypocrisy; honest, not pretending

	The Wisdom of the World                                The Wisdom of Heaven   Source:           Earthly, Unspiritual, Devilish                                             “Above”, Godly                        Motivation:    Bitter Envy, Selfish Ambition                                       Pure, Mercy, Submissive   Result:            Disorder, Wickedness                                                               Good Fruit                                Every Evil                                                              “Harvest of Righteousness”