Let's once again seek God in prayer and ask for his blessing upon this time together. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you that we can come into your holy presence through the Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior. And we ask once again that you would give your Holy Spirit to us that you would take your truth and bring it home with power to each one of our hearts, that your word of truth would transform each one of us, sanctifying those who are already genuine believers in Christ and that same word used by you to save sinners this very night. Above all, we ask that you would be glorified in our midst that we would know the reality of communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so come to us, we pray, and help us, we pray. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, depending upon one's definition of war, as well as the data that one uses in order to determine whether or not a specific conflict is a war, It's easily estimated that there are at least a dozen wars currently taking place in various parts of our world. Politicians, diplomats, sociologists, journalists, as well as ordinary individuals, analyze data and information in order to answer the crucial question, Why is there war? Why is there war? And although there are secondary and tertiary causes which can be identified, which help us to understand the reason for a specific war, the central and foundational cause for all wars is often ignored. if it's considered at all, it is quickly dismissed as irrelevant. The Apostle James clearly identified and proclaimed to us what this central and foundational cause of all war is. Turn in your Bibles to James chapter 4. James chapter 4. For those who are visiting with us, we have been working our way through this epistle of James, and tonight we come to James chapter 4, and I'll begin reading at verse 1. James chapter 4 and verse 1. Whence come wars and whence come fightings among you? Come they not from this even of your pleasures that war in your members? You lost and have not. You kill and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You have not because you ask not. You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it in your pleasures. And there we end our reading of God's Word. James' primary concern in his letter is not, of course, the wars of nations, but rather the wars that sometimes sadly occur within the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's his concern. Remember, he was an apostle, he was a pastor, he writes as an apostle and a pastor. And what I would like you to notice now, first of all, is a connection and transition. Chapter and verse divisions in the Bible are man-made and are usually helpful. However, there are times when they are unfortunate, and this is a case in point. So looking back in your Bibles at James chapter 3 and verses 17 and 18, which I'll read in a moment, it is clear that these verses in James 3 are connected to and are a transition to the opening verses of James chapter 4. So again, it would be good if those chapter divisions were not there, but they are. But look at James 3 verse 17 as I read it. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those that make peace. And then we would transition into chapter four. So James' point is that true and heavenly wisdom looks for and produces a peaceable way of dealing with difficulties and controversies, especially among believers. James was not proposing, however, that peace be achieved at the expense of truth and righteousness. He wasn't saying that. No, he was asserting that Christians will endeavor to be like their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in all of their dealings with their brethren, and labor to have righteous unity and peace among the brethren. When James, as a faithful pastor, wrote those concluding words of chapter 3, his mind and his pen then turned to address the matter of conflicts among brethren and the causes of these conflicts. So do you see the transition, the connection? He's speaking about what it is to sow peace, to make peace, and he understands that Christians still have much in the way of remaining sin. Christians live in a fallen world, and therefore there are times when there are conflicts among Christians. So there's the connection and the transition. But notice, secondly, The identity of conflicts among Christians. In James chapter 4, beginning with verse 1. The identity of conflicts among Christians. In verse 1, James writes of two broad categories of conflicts that can occur among Christians within a local church, as well as among Christians of different churches. And notice the first broad category, which James used in verse 1 to identify conflicts that can occur among Christians. The first broad category is wars or warfare. When one evaluates the entire letter written by James, it is very clear that he is not speaking of literal wars and physical fighting among Christians. This is not to say that a physical fight between two professing Christians within a church can never happen. Sadly, that can happen. I even know of a situation in the past, not here, where that did happen. But that is not James' focus. James' focus is upon the heart and the words of Christians. Wars between or among Christians in the local church can break out, and sadly do at times, and they break out by brethren using the weapon of words. James has already addressed the sinful use of our tongues in his letter. For example, in James 3, verse 6, we read, The tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue. And remember from past lessons that James would have been very familiar with his Old Testament, what we call the Old Testament. He would have been very familiar with Proverbs, which frequently addressed the sinful use of the tongue as a weapon of war. For example, in Proverbs 12, we read, there is that speaks rashly like the piercings of a sword. That's just one example. So, the first broad category which James used in verse 1 to identify conflicts that can occur among Christians is wars or warfare. The second broad category which James used in verse 1 to identify conflicts that can occur among Christians is fightings. My translation uses that word, yours may use something similar. These two terms which James used, wars and fightings, they are not synonyms, although they are closely related. The word fightings includes the idea of strife and controversies, and such verbal controversies can easily escalate into fierce verbal warfare. Again, we must be clear that there are times when verbal battles must be fought in order to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. Jude chapter 1 verse 3. But when that is the case, such battles must be fought without sacrificing biblical principles and Christian virtues such as love. We should also note that James does not, in this passage, identify any specific fight or strife or controversy at this point, and he does that for good reasons. James was more concerned that his readers and you sitting here tonight hearing these things examine themselves and mortify their heart sins which produce such wars and fightings. So now notice that James turns the attention of his readers to, thirdly, the causes of conflicts among Christians. The causes of conflicts among Christians. You see that again in James 4 and verse 1. He begins by identifying the overarching cause of conflicts among Christians in the church. He plainly states that the cause of such conflicts among Christians is their individual pleasures. That is, what the word means, their indulgence of the sensual delights of this world. their indulgence of the sensual delights of this world. We get our word, hedonism, from the word which James used here, which is translated in my Bible, pleasures. The word hedonism. You probably are familiar with that word. Such a plain statement should cause you, if you are a genuine Christian, to pause and reflect and ask the question, am I, am I indulging the sensual delights of this world? Am I consequently, through my indulgence of sensual realities, creating conflicts with any Christian brother or sister within this church. And if you were here in the morning to hear the morning sermon by Pastor Chansky, he of course said many, many excellent things about church membership. And he said something like this, I'm not the pastor of all the churches of Northern New Jersey. I'm the pastor of this church. And as the pastor of this church, myself one of the pastors, I am asking that question of you. Are you indulging sensual delights in this world? You should be asking yourself this. Through the indulgence of sensual realities, are you then creating conflicts with any other Christians within this church? Now, you may be asking the question, is it possible for a genuine Christian to indulge sensual delights of the world? Well, if you know your Bible, your New Testament at all, you know that it is sadly possible for a real Christian at times to be sinning by indulging the sensual delights of this world. It's not just something that unbelievers do. James pointedly declares that it is possible for a genuine believer to indulge sensual delights, that war, that is, that contend as in a military battle in your very members. Think of Peter's words in 1 Peter 2. where he exhorted, Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. James understood from scripture, from the knowledge of his own heart, no doubt, from observation of others about him, that sensual pleasures of this world are not only sexual in nature. We all need to understand this. James is not just speaking of, and may not even be primarily thinking of, sensual sexual pleasures. In such hedonistic pleasure, which James pinpoints, there can be a twisted pleasure in one's members, one's heart, which indulges, for example, malevolence towards another. That is a heart disposition of ill will and bitterness toward another. as a consequence of either perceived or real wrongdoing that has not been dealt with biblically, without the gospel being applied. He's thinking of those realities when he speaks of sensual worldly pleasures. It can include the indulgence of such bitterness towards another member in the church. Because of remaining an unmortified sin in the believer, such sensual pleasures can also be manifested in boastfulness, pride, a thirst for honor, a thirst for prominence. It can be manifested in rivalries within the church, covetousness within the church, This indulgence of sensual pleasures, James wants us to understand. You see, you have to understand it so that it affects the way you actually live. He wants us to understand the overarching cause of conflicts among Christians is this. It is this indulgence, of sensual delights of this world in your very members, including your heart. But notice now, secondly here, under the causes of conflicts among Christians. We have the overarching cause of conflicts, but now James continues by identifying the specific causes of these conflicts among Christians in the church. You see that in James 4 and verse 2. He identifies them very specifically. He speaks of, first of all, lust. You lust and have not. And again, he's not just thinking of sexual lust. You can be lusting for power. You can be lusting for prominence. Conflicts arise among Christians when one professing Christian sets his or her heart upon and longs for illicit desires which cannot be satisfied without doing injury to someone else. Consider Judas Iscariot. He was a professing disciple, was he not? Clearly not a real disciple, I understand that. But consider Judas Iscariot, a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, who lusted for money. And then, because of that lust for money, betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ to death. for 30 pieces of silver. James continues with his specific causes for these conflicts with murder. Many of your Bibles will say, you kill. The word which James used here is the word murder. James is stating that professing Christians can, because of remaining sin, They can murder others. And again, does he mean actually taking out a gun, taking out a knife, and physically killing someone? Probably not at all. But he is wanting us to understand that professing Christians, because of remaining sin, can murder other members of the church. With their ill will. With their envy. with their hatred. Think of Jesus' words in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. You've heard that it was said to them of old time, you shall not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. But I, Jesus, say unto you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Racha, shall be in danger of the council. And whosoever shall say, you fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire. Jesus teaches us clearly that brothers can have sinful hearts with sinful speech and murder their brethren. Are you sitting here tonight, are you presently murdering someone else in this church? You say, oh, that cannot possibly be. Do you have bitterness in your heart toward another member of the church. You have your will, jealousy, envy. You need to examine your heart. It is painful to do so, but it is necessary and important so that you will turn away from those sins in your heart and turn to Jesus Christ for mercy, forgiveness, and cleansing. But think also of King David. We know from our Bibles he was a genuine believer. But what did he do at one point in his life? He lusted for Bathsheba, and then he murdered her husband, Uriah, in order to fulfill his lust. You should not be sitting here tonight thinking, well, I would never do that. I would never commit adultery. Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. You should never be thinking, I would never physically murder somebody. Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. You, as a believer, have remaining sin. You have the seeds of every sin in your heart. But James continues, you lust, you murder, he then says, you covet. You earnestly desire, whether things or people, that which it is not the will of God for you to have. that which it is not the will of God for you to have. Pastor Nichols once said, at least I heard him say it at least once, it's very simple, very accurate, it's so simple it seems almost silly, but it's not silly. Whatever is, is the will of God for you. you presently are battling with some sickness, could be cancer. Our sister Ruth is doing so. That is the will of God. To try to get better from cancer is not wrong, but you see we're not to covet something which it is not the will of God for us to have. Ruth should try to be cured from her cancer. She should pray and but we should never covet for that which it is not the will of God for us to have. Think of Achan in Joshua 7. When he was discovered, Achan was discovered, Achan stated, I saw among the spoil a goodly Babylonish mantle and 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of 50 shekels weight. Then I coveted them. He already knew from Joshua they were not to take any of the spoil. It was all to be destroyed. He knew that, you see. It was not the will of God for him to take those things, but that's what he did. He coveted them and he took them to his own destruction, you see. Coveting is a very wicked sin. The world would not think so, but you should think so if you're a Christian. But James continues, you fight and war. Think of the Corinthian Christians fighting among themselves. Think of Paul's word to the Christians in the churches of Galatia in Galatians 5. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another." You see, Christians sadly can at times bite and devour one another. So the indulgence of these specific sins in heart, words and deeds, James wants us to understand they will, indulge they will, cause conflicts among Christians within the church. But notice now, fourthly, the two roots which sustain these causes and conflicts. The two roots which sustain these causes and conflicts. James identifies these two roots at the end of verse 2 in chapter 4 and in verse 3. Look there in your Bibles. The first root which James identifies is this. You have not Because you do not ask. The end of verse two. You have not because you ask not. What is James identifying as a root that sustains these causes and conflicts within the church amongst Christians? It is called prayerlessness. Prayerlessness. This is a root which sustains these sinful causes and conflicts among Christians in biblical churches. James wants his readers to remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and put them into practice in their individual lives. When Jesus said, ask and it shall be given you. For everyone who asks receives. And on another occasion, hitherto you've asked nothing in my name. Ask of the Father now in my name and it shall be given to you. You see, Do not be prayerless, but be prayerful. Instead of indulging pleasures, lusting, murdering, coveting, and fighting in order to obtain what you desire, go to God and ask in prayer for all your needs and desires. For every good gift, James tells us previously in this letter, every perfect gift is from above. coming down from the Father of lights. Christians can at times be discouraged because they do not have various good things that they believe are legitimate, necessary, and desirable. But sadly, what do they do? Many times Christians just bemoan the fact that they do not have this legitimate need met, this legitimate desire fulfilled. They bemoan it. but they do not go to God through Christ and ask. Instead, they become downcast, anxious, fretful, unbelieving, hopeless, and embittered. It is then that Christians are tempted to take matters into their own hands in order to get what they desire. They yield to a brooding spirit. They become discontent. They begin to connive and manipulate and strive and fight to get that which they covet. But they will not receive, for they are not going to their gracious, omniscient, and omnipotent God, and asking in prayer for what they desire and what they need. So I ask each one of you individually, you who are members of this church, or even if you're not a member of this church, you who are genuine Christians, born again by the Spirit of God, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, I ask you, do you pray? I don't mean do you just simply say prayers, I'm not asking if you thank God for your food before you eat it, you should do that. I'm asking you, do you in private earnestly plead with God for the real legitimate needs of your soul? for the real legitimate needs of the souls of your spouse, wife, or husband. The real legitimate needs for the souls of your children. Do you pray? Oh, I'm so busy, so busy. The demands at work, 14 hours a day at work, and then the demands at home, and then the in-laws, then the friends, then this and that. Martin Luther supposedly, I've never read this with my own eyes, so I'm not sure if it's really true. I think it was Martin Luther who supposedly said, my day before me is so busy I must spend several hours in prayer. Now I'm not suggesting that you need to take that approach. Mothers still have to tend to the crying baby in the middle of the night who needs to be breastfed. Wives still need to be preparing the things in the home for children and husbands still need to be going to work. But when it's all said and done, I'm asking you as Christians, are you making time in private to pray? and bringing all of your needs to God, your gracious, omniscient, omnipotent Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. But notice, the first root which James identifies is that people don't pray. But notice in verse 3 of James 4, the second route which James identifies. In verse 3, you ask and receive not because you ask amiss, or you ask for evil purposes, that you may spend it in your pleasures. So these professing Christians are praying But they're praying like the Pharisee in the Lord Jesus parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. You know, that Pharisee, he was, quote, praying, but it really wasn't praying at all. The publican, the tax collector, he truly was praying in that parable. But James is saying this. Sometimes the real problem is the Christian, the professing Christian, is praying. but is not praying in accordance with God's revealed will in the Bible. They're praying with wrong motives, evil motives, or self-indulgence. So are you not praying, but should be praying? Or are you praying, but you're praying in a wrong way? Well, notice now from James the clear corrective to kill these two roots. You know how it is when you have crabgrass and dandelions in your grass, in your lawn at home. You need to have the right killer to really kill the dandelions, to really kill the crabgrass. Well, what's the clear corrective? It's very simple. It's called repent. Change the way you are thinking. Change the way you are living. Repent of your praying with evil motives. Repent of praying with self-indulgence. Repent of prayerlessness. And then pray without ceasing. Pray with purpose according to the Word of God. Pray and ask God to help you that all of your petitions will be in agreement with the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. It's very simple, this means of killing these two roots. Repent and then begin to pray according to God's Word. So by way of review, we've seen a connection and transition the identity of conflicts among Christians, the causes of conflicts among Christians, the two roots which sustain these causes and conflicts, and the clear corrective to kill these two roots. So I ask at the end of this message, are any of you here in this auditorium from the youngest to the oldest, Are you indulging any of these evil sins like lusting, coveting, envying, bitterness, hatred, ill will? Are you presently indulging any of these sins in your heart? Are you expressing them with your words or in your text messaging or your emails? or social media. Observe how hideously ugly and destructive are the sins of lust, envy, coveting, strife, selfishness, pride, fighting, ill will, hatred, and murder. They're extremely ugly. God wants us to see how ugly they are. so that we will hate them with a holy hatred, first of all, in our own hearts and lives. But you must read and think upon, remember, and obey various scriptures. And so, therefore, you need to be reading your Bible every day. You need to be bringing the Word of God into your mind, into your heart every day. Think of these words from 1 Thessalonians 5. See that none render unto anyone evil for evil. A brother or sister in this church does something to you or says something to you, and as far as you can see, it really was sinful, it was evil. They seem oblivious to it. So what should you do? Go home and brood upon it in your bedroom for the next hour. Stew. Think over again and again how unkind, how rude, how selfish that particular Christian brother or sister was in the way they spoke to you. Of course, that's not what you should do. See that none render unto anyone evil for evil. If it was truly evil, don't return evil for evil. You see, if you're reading through your Bible regularly, you will come across passages like this, and it should smack you in the head, spiritually speaking. Wait a second. Even if it was evil, I should not return evil for evil. And what does Paul continue to say? Always follow after that which is good, one toward another and toward all. Now if you need to resolve that problem with that brother or that sister, go to him, go to her. Don't go to everybody else. If you don't want to go, then cover the sin matter, if it's a sin, with a blanket of real Christian love. And follow after that which is good, one toward another, toward all. But Paul continues there in 1 Thessalonians 5, the very next verse, rejoice always. If you are a Christian, you have a thousand reasons every day to be rejoicing, notwithstanding the reality of real remaining sin in your heart and life, notwithstanding the realities of troubles in the world about you, notwithstanding the trials that are there in your own life and family. They may be many trials, real trials. But when you think about all that Jesus Christ has done for you as a believer, he has taken the wrath of God upon himself for all of your sins and all of your iniquities so that you bear them no more. And when you die, you shall be forever with the Lord and all of his people in perfect bliss for eternity. When you think on those realities, it puts all of the problems and trials and all of the difficulties in this life into a proper perspective. Rejoice always. And what's the very next phrase here in Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians 5? Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything, give thanks. Do you thank God for the troubles and trials in your life? I'm not saying you thank God for sin. Don't thank God for sin. He is in control of sin. He's sovereign. He's not the author of sin. He's not tainted by sin. Don't thank God for sin. But do you thank God in everything? Lord, thank you for this heartbreaking trial that I'm experiencing now because of ABCD. And you tell them the ABCD. You need in everything to give thanks. Why? For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you. Very plain. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for this life. Trust in Him to enable you to love one another in this church with a true, sincere love, so that the onlooking world sees that reality and wonders what makes you different. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for everything in this life and for eternal life. Remember that Jesus said, I am the bread of life. He that comes to me shall not hunger, and he that believes on me shall never thirst. What a wonderful promise to think upon, to meditate upon, that he, Jesus, is the bread of life. and that going to him I will never hunger or thirst, spiritually speaking. And remember how he said, truly, truly, I say unto you, he that believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. So tonight, through the word of God, Jesus Christ, the exalted risen Jesus Christ, through this word is offering to everyone here He is saying to everyone here, from the youngest to the oldest, Jesus is saying, I, not me, Jesus, I am the bread of life. He that believes in me has eternal life. You are to come to Jesus Christ, believe in him, take him as the bread of life for your own very soul. And then, and then, Do not live for yourself, do not live for your lusts, for those evil desires that remain in your heart, but repent from all of them, trust in Christ, and live a life of joy, thankfulness, and peace amongst the brethren in the church for the glory of Jesus Christ. Let's close in prayer. Lord, we come to you tonight and we ask that you would so work in all of our hearts, our minds, our wills, our very beings, that we who are your genuine disciples would all the more love you first of all, but also all the more love one another in truth. We pray our God that you would help each one of us to put away from ourselves these various evil sins that create conflicts between brethren, among brethren, in the churches. Lord, help us all to be determined that by your grace we will not at all create such problems within the local church, but rather glorify you, our God and Savior, by loving one another as Christ has commanded us. We ask for these mercies in his worthy name. Amen.