I ask your attention to the hearing of God's Word. If you'd like to turn with me to the fourth chapter of the epistle of James, as we continue our series this evening, we'll read the first six verses, James chapter four, one through six. From whence comes wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts, that war in your members? Ye lust, and ye have not, ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain. Ye fight, and war, Yet ye have not, because ye ask not, ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? but he giveth more grace. Wherefore, he saith, God resisteth the proud, but gives grace unto the humble. Dear congregation, when we continue to consider the letter that James writes to the churches that were scattered about It's at least interesting, to say the least, to wonder at what the dynamic of the relationship was between them. He clearly was not their local pastor, nor was he a church planter. of the individual churches to whom he was writing. Like so many of the churches, in contrast, that the Apostle Paul had planted and he went and visited and revisited and sometimes, in some cases, revisited once again. James was not part and parcel of a church planting effort in the same way that the Apostle Paul was. He was not, from what we can glean, involved in local leadership in any way. But yet, within the epistle itself, it's clear that he recognized the leadership of each church's elders, at least, as he reminded the churches in James 5 and verse 14 that the elders of the church were to pray for the sick. We do know from the New Testament historical book of Acts, Acts chapter 12, Acts chapter 15, and Acts chapter 21, that James was not only the half-brother, we've seen, of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, but we also glean from the book of Acts that he held a prominent leadership role in the church of Jerusalem. We don't know exactly how long he was there, but we can certainly glean that he must have had a fair degree and depth of experience, because in the Acts passages, we're not going to turn to them and consider them now, but just to note them in passing. that in some of the cases, in the situations that the Church found itself in, they went and explained the situation to James, or at least passed by decisions that needed to be made, passed these things by God's servant, James. And so we glean that he held a prominent leadership role in the Church of Jerusalem, even though we don't know exactly what that was. And so we can come to the fairly safe conclusion that as he writes this letter, this general epistle, it seems that he was functioning like a seasoned church guidance counselor. And of course, as he's doing so, he's doing so under the inspiration and under the authority of the Holy Spirit, as this letter as well is included in sacred canon for us. And in a certain way, really, James is like a physician. He's like an experienced physician of souls, examining and exploring and getting to the root of the matter and then diagnosing the problem and then finally giving medicine for spiritual healing as guided by God. Well, this evening hour, as we continue our exploration into this very practical but yet very convicting book, this letter, we go to James the physician. And he speaks to us again this evening hour with the authority of the divine, the heavenly physician, the Lord himself. And in James chapter four, these first six verses that we read together, he addresses this whole dreaded spiritual disease of worldliness. And we ought to see this somewhat in the medical line or metaphor, and that he first gives an examination And then secondly, he gives a diagnosis. And then thirdly, he gives the environment for healing. And we'll be concluding at that this evening. The environment for healing, in the next passage, God willing, he expounds on and explains really guidance for the medicine of the healing itself and so this evening hour will be considering the great sickness the great spiritual sickness that was plaguing the churches and and still plagues the church and individuals all of us within the church to this very day, and that is the terrible spiritual sickness of worldliness. First, examination. Secondly, diagnosis. Thirdly, the environment for healing. We do know, dear congregation, that when the Bible was written originally in both The Old Testament and the New Testament, there were no chapter breaks. That was a thing that was added at a later point. There was also no verse breaks. That was a thing that was added for our convenience. There were the individual books as inspired by God. The chapter breaks and the verse breaks are something that have been helpfully added and wisely added as well by the church in history. And so as we begin this new chapter, what appears in a certain sense to be a brand new subject, in a certain sense it's simply a continuation of that which James had been writing before. After all, he simply wrote this one big long letter to them. And as he's writing this letter to them, he just continues to write and to write and to write and to write. And even though we stop at the end of chapter three and we begin at chapter four, yet James, when he was originally writing it, just kept on writing continually. And you may recall that in James chapter three, he had been addressing the very important subject of our communication, our tongue. And the words that we speak are very, very important. We had seen that the words that we speak are really an expression of our very heart in life. And so that which is on the inside of us eventually comes to the outside, particularly in this context in our words. And then he had continued on down just a little different vein along laying out the two kinds of wisdom that we so desperately need to discern all the situations in life, that is also when we should be saying something, when we shouldn't be saying something, what we should be saying in certain situations, what we shouldn't be saying in certain situations, and And so he lays out the two types of wisdom. You recall, we saw that as earthly wisdom, as he also so calls it here, and heavenly wisdom. And of course, we are called to aspire toward heavenly wisdom. And that heavenly wisdom particularly is expressed not only in words that we speak, that is the communication of our very lips, but it is also expressed in the very lives that we live. So James brings it together in a certain sense, in a certain sense of a conclusion, and he shows us that the way of wisdom is sowing peace in this wise way, and the harvest that is the fruit Of that, sowing in peace will result in righteousness, verse 18. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace, chapter 3, verse 18, and of them, or by them, that make peace. And now as he really seamlessly continues on in this letter, he writes of wars and fightings. Wars and fightings. And so in a certain sense, the contrast, it's understandable why we have a chapter break here, isn't it? Because the contrast between this expression of peace and now a question regarding war and fighting is great. They're antonyms. One is dark, the other is light. There's peace, and now there's bickering, and there's fighting, and there's differences. But most agree that James likely did this and ultimately the Holy Spirit, of course, inspiring James did this to jar us, to awaken us to this very startling reality that this was an ongoing problem also within the churches then as it is now. In other words, we can wisely sow peace and we must wisely sow peace as he gives the expression at the end of chapter three that we must do. That is the way of wisdom after all. But even in all our sowing of peace, which God calls all Christians to do, this sorrowful reality remains that there is still war and infighting within the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so James recognizes this this real and ideal dynamic, doesn't he? He says we have to reach for the ideal, but yet the real will always be with you. You have to sow peace in the way of wisdom. And when you do that, there will be a harvest of righteousness. But even as you do so, that's not the magic bullet, as it were, the silver bullet. That's not just the glorious answer. And then suddenly with a snap of a fingers, there will be no more problems anymore. No, he says there's still going to be wars and fightings. And so he asks the question, he puts it in question, a form at the beginning of chapter four. Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure at war in your members, he asks? And so, like a methodical physician, really, James is diagnosing the problem. It appears that there were, within the churches, conflicts and quarrels. That's just another way of expressing these wars and fightings, quarrels and conflicts, conflict and quarrels. Now, it appears here that there weren't people literally killing each other. But there were people at odds about various things. And it was among members, that is, among those who were in the scattered churches, those who professed to know the Lord Jesus Christ in a saving way, would have come together regularly to worship them. worship him rather, those ones were the ones who were quarreling and fighting with one another. And so he begins his examination by asking this very probing question, where do these quarrels, these conflicts arise from? Where do they come from? He asks in a very wise and probing way. I want us to note a couple things before we get into the details of it. James, as a wise physician of souls, he asks this question to reveal the error of this way of quarreling. It is very clear from him asking the question itself that he was not pleased with it, that he was not just satisfied with it. He didn't see it as an all right option, but rather as an error within the church. And he recognized also that the people to whom he was writing understood it exactly the same way he understood it. It's not like they were from Mars and he was from Venus. It's not like they were from different planets and they were just missing each other on this issue. He knew that they knew and he knew why it was, but yet he asked the question, and he asked the question in order to point out the error of it, to highlight the error of this way of fights and conflicts and quarrels. In other words, he was not just simply recognizing it as a rather unfortunate but acceptable way of life within the church. but to show really the foolishness, the abject foolishness, the sinfulness, the spiritual malady of this great problem that when those who confess to follow the Prince of Peace, they are having wars and infightings and conflicts and quarrels among themselves. And so they're very, The very thing that the question implies is that this is certainly an unacceptable thing altogether. It is the way of error. But then also note, secondly, getting more to the very words of the text itself, right from the very outset, he is striving to get at the root of the problem. Where does this come from? He asks. You know, when you go to a qualified doctor, physician, you, and the doctor, are not satisfied with him just identifying the symptom, saying, you know, you have a headache, you have a broken leg, you have this, you have that. How did you get it? Why did you get it? Where did it come from? A wise physician wants to know the source, the reason why. And so they dig in, don't they? With all the probing questions and the examinations and the x-rays and all the tests and all the rest. Well, that's what James is doing here. Right from the very, very beginning, He's not just satisfied with looking at the situation and treating it as just a very superficial thing. He digs down right from the very beginning and he looks right at the root of it. Where does this come from? And James right away expresses and recognizing that the fighting, the quarreling was a result, was a symptom of a deeper problem. And so he puts his finger on that right away on the sore spot. They were fighting because of their own personal desire for pleasure. Where do wars and fighting come from among you? Do they not come from your desires? for pleasure that war among your members, that is the members of your church, the people of your church. And you see that which was true to your congregation then is no less true today. In other words, my rights and what pleases me controls my world. And when I adopt that attitude in life, there will be conflicts. It's as simple as that. But how do we combat that? Well, we have to remember that God made us originally, created us originally for the purpose of service. Adam and Eve forgot that. They thought it was all about them. When they saw that the tree was good to the eyes and be sweet to the taste, they ate it. It would please them. And you see, that's been the problem of mankind, hasn't it been throughout all of history? We seek to please ourselves, but we forget that our highest calling is to serve. is to serve. And also, then a Christian, it's clear from scripture, has been recreated to serve. Not serve self, but serve others. We are not to be self-serving, but we are to love God and love our neighbor. And we are to pattern our lives after Jesus Christ who said, Even of himself, in Mark 10, in verse 45, even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. And our great call in life is not to follow ourselves, but is to follow Christ himself. The Apostle Paul, he stated it so simply when he said, as he wrote to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 5, he says, we don't preach ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves, your servants for Jesus' sake. And you see, the sad thing was back then that many within the churches And the same problem continues today. Many within the churches today choose to ignore this godly way and rather choose to serve self and my own pleasure rather than serve the Lord and his honor and serve my fellow man. And so James shows how that the ugly outgrowth of this is fights and quarrels and conflicts between members. And it's so simple, isn't it? We see that in maybe your own children or grandchildren, or you witness this at a toddler level, when little children, they fight over a toy, mine, I want it, for me. And That whole attitude results in a conflict right away. Well, you just bring that up. It happens at the adult level. We're far more politically engaged at it, politically correct at it, but the principle you see still remains in adults till our dying day. Part of the problem when we fell in paradise is that we became kings over ourselves, and we want to serve ourself. And God comes, and yes, he kicks us, as it were, off the throne. But as we heard this morning, we still have this old man nature dwelling within us, and we want to keep on retaking that throne. And Satan will goad us on and encourage us on. There were those within the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in James day and still is to this very day because we have this this fallen nature abiding in our hearts That wants to serve self Living for our own pleasure doing what makes me and me alone happy and There will be as a result of that Warring and fighting and bickering and and problems with my fellow man You see James is the wise physician he drills right down right at the beginning of this whole Medical journey spiritual medical journey and he puts his fingers that were right on the very nerve of touchy nerve of it all, and he says, it's your own fault. It's our own fault, our personally, our own fault. And then he goes on, you lust, you crave, and you do not have, you murder and covet, and you cannot obtain. And the idea behind these words is very simply this. When we are self-focused, We have this childish attitude. I want it. And when we don't get it, that's the goods or the money or my way fulfilled, whatever that is, we get angry. We get angry and we commit murder, he says. Was James actually referring to a certain case where there was actual murder involved there in some of the churches? Most commentators agree, probably not. There wasn't probably physical murder happening. He wasn't referring to literal murder, but probably similarly to what his own dear brother Jesus Christ himself taught. He says, when we are angry without a cause at our brother or sister, this is viewed at the heart level by the Lord as murder. Matthew 5 and verse 21, Jesus famously said in the Sermon on the Mount, you have heard that it was said To those in olden days, olden times, you shall not murder, and whosoever murders shall be in danger of judgment. But I say to you that whosoever is angry at his brother without cause shall be in danger of judgment, and whosoever says to his brother Raka, as an empty head, or blockhead, or uses a slur against his brother, shall be in danger of the council but it was whoever says you fool shall be in danger of hellfire and so you see james is is is saying The same thing Jesus is saying. When we are so self-focused on self, on our needs and our wants and our desires, this will result, you see, in this boring, in this bickering, and it can even cross the line into murderous thoughts, into name-calling. And it happens far too often in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ today. And then he repeats, you fight and you war. And he repeats it to think, to affirm that this wasn't just a hypothetical situation. This was a real problem in the church of Jesus Christ. You fight and you war, he says. Then he goes further, yet you do not have because you ask not. You do not have because you ask not. Just pause there for a moment. You do not have because you ask not. In other words, this quarrelsome, self-serving, angry attitude expresses itself in prayerlessness. This quarrelsome, self-serving attitude expresses itself in prayerlessness. And it is so sad, isn't it? We can identify with that, can't we? When we are angry, when we are bitter. Are you and I often found on our knees before God, saying, you know, Lord, I've just been so wrong. Please forgive me. That's the place we ought to be. But in reality, is that where we are? Oftentimes we want to justify ourselves, you see. and refocus more upon ourselves. And so we could reverse this in the way of self-examination and ask ourself this question, this very simple question, do you and I struggle with prayerlessness? Do you and I struggle with prayerlessness? I'm sure we all do. And I ask then a further question, a follow-up question. Could it be that is because we are so self-focused? Could it be? You see, James tells us that can certainly be at least one of the contributing reasons for it. That we are so prayerless because we are so self-focused. You see, this book, indeed, it's practical. It's very practical, but it's very, very personal as well. It gets right down to the heart of the matter of where we live, where we live in the trenches every single day of our lives. You fight in your war. You do not have because you ask not. And then he goes a little further. He explores a little further, verse three. And you do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it, again, on your own pleasures. And so he says that there can be a problem also that flows from this, and it goes like this. We can have a form of religion, that is praying, But even as we pray, our motivation is wrong. We just pray for things to satisfy our own desires. And again, this misguided prayer life is a result of a self-focused life. That's the root, the tapper, the deepest root of it all, where he started in verse one. It's because we are so self-focused, it expresses it sometime in prayerlessness. It expresses it sometimes in misguided prayer. In other words, people may look at us and say, well, you know, they're praying, but Even within our prayers, there can be this desire that we are just praying to consume it for our own lust, for our own cravings, for our own desire. Lord, I want this. Lord, I need this. Lord, Lord, just give me this. And we're not honoring God in it. We're not serving the Lord with a humble posture of worship in it. You ask and you don't receive because you ask and miss. That, in order that is, you may spend it on your own pleasures. And so you see, again, we can be not praying at all, or we can be praying incorrectly for stuff, desires that we just want, and it's all a result. All of it, you see, is a result of being self-absorbed You see, sinfulness can appear very religious. And James, as God's divine physician, comes and he pokes us. You know, sometimes you go to the doctor, does it hurt here? Does it hurt here? Does it hurt here? And does it hurt here? And sometimes it doesn't hurt, and sometimes it does. And what James is doing here, he's poking us at all the painful spots. And if we don't feel the pain, there's nothing wrong with a physician. I'll guarantee you that there's something definitely wrong with us as the patient. If we don't feel the pain from his poke and poking us in all of these personal, very personal maladies. And so he examines us in these verses. And then James is a physician. He's finished this revealing examination of our souls. And then he leans in close and he, as it were, whispers the very diagnosis in our ears. Verse four, you adulterers and adulteresses. Let me shock us. Let me ask, James, did you get us mixed up with some other patient perhaps? I'm here for these other things. I'm feeling the pain of these other things. And now you say, this is your diagnosis, adulterers and adulteresses. What's James saying here? James is saying something profoundly spiritual. He's drawing in the theme, that's from all of Scripture, that God is married to his people. God is married to his people. Jeremiah 3 and verse 14, turn, God says, O backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married to you. The Apostle Paul picks up on that very marriage theme, doesn't he, in Ephesians chapter 5, and he's speaking about marriage in a very practical way, and he's going through the duties of husband, the duties of wife, and he comes to the end of Ephesians chapter 5, and he says, but I speak as concerning Christ and his church. In other words, the marital bond in scripture is a reflection of the heavenly bond between the great bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and his bride, that is, his church, and every individual, a person who has been born again, and he is wed, he is bonded to everyone with a spiritual marriage bond. But you see, when we live for self, When we live for self rather than for the glory of God, and beside all that, and we put our self before others, God is saying here through James that we are being unfaithful to God. We commit spiritual adultery. And he calls it that, adulterers and adulteresses. He's really saying, that's being unfaithful to me. That's his diagnosis to us, as he whispers it, as it were, in our ears. And he calls this, and this is where I drew the theme from this evening for our message. He calls this worldliness. He goes on, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever, whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. You know, sometimes we think that it's the sex, drugs, and the rock and roll and the like. That's what worldliness, that's how you define worldliness. And that of course is worldliness. But here, James comes very personal, doesn't he, to us. Within the very church of the Lord Jesus Christ, when we live for self, when we bicker and when we quarrel, which results in prayerlessness or something more devious yet misguided, self-focused prayer, he says, this is the way of worldliness. And what's even worse, he implies, is that when we live like that, we are, in our foolishness, calling worldliness our friend. Do you not know that the friendship of the world is an enmity against God? He's saying you're calling this way of sin, you're calling that your friend. A friend is someone we feel close and akin to. That's painful, isn't it? Because it reveals something about ourselves, a terrible, terrible problem that we have within ourselves that we actually love worldliness. Even though we confess Christ and we may love Christ sincerely, yet there's this desire within us that longs for worldliness. And not only does he call it worldliness, being a friend of the world, but when we live this way, he says it's being an enemy of God. In other words, we take a stand and oppose God. Do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy. of God. He repeats the friendship theme twice and he repeats the enemy theme twice within this one verse to show us with shock value the contrast and the tragic irony of espousing such a worldview. And it's really lamentable, isn't it? Because God said to his people, Isaiah 40, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. She has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. In other words, the Lord says, I have brought you from the state of war against me into the state of peace with me. And now those same people who've been brought from spiritual war against God to the state of peace with Him says, I'd rather choose the way of friendship with the world and go the way of enmity against my God. It's absolute, complete foolishness. And these very words that James writes are meant to jar our very consciences and to show us the absolute folly of this way. And beside that, he makes it clear also, doesn't he, from the very words itself, that this is a choice we make. Whosoever therefore wants to be, that is by choice, implied by choice, a friend of the world, makes himself, implied by choice, an enemy of God. You see, we can't blame Sin, our sinful heart on culture. We may make our choices within culture, culture may impact us, nor can we blame our sinful choices on the devil. Well, the devil made me do it. We use that phrase far too often, don't we? The devil made me do it. Well, no, he says quite clearly here, whosoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself not is made, but makes himself an enemy of God. You see, we do this sin thing ourselves. We choose our own pathway of sin. And this, he says, is the way of worldliness. You spiritually adulterous people, don't you know that the friendship of the world is hatred toward God? Anyone, therefore, who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. He's laying it upon our conscience to show how foolish this self-serving attitude is. And it's a painful examination. It's also a very painful diagnosis. Cancer is a terrible diagnosis, or some other dreaded spiritual disease. They're painful diagnoses. But here's something that's even more dreaded, because it's spiritual. The physical is terrible. But the spiritual diagnosis that's applied to our souls from the scripture is far worse because our soul is the most important part of us. And the best thing for us spiritually is that we understand the spiritual sickness that we have. Why is that? Well, because Jesus said in Luke 5 and verse 31, those who are well have no need of a physician, but they who are sick. Verse 32, I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And so God would have us to know a measure of our disease. Because if we don't know a measure of our disease, we will never take refuge to the Savior, to the heavenly physician for the healing of our souls. And so it's a painful thing to go through in life's journey. not only in original salvation that we smite upon our own breasts and we confess with the public in God, please be merciful to me as sinner, but in the ongoing life, clearly here in the book of James, it's in the context of sanctification, isn't it? It's painful. but necessary that we feel the smarting of sin, the sharp sword of the law of God, so that we again flee to him whose blood flowed for the greatest of sinners. But not before James actually gives the prescription for healing, which we will see next time, God willing. He first gives the environment, the environment in which that healing will take place properly. And to get our minds around this, think maybe sometimes of you receiving medicine at the doctor and the doctor says, well, take this at bedtime or take this with food because that's the environment in which the medicine will perform the best. That's the environment in which you will perform the best. And so you see, it's the same way spiritually. Actually, in verses 7 through 12, he gives us the medicine of repentance. He doles out, as it were, as the as the pharmacist, the doctor-slash-pharmacist, the medicine of repentance. That's the best medicine for worldness. But before we get there, and we will get there, God willing, next time, there is a three-part environment in which we need to immerse ourselves and understand clearly. and thus in verses five and six. Let's consider that in closing this evening. Verse five, or do you think that the scripture says in vain, the spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously? Now this may seem like a completely disconnected statement, but James says this is first. In scripture, all the way actually through scripture, this principle arises. God is jealous of that which he owns. And what does he own? Well, he owns his people. And jealousy, God's jealousy, means that God is full of zeal for his own honor. And he has put his spirit, Paul tells us, within his people when he spiritually marries us, when we are born again. And so he owns us in the way of relationship. And he therefore is the great heavenly bridegroom. He yearns, that is he longs for, with a well-grounded zeal that we are faithful to him. And the more and more we understand that his spirit is within us yearning with this jealousy, the better the medicine of repentance is going to work for us. When we are born again, we are dead in trespasses and sins, but we become alive in Christ. And the Apostle Paul says, God says, I put the Holy Spirit as an earnest, as a down payment within you. And now that Holy Spirit, he longs for it with his zeal, with a holy jealousy that his people would be faithful. And James picks up on that line of thinking and he says, the more you get this, the more you understand this, the more you process this, the more you immerse yourself in it, the more you believe it, the more you get the fact that God has a holy jealousy for my holiness, the better the medicine of repentance is going to work. Secondly, He says in verse six, He gives more grace. He gives more grace. And he says, realize this as well. He gives more grace. You see, we don't have to produce grace. It all comes from God. In other words, we don't have to pull up our spiritual socks and get on with our life of holiness. No. James says, he gives more grace. And the more we realize this and the more we embrace this, the more we get our minds around this, the better off we will be when we actually do end up repenting of our sins and turning to God. You see, it's not like God says, well, I did my part in you now. And now I'm going to sit back and I'm going to do my part in somebody on the other side of the world, and I'm going to leave you on your own and let you do your part. No, James reminds us, says he gives more grace. He's like, again, like the divine physician slash pharmacist who doesn't just say, well, I'll give you one pill and that's going to have to do you for the next year. No, it's an ongoing thing that He gives us. His grace. His grace is abundant. His grace is sufficient. He gives us grace, John writes, upon grace. Waves of grace. He gives more grace. He doesn't give less grace, He gives more. And then thirdly and finally, the last element of the environment in which the medicine of repentance will work the best for our spiritual malady. Therefore, he says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And here what James does, he quotes the Bible. He quotes Proverbs 3 in verse 34, where we read, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. In other words, what James is saying shorthand is this. This is the way it's always been. This is the way it's been for thousands of years. In other words, James says, I'm not giving you anything new here. I'm just echoing and re-echoing and re-echoing and echoing what's come through the centuries. God's way of wisdom is the way of scripture. God resists that. He pushes back the self-focused, the proud, but he gives grace. through his blood to the humble. And he says, the more you realize that this is just something that's happened all the way through history for thousands of years, and we don't come to the 21st century and say, you know, maybe it's gonna go a different way with me. It's not gonna go a different way with us. It won't go a different way with anyone. No one gets the exception, because this is the way it's gone for everyone. This is the way, Solomon writes, is the wisest man. This is the way, James says, it is. He gives more grace. God resists the proud. He pushes the self-focused away, but he gives grace, more grace to the humble. And you know, your congregation, you know the gospel, don't you? The only place that this environment exists is in the shadow of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other place where you can find this environment. The poet put it so beautifully, upon the cross of Jesus, mine eye at time can see the very dying form of one who suffered there for me. And from my stricken heart with tears to wonders, I confess the wonder of redeeming love and my unworthiness. And if we are honest before this heavenly physician, We have to confess that his examination is thorough. We don't walk out of his doctor's office and say, you know, he didn't do a thorough examination on me. No, when we walk through this passage of James, he does a thorough examination on us. And his diagnosis also of us is correct. It's spot on. and his environment for healing is very, very wise. And so I pray that God would grant us, every one of us, healing through the blood of our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To the praise and to the honor of his glorious name. Amen.