Transcript

Pleasures That Produce Pain-Part Three

As we look forward to the Lord's Table, our time is very limited this morning so I would like to dive immediately into our material.

If you were here the past two weeks you know we have been discussing the subject of conflict. Sinful interpersonal conflict is at epidemic proportions in the world. Tragically it is a problem among Christians as well, crushing our spirits and destroying our testimony.

The believers to whom James was writing were no exception. We have clearly seen that in our study over the past several weeks. Conflict is a theme that permeates the end of chapter 3 and spills over into the beginning of chapter 4. You can see that in 3:16 he mentions "disorder." In 3:18 he calls the church to promote "peace." In 4:1 he identifies "quarrels and conflicts" and in 4:2 he says they "fight and quarrel."

Conflict, as we have learned, is the end result of a sinful chain of events.

At the top of the chain is the conflict itself, the lack of peace in our hearts and the lack of peace in our relationships. There are biblical ways to deal with conflict, to resolve conflict and to grow from conflict, but our focus this morning must go deeper.

Further down the chain we learned that unbiblical conflicts are always accompanied by sin. The action sin is visible: Gossip, arguments, hurtful words, sinful avoidance, even "murder," as James says in 4:2. But the action sin, now going further down the chain is a result of attitude sin in our hearts. Examples have been discussed already: 3:14-"bitter jealousy" and "selfish ambition;" 4:2-"envy."

As Christians we must learn to deal with this attitude sin in our hearts. We are called by God's grace to put off the bad and put on the good, but as we have learned there are still a few links that must be considered as we move deeper down the chain.

In 1:14 James said we pursue these attitude sins when we are "carried away and enticed by [our] own lust." All attitude sin can be traced to our hearts. In 4:1 James calls it our "pleasures" (NIV- "desires"). In 4:2 the word he uses is "lust[s]" (NIV- "want[s]"). When the heart locks on to something, the pull to obtain that desire can be intense. Here is where the conflict comes from. The cycle becomes outright vicious. And the more we can't get it the more we want it. We sin because we can't get what we want or in order to obtain what we do want. And there is the evidence we love our desires more than God.

Some biblical examples: In the Prodigal Son story, the older son sinned being filled with jealousy because he desired his father to praise him and not forgive his brother (Lk. 15:28). Saul wanted to kill David. His sin was anger because the popularity he desired turned in David's favor (1 Sam. 18:8). The Corinthian church was divided over their desired preachers. Their sin was selfishness that led to sinful boasting (1 Cor. 1:12).

As unbelievers we simply lived for every desire in our hearts. If I want to get out of work early on Friday, I have no problem having someone punch my card on the clock. If I want to save a few bucks, I have no problem taking supplies from the office. If I want a good grade on a test, I have no problem looking at someone's paper.

Yet for the Christian we know our desires must be in line with the Lord's desires for us. The problem comes when a desire enters our heart that the Holy Spirit is calling us to forsake. In could be something sinful like the desire to be more popular in the church. It could even be something morally neutral like obtaining the new deck that I spoke about last week. For whatever reason the Spirit is saving "no," but the flesh is working in overdrive to obtain its lust. It's what James spoke about in 4:1 when he said a war wages in our members. On this side of heaven all Christians will experience this battle. By God's grace it is a battle we must win. It's a matter of preventing our desires from becoming our gods.

But at the bottom of the chain is the ultimate source of our conflict. The conflict is seen in the action sin, which is a product of our attitude sin, which is a product of poor heart desires and poor heart desires are a result of a mind that goes to places where it shouldn't be. Desires can't get to the heart unless the mind puts them there.

Mind > Heart Desires > Attitude Sin > Action Sin > Conflict

That's why we should not be surprised that we read so much in the Bible about controlling our minds. Philippians 4:8, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." 1 Thessalonians 5:21, "Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good." Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Colossians 3:2, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

It comes down to this, where are we setting our minds? The question is abstract, but I believe there is a way to find out. I'm just not sure how many of us want to go there!

Though I know many of you think my biggest sport was football, actually growing up it was ice hockey. My mind was so set on the sport that my world revolved around it. I can remember in sixth grade that my art teacher told me she would no longer accept projects that depicted the Chicago Blackhawks. I remember all the posters in my room of famous NHL players. I remember investing summers at hockey camps, attending practices at 5:00 in the morning (much to the chagrin of my parents), skating at every opportunity on every frozen pond. My mind was set on hockey and it showed in my actions.

So as Christian we are to have minds set on the things above. That is where the victory is won. On paper I believe we would all accept that statement. But my question to you, how is that showing itself in your actions? What is the evidence that your minds are set on the things above and not on the things of this world?

I'm tempted to provide specifics, but in fear of being misunderstood, I'll be practical in a general way. How do others identify you? What do you find yourself thinking about most often? How do you spend your time and money? What gets you most excited? What brings you joy? What do you enjoy talking about?

Now if you are like me, there is some conviction here. And if you think the remedy is a superficial, knee-jerk response you have missed my point. I am not calling you to go home and change your facebook account to nothing but Scripture or pull out of your fantasy football league or avoid all entertainment and leisure. The shelf life of such thinking is shallow and short-lived and oftentimes not the product of the God's empowerment. So what is the ultimate biblical remedy to conflict? How do I get (and not manufacture) proper God-focused, eternity-driven and heart-satisfying desires?

All of that is my introduction. Now with the few minutes I have remaining, I get to what I really want to say. Conflict stems from action sins, which stem from attitude sins, which stem from improper heart desires, which stem from a mind that is set on flesh-driven pursuits. So if it starts in the mind, how do I get my mind where it needs to be? The answer is you can't, but the hope is that God can!

Finally we get back into James 4. Look at the end of verse 2. "You do not have because you do not ask" (cf. Jas. 1:5). The solution to avoiding all the links in this painful and unbiblical chain of sin that robs us of our peace is God. And the way we tap into the heart of God is through the discipline of prayer.

James said the solution to their conflict was prayer. Among a host other things, prayer makes us desire peace with one another and reveals our sinful attitudes. Specifically, prayer sharpens our desire to set our minds on the Lord Jesus Christ, giving Him supremacy in all things. It helps us to realize God's truth is not a lie and there is no greater pleasure than the pleasure found in God. The Christians to whom James wrote neglected prayer, and as verse 3 indicates, only prayed in order to fulfill their selfish desires. May we pray and may our prayers seek to align our hearts with God. Do you want a heart that desires the things above? Then ask God to give you one!

You see, our desires lead to our conflicts as we learned. But Christianity is not removing our desires. Christianity is celebrating the ability to desire what is better. It is taking away the desire to talk about self with a greater desire to talk about Jesus Christ because we realize how lovely He is. It's taking away a longing to find acceptance the world with an understanding that acceptance has already been found with the Father. It's talking away a need to use others to fill our empty love tanks and contemplating the great and sufficient love we have from the One who crucified His Son to forgive all our sins. It's not falling apart when a sinful world lets us down, but rejoicing that God is always faithful and a day will soon come when we will enjoy life as it is intended to be.

When Jesus Christ comes into a life there will be no mistaking His power. When He is our first love we can expect total transformation starting in our minds that produce a whole new set of desires. When we realize who we are in Christ we will no longer be the same. This is the heart of the matter and this is how we need to be praying for ourselves and the church.