Grace and Humility

• 1^st – The problem… vs. 1-3
  • 1^st – Our DESIRE… vs. 1
    • Where do wars and fights come from among you…
      • Do they not come from our desires for pleasure – that war in your members!
      • PLEASURE – 5x in the NT – the desire to by HAPPY…
      • The idea being – inspired by the WISDOM from below…
      • We believe the LIE of the world – there is something in THIS life that will make us HAPPY…
      • So we DESIRE to find fulfillment in the THINGS this world offers!
    • The THORNY soil…
      • Jesus describes what happens when we seek HAPPINESS form this world…
      • Luke 8:14 – “The [seed] that fell among thorns are those who – when they have heard – go out and are choked with cares, riches, and PLEASURES of life, and bring NO fruit…”
      • When we live selfishly – seeking HAPPINESS – it chokes out FRUIT / causes FIGHTS…
      • When we do not get what we WANT – what we DESIRE…
      • We end up going WAR to get it – even if it HURTS those we love…
      • Because we are living for THIS life – rather than looking to ETERNAL life!
      • That does NOT mean we are NOT to work hard / it means we work hard for God…
      • Do NOT strive after the THINGS of this world – they do NOT last…
      • Instead strive after the eternal riches that come through living our life for God!
      • Matthew 6:20 – “Lay up [imperative] for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
  • 2^nd – War within… vs. 1
    • Our DESIRES – come from a WAR withing our MEMBERS [body] – an internal battle…
    • The word WAR carries the idea of a military campaign of conquest…
    • Our DESIRES – come from a declaration of war from our BODY – against our SPIRIT…
    • Desiring to bring our MIND into captivity – brining into the bondage of SIN!
    • Galatians 5:16 – “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
    • Our minds are literally a battleground for the control of our actions…
    • If we are living for this LIFE / the things of this world E – then we will be in bondage to SIN…
    • But if we DENY ourselves – live for Jesus – FILLED with the Holy Spirit…
    • Then we will find God changes our HEARTS – our DESIRES – and gives us victory over SIN…
    • We will NO longer have the DESIRE – instead we WANT to live for JESUS!
  • 3^rd – Violent life… vs. 2
    • You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war!
      • Our DESIRE to get the THINGS we think will make us happy has almost no bounds…
      • We are given a THREE part progression that results from our LUSTS!
    • 1 – We LUST…
      • LUST – the word carries the idea of LONGING – we do not have it – but we WANT it!
      • It suggests that our DESIRE has become an obsession – we think we NEED it!
      • It might be a new car / a new house / a new spouse – LUST says we MUST have it…
      • But by its nature LUST can never be satisfied – it will always want MORE…
      • LUST wants – MORE money / MORE pleasure / MORE things / MORE power…
      • But it is NEVER enough – in the end it costs us EVERYTHING – because we miss JESUS!
    • 2^nd – We COVET…
      • COVET [ζηλόω] – to boil over with ENVY – HATRED – ANGER…
      • To want something with such ZEAL – we would KILL for it…
      • When people have what we think we NEED – it can boil over in jealous HATRED!
      • When we HATE someone – we have murdered them in our heart – Matthew 5:1
      • NOT – zealous hatred CANNOT – [οὐ δύνασθε] – to give us what we DESIRE!
      • That is IRONY of COVETING what others have – it does NOT give us anything…
      • It just leaves us EMPTY and CONSUMED and FRUSTRATED that we do have it!
    • 3^rd – We go to WAR…
      • WAR – [present] – we are ALWAYS fighting…
      • Because our DESIRE has so consumed us – become the LUST of our heart…
      • Driven to a place where we do not care who we HARM to get it – zealous / murder…
      • And since that is still NOT enough to get what we WANT – we go to WAR…
      • Where do FIGHTS and WARS comes from – allowing our DESIRES to rule our lives!
      • Often when I sit down with a people who are FIGHTING…
      • The root cause of the problem – is that they are seeking their own PLEASURE…
      • If I am living for myself – then they are ALSO living for themselves!
      • Then whenever our lives touch – we will find we are at WAR!
  • 4^th – Empty life… vs. 2-3
    • TWO reasons we do NOT have what we WANT…
      • Yet you do not have because you do not ask!
      • Although we DESIRE / LUST / COVET / go to WAR – we never simply ASK!
      • The thought it is we are looking for ANSWERS in the wrong PLACE…
      • We are ASKING the WORLD – but the WORLD has NOTHING to give us…
      • Instead we should be ASKING the LORD – He is the only one who can PROVIDE!
      • I think we get the idea a lot of times that God is NOT listening to us…
      • But it is not God who is silent – we just tend to neglect to ASK – go to the Lord in prayer!
      • I imagine we will be amazed at how much God wanted to do in our lives…
      • But it NEVER happened simply because we just NEVER bothered to ASK!
      • Luke 11:9 – “Ask and it will be given to you – seek and you will find – knock and it will be opened to you.”
    • We ask amiss…
      • You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures!
      • AMISS [κακῶς] – to be WRONG – or even EVIL in what we ASK for…
      • We ask God for things that will PLEASE us – rather than bring GLORY to Him…
      • We want to SPEND [consume] what we are given on our LUSTS…
      • Like the PRODIGAL son – who asked his father for his inheritance!
      • Luke 15:14 – “But when he had SPENT [same word] all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.”
      • If Hallel asked me for money to buy school supplies – I would not hesitate…
      • But if she asked you for money to buy candy and sweats – I would not give it!
      • Not because I do not love her – but because I know not EVERYTHING is good for her!
      • In the same way if we ASK God for SELFISH things – SILENCE will be His ONLY reply…
      • But as we LIVE for Jesus – we can ASK for anything – and God WILL give it – John 15:7
      • Because we are going to be asking for the things that God knows are best!
      • God does not give us what we WANT – only what we NEED…
      • But God does NOT just want to provide for our NEEDS – He has a far greater plan…
      • He wants to give us His KINGDOM – bless us beyond imagination – Luke 12:33
      • The only reason He would NOT give us something is He knows it is NOT good for us!

• 2^nd – The warning… vs. 4-5
  • 1^st – Beware of adultery… vs. 4
    • PHYSICAL adultery…
      • Those who live for the things of this WORLD – are ADULTERESS and ADULTERESSES…
      • ADULTERER – 4x in NT – always used in terms of unfaithfulness in marriage…
      • Those who seek to be fulfilled by the WORLD – are in danger falling into ADULTERY!
      • There is a very real danger when we live the self-life…
      • Without God to moderate our DESIRES – it can lead to sexual immorality…
      • That might mean PORNOGRAPHY – which is ADULTERY in the mind – Matthew 5:28
      • But those seeds planted in our mind – can ultimately give birth adultery!
      • I would like to say this is something ONLY men seem to struggle with…
      • But more and more these days we see women falling as well…
      • It often seems to start focusing on the physical – followed by compliments…
      • And before you know what happened – marriages are devastated!
    • SPIRITUAL adultery…
      • ADULTERESSES – 7x in NT – often used to describe SPIRITUAL adultery…
      • Jesus used the word to describe – a wicked and adulterous generation – Matthew 16:4
      • In the OT / NT – both Israel and Church are likened to a BRIDE…
      • And when a BRIDE is not faithful to her husband – she is an ADULTERESSES …
      • When we are not faithful to the Lord – we are guilty of SPIRITUAL adultery!
      • We live in world that would love try to get us to seek after pleasure…
      • Try to seduce with the things of this life – rather than keep our eyes on Jesus!
      • Too often we think our lives are ours to live any way we want to – do what we want…
      • But we are not our own – we have been bought by Jesus – I Corinthians 6:20
      • Romans 12:1 – “Give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.” [NLT]
  • 2^nd – Choose our FRIEND…
    • Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God…
      • Whoever therefore is [present] a friend of the world is [present] an enemy of God!
      • KNOW [εἴδω] – we NEVER [perfect] seem to be able to SEE…
      • FRIENDSHIP [φιλία] – with the world causes us – put us at ODDS [enmity] with God…
      • Therefore – whoever is a FRIEND of the world – is also HATED by God!
      • Because we CANNOT be both FRIENDS with the world – and a FRIEND of God…
      • The two are opposed to each other – they are opposites…
      • Our DESIRE for the pleasures of the world – will CAUSE our separation from God!
      • Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters…”
      • Ultimately the only reason someone rejects Jesus Christ…
      • Is because there is something else that they LOVE more than God in their life!
      • A love of the acceptance of people/ family – unwilling to stand up for Jesus…
      • A love of drugs/alcohol – the love of pleasure – living for the moment…
      • Or the love of money – desiring the things of this world!
      • We all have to make a CHOICE – we cannot serve TWO masters…
      • Beware a divided heart – desiring to follow Jesus – but flirting with the world…
      • Trying to love this world and the Lord – is in essence cheating on Jesus…
      • We have a simple choice – who do we choose to live for – who do we serve…
      • If we live for this world – then we are not going to be a friend of Jesus!
    • How we CHOOSE…
      • Where your treasure is there is your heart will be also – Luke 12:34
      • We do not choose where are heart is – we do choose where we put our treasures!
      • We tend to think we invest in the things that are important to us – on our heart…
      • The truth is our heart follows our investments – our choices dictate what our heart wants!
      • That is why we should never follow our heart – it is deceptive – Jeremiah 17:9
      • Instead we need to be wise where we choose to invest our time and treasures!
      • If we are spending all of our time focused on pleasure – heart for the world…
      • In contrast if we are investing in the things of God – we will find we have a heart for God!
    • How we KNOW…
      • John 15:18 – “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
      • The world hates Jesus because He convicts the world of sin and righteousness…
      • If it were not for Jesus men could do whatever they wanted without consequence…
      • Because men LOVE sin – they hate the light that reveals their sinfulness – John 3:19-20
      • If we are Jesus FRIEND – because they hate Jesus – they also hate us…
      • Being the FRIEND of Jesus – means being an ENEMY of this world!
  • 3^rd – LISTEN to the Word… vs. 5
    • Uncertain quote…
      • Do you think that the Scripture says in vain – the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously!
      • This does NOT seem to be a Bible reference – instead it refers to a Biblical principal…
      • It is also difficult to interpret – It could have one of TWO meanings…
    • The Holy Spirit…
      • It could be interpreted – the Spirit in us yearns jealously [NKJV]
      • Meaning – the Holy Spirit that is in us – LONGS to have a relationship with us!
    • Our sinful spirit…
      • It could be interpreted – the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy (NLT)
      • Meaning our spirit has the tendency to be filled with a DESIRE for the world!
        
    • Both are TRUE…
      • Regardless of which is correct – both interpretations are true…
      • God does LONG to have a relationship with us – that is why He created us!
      • But we have a propensity for sin – we tend to wander VERY easily from the Lord!
      • If a FATHER had TEN children – ONE of whom tended to wander off…
      • After warning them over and over to stay CLOSE – one day they turned up missing…
      • Would the FATHER forget his child – still have NINE left – or go after the ONE!
      • Luke 15:4 – “Having a hundred sheep – if he loses one of them – does not leave the ninety-nine… and go after the one which is lost until he finds it!”
      • It is easy for us to get distracted – to lose our focus on Jesus…
      • Our problem is we DESIRE the things of this world – which separates us from God…
      • We see something pretty in the world – and wander off after it…
      • We end up in SIN – get lost – and do not know how to get back to God!
      • But that is why Jesus came – He came to seek and save what was LOST – Matthew 18:11
      • If we wander off – He is always right behind us looking to bring us back!

II Corinthians 12:9 – “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

3^rd – The Solution… vs. 6

1^st – Mega Grace…

He gives more grace! Therefore He says – God resists the proud – but gives grace to the humble!

What is the solution to our DESIRES for this world – GRACE…

And not just a LITTLE grace – God gives us MORE grace…

MORE [μέγας] – MEGA grace – as much as we might struggle the GRACE of God is greater!

GRACE that has the power to forgive us when we fail!

GRACE that has the power to transform us from the inside out!

Romans 5:20 – “Where sin abounded – grace abounded much more!”

2^nd – Resist the PROUD…

The first thing we are told is that God RESISTS the PROUD…

RESISTS [ἀντιτάσσω] – 5x in NT – to set up for battle – prepare for war…

And if God is preparing to go to war with us – we are in TROUBLE!

Therefore – it is incredibly important that we are NOT prideful!

Pride can be tricky – it is not always easy to see – but it always sets us up for a fall…

Pride can be – I think I know it all / I am never wrong / I do not need correction…

Pride can also be – thinking I am nothing / being shy / pride means it is all about me…

Whether it is arrogance / or false humility – if I am the focus – it is pride…

If I am the focus – then I am not looking to Jesus – and SUFFERING is sure to follow!

Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride goes before destruction – an arrogant spirit before a fall.”

3^rd – Grace to the HUMBLE…

God does not RESIST us – because He is through with us…

He wants us to FAIL – so we can SEE the futility of SEEKING after this WORLD…

He wants to let the CONSEQUENCES of our actions RUIN us – so we will be HUMBLED!

Because it is in HUMIITY we realize the most important lesson – WE are the problem!

Why do I do what I know is wrong – because I want to – no one forces me…

Why do I not do what I know is good and right – because I do not want to…

And the challenge is I cannot change my heart – how can you change what you want…

My problem is my heart/desires – I am the problem – I sin because I want to!

Romans 7:18 – “I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can not make myself do right…”

HUMILITY that opens the door for GRACE…

GRACE is a funny word – charis – used 156x in the NT (its important) …

We toss it around and use it frequently in church – but what is it…

Why is it so important in our daily lives – what does it do for us!

It defines the source of our strength – the power to live for Christ…

So many Christians are under the deception they can live a good life on their own…

Assuming the more they read their Bible / go to church / pray / give…

The more God will accept them / bless them / love them…

Thinking the more they do for God – the more they will grow in God!

Reading our Bible – going to church – these things do not make us a Christian…

We are not the source of strength – we do not have the power change our lives…

It is when we are HUMBLE and realize we need Jesus – when we find His GRACE…

Then God gets a hold of our lives – He changes our heart – we are transformed!