Are You Getting What You Want?

James 4:1-6

Thank you for being here; it is good to be with you as we continue our study in James. Today, we start chapter 4. The title is a question, “Are You Getting What You Want?” Think about that, are you? What do you really want? We are very good at justifying ourselves and making Scripture say what we want it to say so we can have our way. Here is one example of the gymnastics someone used to “get what he wanted.” In Matthew 18:19 Jesus said, “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”  He said all you have to do is get someone else to pray with you for what you want, and it’s done; God will answer. Imagine if that was the way it worked! That would be chaos real soon.  

He should have balanced this verse with today’s passage. Listen carefully to today’s teaching, and you will discover why his way of thinking doesn’t work. Bible teacher J Mark is here to give us three observations that help us determine what is best for us.  

Before the days of firearms, the native people of that time had a unique way of killing a wolf. First, they would coat a knife blade with animal blood and allow it to freeze. Then, they’d add another layer of blood and another until the frozen blood completely concealed the blade. Next, they secured the handle of his knife in the ground with the blade up.  

When a wolf followed his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovered the bait, he licked it, tasting the frozen blood. He began to lick faster and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge was bare. Feverishly now, the wolf licks the blade. So great becomes his craving for blood that he does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked knife blade on his tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his warm blood. His carnivorous appetite craves more–until dawn finds him dead in the snow!” 

Only God’s grace keeps us from the wolf’s fate. Our text today alerts us to the danger our sensual appetites pose for us. Let’s read that text now, James 4:1-6. 

¹ Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?  

²You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.  

³You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.  

⁴Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.  

⁵Or do you think the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 

⁶But He gives more grace. Therefore, He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 

Our text provides three OBSERVATIONS that help us determine whether or not what we want is best for us.  

The First OBSERVATION is, 

Carnal Distraction 

The previous chapter closes with a discussion of how divine wisdom brings peace into the life and relationships of the Believer. Chapter four begins with wars and fighting! 

So, James raises the obvious question: where do these battles and aggressive behavior come from? His follow-up question is rhetorical. “Isn’t it true that this kind of behavior springs from lusts battling each other in your body?” The word lust is translated from the Greek word hay-don-ay, the root of the English phrase hedonism: the concept that sensual pleasure is the primary reason for our human existence.  

 James is writing to Christians, so we must conclude that we’re not immune to the distraction of sensual pleasures. I would be dishonest if I did not admit this is an ongoing struggle for me. But, praise God, I can be victorious by His grace; so can you. 

The Bible teaches that humans comprise spirit, soul, and body. Our body is our connection with the physical world. It functions to a large degree in response to our five senses. Even as babies, we learn how to acquire those things that bring pleasure to our senses and how to avoid pain. However, we will not shrink from a certain amount of pain if we think we can achieve pleasure. We have competing desires that struggle for gratification. 

As we noted, verse one begins with images of the battlefield. What is the goal of an army on the battlefield? It is dominance followed by control. The enemy must be driven from the field so we can control his territory. But we often find that we’ve gained more enemies in the process. And the very thing we fought to secure for ourselves becomes the means of our defeat. We can become so enslaved to our fleshly appetites that we can’t accept temporary discomfort for long-term gain.  

 The first three verses of our text make one very clear: the more we gratify our carnal appetites, the more demanding they become. Gratifying sensual desires can never bring lasting satisfaction or fulfillment because these desires, separated from God’s guidelines for their use and enjoyment, are only temporal.  

Our desires are not wrong. God gave us our senses to help us not only to survive but to enjoy life. He made us sexual beings, male and female. He gave us taste buds to enjoy the food He provides. He gave us eyes to enjoy the physical beauty He’s placed all around us. But when we refuse to follow God’s guidelines and do not control our appetites, they become the master, and we become their servant. Lust is to our physical appetites what cancer is to a normal cell.  

Following our fleshly desires will only lead us to the kinds of behavior James speaks about – quarrels and fighting. Once we give ourselves over to fulfilling our desires and are controlled by them, we will find ourselves moving farther away from absolute satisfaction. Carnal pleasures become a distraction that will take us away from God and from satisfying human relationships. Many people controlled by their passions find out (like the wolf) that the things they thought would satisfy them have become the means of their destruction.  

The Second OBSERVATION is, 

Fatal Attraction 

Notice the strong language James uses in verse four. He’s writing to Christians, yet he says to them, “You adulterers and adulteresses…” That makes you sit up and take notice. What is an adulterer or an adulteress? It is someone who has left their first love. They’ve been attracted to someone else, so they abandon the one they’ve made a lifetime covenant with. They’ve been deceived into believing that what they don’t have is better than what they do have! 

That’s precisely what happens when a child of God becomes attracted to the world and turns away from his covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. They become guilty of spiritual adultery. And this can become a fatal attraction unless there’s repentance and forsaking of sin. If you think language is too strong, just read the book of Hosea. Israel, the people of God, had forsaken their covenant relationship with Him and were pursuing other gods and other attractions. They abandoned their relationship with God to their destruction.  

James states a fundamental principle in this verse. “Having a fondness for the things of the world puts me in opposition to God.” When a person tries to serve Christ and love the world, eventually, one will win. I’ve watched this repeatedly. People who try that eventually choose the way of the world. 

The verse ends with this statement: “Whoever will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” This shows that the action is continuous or repeated. Those who follow the ways of the world are considered enemies of God. Their choices prove beyond the shadow of a doubt what or who they truly love. 

Too many professing Christians are pursuing this fatal attraction. They watch the same movies, listen to the same music, read the same books, live immorally, and chase after wealth just like their unbelieving neighbors. Many don’t realize, and many don’t seem to care, that playing around with sensuality will lead to spiritual and perhaps even physical, death.  

Like the wolf I mentioned at the beginning of this message, people rush to satisfy their sensual desires but don’t understand this fatal attraction to the things of the world. 

The Final OBSERVATION is, 

Mutual Satisfaction 

The final verses of our text give us some positive instructions. James reminds us that God watches over our relationship with Him with a holy jealousy. He wants our undivided love. Interestingly, the word that is translated, lusts, in verse five is used fifteen times in other Scriptures, and every time it’s used, it is in the positive sense. So, I believe we have sufficient basis to see this desire in a positive light.  

Just like a wife watches her husband’s eyes when another woman is present, the Spirit of the Lord watches the eyes of our hearts when a worldly attraction comes before us. If our eyes light up with lustful delight, His Spirit is grieved.” That is the truth of verse five as I understand it: the Holy Spirit within us yearns jealously for our undivided affection.  

Verse six sets up a comparison. In our humanity, we tend to be attracted to worldly things that are not satisfying. However, the Spirit of God living in us knows our weakness. So, he gives us more grace. And what is grace? “The desire and power to do what I know is right.” The only way we will have a satisfying relationship with the Lord is when we learn how to find our total delight in Him. And while our attempts to love Him this way will be imperfect, the promise of His grace is sufficient.  

The verse closes by saying, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Are you and I willing to live in a way that proves our delight in the Lord? In a sense, we are married to Him in a covenant relationship, joined through the sacrifice of Christ and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.  

We have a choice to make. Will we reject carnal distractions, love the Lord with undivided devotion, and receive His blessings? Or, will we delight in those sensual desires, those fatal attractions, that compete for our attention and experience His discipline?  

We must search our hearts to identify and reject any affection that competes for the loyalty that belongs to God alone. Let us purpose anew to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds and ask Him for grace. Only then will we discover what will provide our mutual satisfaction. And we will indeed have what we want.  

Three observations: two negative and one positive. Isn’t that the way it always seems? And it looks much easier to go in the direction of the bad thing. It’s true: To do good and live right, you will have to be intentional and stay focused. As J Mark said, let’s ask God to help us keep all our affection on Him.  

Thanks a lot for being with us today. If you want to contact us for any reason or to hear more teaching from us, here is how you can reach us. You could send an email to [email protected]. You can also contact us on our website, heraldsofhope.org. And of course you can write to us, our mailbox is always open. The address is Hope for Today, Box 3 Breezewood, PA 15533. Use any method you choose. We would love to hear from you. 

God bless you with wisdom as you think about your desires, and may His Spirit fill you as you search your heart, considering whether your affections are from Him or not. In Hebrews, it says, ^“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” May all of us allow His Word to speak to our hearts.  

*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.