Winning The War Within: Part 1

Transcription

1 LIGHTHOUSE MINISTRY LEADER S STUDY GUIDE SHOE LEATHER THEOLOGY: STUDY OF JAMES Winning The War Within: Part 1 James 4:1-6 Core Virtue: Peace April 3, 2016 Week 11 of Shoe Leather Theology: Study of James This guide is designed to provide helpful hints in preparing and leading your Lighthouse discussion. If you need any assistance or further instruction on any part of this teaching lesson, don t hesitate to contact Chris at celler@ffclife.com. Announcements: Coming Dates This Spring: o April 2016 Spring Fireside Chats o 4/30/2016 Mother/Daughter Brunch o 5/03/2016 Awana Carnival o 5/11/2016 Family Internet Safety Workshop (6:30 pm) o 5/27/2016 Last Day of Lighthouses before Summer Break Spring Teaching Schedule: 1. 1/3/2016 Week 1: Introduction to James 2. 1/10/2016 Week 2: James 1: /17/2016 Week 3: James 1: /24/2016 Week 4: Spotlight: Job on Trials 5. 1/31/2016 Week 5: James 1: /7/2016 Week 6: James 2: /14/2016 Week 7: James 2: /21/2016 Week 8: Spotlight: Abraham on Faith 9. 2/28/2016 Week 9: James 3: /6/2016 Week 10: James 3: /13/2016 Spring Break Week No Lighthouse 3/20/2016 Palm Sunday: 1 Corinthians 15 3/27/2016 Easter Sunday No Lighthouse 11. 4/3/2016 Week 11: James 4:1-6 Page 1 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016 series are available at This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

2 Overview of this Lesson 12. 4/10/2016 Week 12: James 4: /17/2016 Week 13: James 5: /24/2016 Week 14: Spotlight: Jesus on Money 15. 5/1/2016 Week 15: James 5: /8/2016 Week 16: Spotlight: Paul on the Lord's Return 17. 5/15/2016 Mother's Day No Lighthouse 18. 5/22/2016 Week 18: James 5: /22/2016 Week 19: Lighthouse Fellowship This week we continue our teaching series on James. We start a four-part miniseries we are calling Winning the War Within. The focus of this week s lesson is the source of conflict within our lives. Have you ever wondered why Christians fight? It doesn t matter what environment we find ourselves within the home, at work, in school, or the church. Put two or more people in a room together and eventually you will have a fight. This is what James addresses in James 4:1-6. As has been his theme throughout this short epistle, James points to quarrels and fights as evidence of a worldly faith, not a faith that comes from God. Conflict exists when two people both strive to get their own way. Not wanting to leave us hanging, James provides the cure for conflict. It is humility. True humility, however, is not easy to come by. Our natural instinct is to fight for our own pleasures and self-promotion. True humility comes from God s grace. As you lead this week s lesson, focus your prayer and your preparation on helping the people in your Lighthouse live humble lives devoted to godly unity. This is definitely counter culture, but by God s grace (greater grace as James puts it), we can be an example of Christlike unity to our friends, family, and co-workers. NOTE: be sure to read the appendix at the end of this lesson guide so you can be in-theloop on our 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting that starts next week. If you haven t signed up yet to be a part, you can go to Please encourage everyone in your Lighthouse ot be a part of this 40-day prayer focus. Memory Verse for This Week But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6 Core Virtue: Peace Peace (Philippians 4:6-7): I am free from anxiety because things are right between God, myself and others. Page 2 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

3 Introduction 1. Looking back at your notes from this week s sermon, was there anything that particularly caught your attention, challenged or confused you? 2. If you were given three wishes that would without a doubt come true, what would you wish for? 3. From your experience what things do family and friends often fight about? This Week s Take Home Truth "The war with pride is seen externally, birthed internally, but won divinely." Read the Text (James 4:1-6) In describing the effect of worldliness on the prayer life, James showed that his friends resorted to scheming, quarreling, and striving in order to obtain their wishes. They failed to receive what they truly needed because they did not ask. Whenever they did ask, they failed to receive because their request was tinged with self-will (4:1 3). James s description of God in 4:5 demonstrated that God tolerated no rivals and wanted complete commitment from His followers. God could make heavy demands on His followers, but He could also provide the grace to meet those demands (4:6). [Dockery] Read James 4:1-6. Warning Against Worldliness James 4:1 6 (ESV) 1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Page 3 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

4 Digging Deeper In this section, feel free to develop your own questions to help guide your group s discussion. Below are some suggestions. 4. As a group, develop a working definition of lust. James begins Chapter 4 with a rhetorical question: What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? He then answers his own question with a simple, succinct answer it is our passions within us. The word translated passions in the ESV comes from the Greek word hedone from which we derive the English word hedonism. See the brief word study below for more details hēdonḗ; gen. hēdonḗs, fem. noun from hḗdos (n.f.), delight, enjoyment, which is from hḗdomai (n.f.), to have sensual pleasure. Pleasure, gratification, enjoyment. In the NT, used only of physical pleasure (Luke 8:14; Titus 3:3; James 4:3; 2 Pet. 2:13). Figuratively used as desire, appetite, lust (James 4:1). 1 he do nism \ˈhē-də-ˌni-zəm\ noun [Greek hēdonē pleasure; akin to Greek hēdys sweet more at SWEET] : the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life 2: a way of life based on or suggesting the principles of hedonism he do nist \-nist\ noun he do nis tic \ˌhē-də-ˈnis-tik\ adjective he do nis ti cal ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb 2 The King James Version rightly translates this word as lusts. From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? In our culture today, the word lust is often interpreted in terms of sexual or sensual temptation. In reality, lust is much broader than sexual temptation. Consider this description from the Teacher s Outline & Study Bible: 1 Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000). 2 Frederick C. Mish, Preface, Merriam-Webster s Collegiate Dictionary. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003). Page 4 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

5 What does lust mean? It means to crave pleasure; to crave gratification. The picture given here is that of constant warfare. Our bodies are a battlefield of wants and desires. Every person knows what it is to experience this warfare, to have his flesh yearning and yearning after something. Lust is strong and difficult to control. In fact, few people control it completely. The point is this: man is a walking civil war; lust after lust wages war within him, seeking gratification and pleasure. Man senses desire after desire, wanting to lift the restraint and to cut loose and enjoy the pleasure of the lust. It may be the lust for... food and more food sex and more sex money and more money property and more property recognition and more recognition 3 5. What is the result of our lustful desires? The result is obvious: quarrels and fights. Fighting within the home. Fighting within the workplace. Fighting within the church. Anywhere and everywhere you find people gathered together in groups of 2 or more, there will eventually be conflict, quarrels, and fights. Again, from the Teacher s Outline & Study Bible: Now note the result of our lust: it is fightings and wars. Remember: the greatest need that man has is peace. Just imagine what the world would be like if men lived in peace with each other and with God. There would be no restlessness and uneasiness within the human soul and no fights and wars between men. There would be no sin or evil committed against others wife, husband, neighbor, or anyone else because all men would be at peace with God as well as with each other. The greatest need man has is for peace. Yet, when we look at the world, what we see is anything but peace. 3 Teacher's Outline and Study Bible James: The Teacher's Outline and Study Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries, WORDsearch CROSS e-book. Page 5 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

6 From whence do these fights and wars come? What causes them? Unless we know, we can never deal with and conquer them. We must heed the Scripture: fighting comes from lust the passion for pleasure and gratification raging within our body and its members. 6. Why is it so difficult to control our lustful desires? Our desire for what is pleasing to us (fill in the blank) is driven by the root of all sin pride. This is such a difficult battle that James uses the words wage war to describe this conflict within us. The war is being fought for the control of our inner self. Over and over again Jesus stressed the importance of dying to self. In Mark 8:34-35 he stated, And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel s will save it. Mark 8:34 35 (ESV) In Luke 14;27 Jesus stated, Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27 (ESV) As James tells us in v. 5, God is a jealous God, and He will not share His rightful place in our heart as His child with evil, sinful thoughts. As long as these sinful desires exist, there will be no peace. Lust and peace cannot inhabit the same heart. Lust is a controlling desire lust both entices and compels a person to do what is contrary to God s commandments. Sinful thoughts also include anger, resentment, envy, bitterness, hatred, hostility, controlling fears, and thoughts of revenge. These, too, are contrary to God s Word. The devil s deception is that you can harbor sinful thoughts and attitudes, and engage in sinful behaviors, and still have peace. God s truth is that unless you confront these thought patterns in your life, confess them to God to be forgiven, and then begin to trust the Holy Spirit to help you turn toward positive, godly patterns of thinking you cannot know peace. 4 4 Charles F. Stanley, Finding Peace: God s Promise of a Life Free from Regret, Anxiety, and Fear (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003), Page 6 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

7 Yet, in an effort to gain control of our lustful desires, we often focus on fulfilling our desires rather than replacing sinful desires with holiness. Man s spiritual desires and cravings cannot be satisfied with physical and material things. Man s cravings are never satisfied. They have to be controlled. If man feeds his cravings and continues to feed and feed them, he is eventually consumed by his lusts. The problem is this: man misunderstands the craving. It is an inner craving, a spiritual craving that gnaws away at him. No physical thing can satisfy that spiritual craving, which can only be satisfied by the Spirit of God. Throughout history men have desired everything, yet they have never been satisfied within. Why? Because what they desired was never sought from God and did not come from God. Man is not able to control his desires, not completely and not always. Man must have the presence and power of God to control all his lusts and desires. No matter what man may think and claim, history is clear evidence of the uncontrolled desires of men. In fact, any thinking and honest person can testify to his lack of control and discipline over desires and lust. We corrupt our minds, thoughts, and bodies and we hurt, disrupt, and destroy others by our uncontrolled desires and lust. It is our uncontrolled desires and lusts that are carrying everyone of us to the grave. The only escape the only victory over the corruption of desires and lusts is God. We must trust God and call upon God. We must consult with God about our desires and wants... talk with Him ask His opinion ask His will ask if the desire is good or bad ask if the need is a true need or simply the lust for pleasure or gratification 7. How does God help us control our sinful, lustful desires? We must learn to commune and fellowship with God to walk in Him, live and move in Him, seeking and asking His opinion, will, and help every step of every day. This is what God wants from all of us, leaders and citizens alike, ministers and laymen alike God wants to fellowship and commune with us. He wants our acknowledgement our worship and honor and praise of Him as the Lord and Father of the universe. Fellowship and communion with God trusting and calling Page 7 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

8 upon Him is the only way we can ever fulfill the deepest and innermost desire or our hearts. And once the spiritual craving is satisfied, all the other desires of our lives will be fulfilled and controlled by the presence and power of God in our hearts. Prayerlessness not knowing God and not praying to God is the second cause of temptation and wrongdoing. 8. How do sinful, lustful desires infect our prayer life? Self-centered believers pray, but they pray just like they live: corruptly. We can ask for the right things but with the wrong motives. James has already warned about asking with the wrong attitude, doubt (1:5); here he instructs us not to ask with the wrong motive. I may pray that my church would grow, that people will be saved, and that many will be baptized as disciples of the Lord. But if I pray for that with the motive that I will become known and that I will receive the accolades of man, I ask with evil motives. A gentle nuance worth noting is that James writes in the active voice of ask (aiteō) in its first instance, but he switches to the middle voice the second time he uses it. Why would James change from 'you ask' to 'you ask for yourselves'? Some commentators do not think the shift is significant since it happens in numerous other places in the New Testament. Mayor thinks the emphasis serves to distinguish between prayers of the lips (active) and prayers from the heart (middle). Adamson thinks it is a stylistic balance to make the active agree with the active verb 'receive.' Whatever the reason, the point is that they were praying selfishly, in order that you might indulge your evil pleasures (4:3) How can we be sure we are praying in a right manner? Psalm 37:4 tells us, Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. James observes that one reason our prayers are not answered is because we pray with sinful, lustful desires filling our heart. 5 Ellenburg, B. Dale and Christopher W. Morgan. Focus on the Bible Commentary James: Wisdom for the Community. Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, WORDsearch CROSS e-book. Page 8 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

9 Too often, we focus on the last part of Psalm 37:4, in which the Psalmist tells us God will give us the desires of our heart. The key, however, is in the first part of the verse: delight yourself in the Lord. There is an old couplet that puts it well: God will give us the desires of our heart when all our heart desires is God. 10. What is the key that unlocks God s grace and brings real peace to our life and to our relationships? The key that opens the door to God s grace and blessing upon our life is humility. Conflict is rooted in self-interest. Our self-interest is driven by sinful, lustful desires. These sinful, lustful desires are symptoms of worldliness. Worldliness and godliness cannot coexist. James states it bluntly: friendship with the world is hostility toward God. The world encourages pride; God seeks humility. The key to ending strife within your life is found in God s grace, and God gives His grace in abundance to the humble. 11. What can you do this week to draw near to God? As a group talk through some things that a person could do to draw close to God this week. Some suggestions include: Concluding Thoughts Read through one Psalm per day starting with Psalm 34. Commit to the 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting. (NOTE: See the end of this leader guide for a description.) You can instruct your Lighthouse to go to to sign up. Agree as a Lighthouse to hold each other up in prayer on a daily basis this coming week. These questions are given to prompt both reflection and learning on a personal level, and should likely be completed individually and apart from your regular group time. 12. What sins of action and attitude do you need to confess to God today? 13. In what situations do you need to resist the devil this week? 14. What can you do this week to help you bring more humility into your life? Page 9 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

10 Becoming A House of Prayer 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting: A Quick Guide April 6-May 15, 2016 Prayer and fasting joined together become a powerful, singular discipline by which we show God a contrite spirit and a deep desire for him above all else. This April 6-May 15, First Family Church is calling its members and attenders to do both pray and fast. Our request? That God would move our hearts and move our hands. Why this request? Since our 40 DPF concludes with this year s Vision Offering on May 15, we are asking our entire church to spend the 40 days prior to this annual offering praying and fasting for God to move our hearts and hands so that we are sacrificial and generous for his purposes. After all, with a need to replenish our savings, a number of FFCers in the missions pipeline, as well as a stated goal of trying to double our mobilization budget by the beginning of 2018 (from approximately $100,000 to $200,000 annually), it is imperative we have God s passion in mind as we approach this special day of giving. This is our desire that God will move our hearts and our hands so that we think and give as he would have us. WHEN WILL WE START? We will launch our 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting on Wednesday, April 6, HOW WILL WE START EACH DAY? If you are part of FFC s database, you will receive a jump-start prayer in your inbox each day of this initiative. This is designed to be a morning reminder to pray each day during the 40 DPF. This jump-start prayer will be a simple sentence or two to help you focus on God s work in us and through us. WHEN WILL WE END? The last day of this 40 day emphasis is Sunday, May 15, 2016, and we will conclude the special prayer emphasis with a season of extended prayer in all of our services. DOES EVERYONE HAVE TO FAST, TOO? No. Anyone who wishes to can, however. We are officially asking that at least one FFCer fast each day, and you can sign up for that opportunity here. Simply use the form below to indicate your willingness. You'll receive an afterwards indicating which day (i.e., day 1, day 12, day 32, etc.) we have assigned to you, as well as the date of that day. If you prefer to specify your day and date, you can do so on the sign-up form. Page 10 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

11 WHAT ARE THE REASONS WE WOULD FAST? There are multiple reasons for fasting: It is a principle taught by Jesus and modeled by the early church. Jesus said in Matthew 6:16, "When you fast " He did not say "if" you fast. Additionally, we see examples of fasting for direction in the early church. In Acts 13, the church at Antioch was led to fast and pray. "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off" (13:2 3). We want to draw closer to Jesus and his power over sin. Jesus intriguingly said one time that there was a type of enemy only overcome through prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). This text seems to indicate that fasting brings us into a closer relationship with Jesus and his power in certain types of spiritual warfare than perhaps is normally experienced. We want to stir ourselves and the body of Christ towards repentance. Nehemiah fasted and prayed after he heard of the demise of the city of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:3 4). HOW DO WE FAST? Here are 4 general fasts, depending on one s preferences and physical ability. 1. Fasting from a meal. This can be done daily or weekly, and in this fast you forego a specific meal in order to focus on God and his work in your life through prayer. 2. Fasting for a day. This can be done weekly or monthly, and, as in #1, is usually accompanied by undistracted time with God focusing on his work in your life through prayer. 3. Fasting for multiple days. Please make sure you do this only after making sure you are physically able and spiritually ready. Check with your doctor regarding any medication you are taking or medical situations you have going on to ensure that abstaining from food and/or liquid will not adversely affect your health. 4. Fasting from aspects of our normal diet. Sometimes referred to as the Daniel fast, this fast is centered around abstaining from specific types of food or ingredients, such as caffeine, bread, etc. Some people take this concept and apply it to other non-food elements of life as well, like electronics, recreation, or even hobbies. While Scripture doesn t condemn this, neither does it actually give us any textual evidence for a fast that doesn t involve some type of food or drink. We remind you that fasting isn t just abstaining from food for physical reasons, but rather for spiritual reasons to use that same time for seeking God in prayer. So as you Page 11 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016

12 decide how you will fast and pray, be alert to the need to focus on God and his work in your life. FINALLY Remember, fasting isn t something done to gain attention from others (Matthew 6), but rather to focus our attention on God. So while you are fasting, try and carry on as you normally do except during the times you are getting away to focus on God in an undistracted manner. Please join the elders, deacons, and staff in praying and fasting as God leads you during these 40 days. And may God, in ways we have never seen, move our hearts and our hands for his passion for the nations. Go to to sign up to be a part of 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting. Page 12 Lighthouse Ministry Discussion Guide Spring 2016