Week # 4 Notes- Deadly Presumptions

Here are the notes as promised for week #4 of our P3 Series. Thanks to everyone who came out tonight. Remember the question posed tonight. “What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” What are you going to do with your vapor?

Week#4-P3 series

Week #3 Notes

Notes for Week#3 of P3. P3-Week#3

What questions do you have from this week or what comments would you like to share? How can we pray for you?

Teaching notes for week #2

week #2-P3series

Message Download

Did you miss Aletheia Sunday Night? Listen to the message here. Hope it is a blessing to you. Don’t forget that we meet on Sunday nights at 6pm in the Mills Godwin Life Science Building on the Campus of Old Dominion University. See you there.

Question of the week

Each week we want to pose a question that will hopefully encourage some more dialog. Here is this weeks question: How Am I pursuing my passions in Christ or outside and apart from Christ?

Gal. 5:17-18- “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

• The flesh is everything that you put your hope in aside from Christ.

• Living in the Spirit is submitting everything and placing all your hope and trust in Christ.

Notes from Week 1

1. Painful results and Poor motivation-

“What happens when faith fails?” What if you do not exercise faith? What if you are a Christ-follower, but you do not live by faith, believing continually what the Lord Jesus has said and done. What happens? First, wars and fightings break out.

Vs. 1
Result
“Wars”- πόλεμος (polemos)-this refers to nations at war; conflicts; a dispute, strife, quarrel
“ fights”- μάχη (machē)of persons at variance, disputes, contention, interpersonal problems

• Often, the battles that happen in our relationships are bitter and severe.

• Both of these come from us buying into several things:

• World’s system: “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly”(James 3:15)

• Definition of the World’s System: “The corporate product of many individuals who live as if God doesn’t exist; who live in that part that is not yet surrendered to God.

• Our own Declaration of Independence says, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. That they are all endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

• The war and fighting kicks in however when that pursuit of happiness is threatened.

• Our Flesh: “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is sensual,”

(James 3:15) Passions, Pride, and presumptions.

• Satan:“This wisdom does not descend from above, but demonic” (James 3:15) it is evil- disconnecting

Motivation
“What happens when faith fails?” What if you do not exercise faith? What if you are a Christ-follower, but you do not live by faith, believing continually what the Lord Jesus has said and done. What happens? Second, our passions take over. James is telling us that we have a pleasure problem.

• “your desires for pleasure”- ἡδονή (hēdonē)- desires for pleasure; root of hedonism

• This is a contrast to those who make peace and the results of peace that comes from the heavenly wisdom that we saw at the end of chapter 3. These wars and fightings are caused by the desire for pleasure or passions or self-centered desires

• These passions are causing these people to make war against each other in the church.

• The question for each of us is are we going to pursue our passions in Christ or outside of Christ?

Gal. 5:17-18- “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

• The flesh is everything that you put your hope in aside from Christ.

• Living in the Spirit is submitting everything and placing all your hope and trust in Christ.

Romans 7:15- 25 “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will [to do], I do not do; but the evil I will not [to do], that I practice. Now if I do what I will not [to do], it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”
Paul is telling us that he has some really good intentions but that he doesn’t always do the right thing.

• He is saying the he doesn’t always experience God’s power through his life.

• He is identifying what it is like to walk in the flesh and what it is like to walk in the Spirit.

• Being a Christian means the Inner turmoil will be there.

Examples: Dudes: Reading the Bible: bad thoughts Ladies: Reading bible then girl says something to you and you begin to  be self-conscious about your looks.

2.Passion uncovered and source revealed- vs. 2

Uncovered
* “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain.”

• Our “misplaced” passions are the results of the deadly sins of lust, murder, and coveting.
• James is taking us back to the “self-seeking” attitude that we found in chapter 3.
• James is reminding the reader that the bitter envy and self-seeking run deep and cut deep.
• James uses strong language here to describe these passions. This is extremely violent language for dissension.
• It is best to view this as a metaphor for the devastating effect of unrestrained hostility.
• James is taking them back to what he said, “people desire and covet (Gk. zēloō, cf. zēlos, “jealousy,” 3:14), which leads to the terrible wars and infighting in the church.”

Source-Why does this happen?

“You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.”

• James uses the phrase “You do not have, because you do not ask” as a firm reminder that believers should ask God for what they seek rather than fighting each other.
• That God is who gives, blesses, and is our source.
• When we fail to do this our sinful self-reliance kicks in and we begin to “desire and covet” the ability to get for ourselves.
• James is echoing the words of Jesus.
• Jesus said this in Matthew 7:7-8, “”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

3. Passion- Our own worst enemy- vs.3

• James is not saying that if we simply ask that God will give us anything and everything that we ask for.
• But, James is saying that if we ask and are walking in the Spirit and are asking for Christ’s glory and in accordance with His will and not in accordance with our fleshly will and gratifying our passion

• “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss,”
• “amiss”- κακῶς (kakōs)- improperly, wrongly; miserable, to be ill
• When we ask according to our flesh we are simply telling God that He is nothing but a vending machine for us to come and get our goodies from.
• “that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
• “Spend” is the same verb used to describe the wasteful spending of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:14
• Destructive desires persist, even if we pray, because our prayers may be self-centered and self-indulgent.
• We must remember that the purpose of prayer is not to persuade a reluctant God to do our bidding. The purpose of prayer is to align our will with His, and in partnership with Him, to ask Him to accomplish His will on this earth. (Matt. 6:10)

Application
When we fail to seek God and trust Him fully to be our Savior by pursuing our own passions and  not the Passions of Christ then our lives will be marked by pain, fighting, and wars.

1.How am I pursuing my passions and not the passions of Christ?
2.What is it about the world’s system that I am believing in instead of believing in Christ?
3.What is in my prayer life right now that reveals that I am trusting in my flesh and not Christ?
4.What area’s of my life need to be repented of and given control over to Christ?
5.How am I not believing that Christ really does want to give “good things” to me?
6.How can I align with Christ’s will and partner with Him and His plans?

Introduction

“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You 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. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” (James 4:1-4 NKJV)

James in his book thus far has been speaking directly to the reader to love God and to love people. James essentially has been echoing the words of Jesus that we find in the first and great commandment where Jesus says, “‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31 ESV) James is urging each of us as readers to follow this.

James is constantly reminding us that a life that has been changed and affected by the gospel will reflect this. When our lives don’t reflect this it not only causes a disconnect with our relationship with God but it also causes a disconnect with our relationships with those around us. James is telling us that if we get loving God down and we affectively love Him and are most satisfied with Him then our relationships with others will become better and better. James over and over is pointing us back to the gospel because that is what has “power” to change. Just as our sin separates us from God it also fractures our relationships with others. Often this is represented in our sin of pride, by divided passions, and being presumptive in our thinking.

James poses another question that causes the reader to think hard. He says, “Where do wars and fights come from among you?” He answers the question by posing another question. He says, “Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” Here James is declaring that most of the problems of man come from man’s pride, his misplaced passions, and his presumptions. These things sooner or later get in and corrupt. How corrupting is the pride of man? How corrupting and damaging are the misplaced and misguided passions of man? How damaging presumptions are to man’s relationships when they aren’t guided by the word of God. These damaging and destructive behaviors are behind every corrupt motive and action. It is what is behind every war. It is behind the fighting. That desire to have what belongs to someone else causes the fighting and the wars among us.

The real questions that James is posing to the reader are: Are we going to pursue our passions in Christ or outside of Christ? What is it about the gospel that we don’t trust in or believe in that we try to go and take for ourselves instead of trusting in Christ that He will give to us? How am I not believing that Christ really does want to give “good things” to me? How can I align with Christ’s will and partner with Him and His plans?

Join us this Sunday night at 6pm

Join us this Sunday night at 6pm at we begin our P3 series. We meet on the campus of Old Dominion University in the Mills Godwin Life Science Building-Room 102. We will be digging into the book of James and be coming face to face with this question, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” (James 4:1, ESV) Join us for some awesome food, sweet music, and some time in the word as we seek to find the answers to this question. See you there.

Pride, Passions, and Presumptions.

This week we will begin our new series at Aletheia Norfolk. We have been teaching through the book of James. This book is full of wisdom on how we can love God and love those who are around us. We will continue our study through this book with our new series P3.

We all have certain aspects about our lives that we wish were different about us. Sometimes it is even the sin of pride, misplaced passions, or even presumptions that cause us to feel separated from God or those we most deeply care about. This prideful spirit, misplaced passions, and presumptive attitude can often distract us from the thing that is most important and that is being most satisfied with Christ.

James is going to hit these issues dead on. James pens these words of wisdom as only a loving pastor can. Over the next few weeks we will dig deep into this rich book from the word of God. Our hope is that we can overcome and learn from our pride, passions, and presumptions in comparison to the rich Gospel of Christ.

Our desire with this blog is to pose questions that will spark a discussion. So please feel free to leave comments. The whole purpose of this is that we would all think deeper and repent deeper of our own pride, passions, and presumptions that is keeping us from loving God and loving people the way that the word of God so clearly shows us.

This weeks question: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?”(James 4:1 ESV)