In the world but not of it

James 4:1-10 "In the world, but not of it.”

Intro…
The light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right
thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten
the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in
frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the
intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and
looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer
ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.

He took her to the police station where she was
searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened
the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the
arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, ''I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up
behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the
guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the
'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate
holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the
chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally....I
assumed you had stolen the car.''



Text: James 4:1-10

• “NOTW” logo
• John 15:18-19, 17:13-19
• Matt. 16:26, 5:14-16

Thesis: The Christian life is a tricky balance between being a light in the darkness, but not letting that darkness pull you away from living a godly life.

James 4:1-2 Defines worldly behavior (just in case we forgot).
• Fights/quarrels, Selfishness (wanting, but not getting)
• Sinful desires from within…
this is our natural born sin nature, we are born into sin and will
spend our entire lives fighting it.
Notice how these are really just childish behaviors?
• These are the kinds of things we teach our children not to do. This is rudimentary in the shaping of our kids character…don’t be selfish, don’t fight…
And you know what? If we can’t control things like fighting, sinful desires and selfishness, it could lead to death or killing someone. V. 2
• Matt. 5:21-22

Why do all these things happen? V. 3 Because we are not asking God and trusting him for the outcome. It has to do with our prayer life.
• James lists the most common problems in prayer: Not asking. Asking for the wrong things. Asking for the wrong reasons.
• Self quiz on your prayer life: Do you talk to God? When you do, what do you talk about? Do you only ask God for things you want? Do you seek God’s approval for what you are going to do any ways?
• Do you want a powerful prayer life? Pray with the flexibility that God may change you in the process. Ask God to change your desires to fit his will. I John 3:21-22
• "Life is work, play and prayer. Prayer, once you get past the crying, asking and begging... is listening."
• Instead of being so selfish and grabbing what we want, we need to submit ourselves to God asking for his help in getting rid of those selfish desires. From there we need to trust him for what we really need.
James. 4:3-6 Ungodly, sinful, worldly behavior has its consequences.
• Just this week in the news we saw yet another politician who has had an affair. This guy is a Christian etc….
• It’s one thing to see ungodly behavior in the ungodly, but to see it among Christians…
What leads up to this kind of behavior? (right from our verses)
• Too much friendship with the world.
• Here we are reminded again that we are naturally born selfish people. We don’t have to try and do that, it comes naturally! V. 3b
• Hence the need to constantly fight it. It’s a battle that wages within.
• As Christians, God has called us to be holy, yet there is a constant
• temptation to “act naturally” which is sinful.

“Worldliness” is a battle and if we’re not careful, we’ll end up “adulterous people” v. 4) meaning creatures who are unfaith to God.
• When we act worldly or ungodly we are cheating on God.
• There is nothing wrong with wanting a pleasurable life.
• I believe God wants to bless us..IF the pleasure we are seeking is godly.
• If that pleasure comes at the expense of someone else or at the expense of obeying God, then it’s not right.

Becoming a friend of the world will make us an enemy of God. V. 4
• And here is the paradox of the scriptures.
• God has called us to be “in the world, but not of it”
• John 17:13-19, (not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one)
• Romans 12:2, (do not conform to the world, but be transformed..) Matthew 5:14, (light)
• We need to be aware of the allure, the pull, the temptations of the world (anything that goes against the character of God) and stay clear of that.
• Especially if it is an area that you may struggle in or an area where you know you are weak. Don’t tempt fate.
• Yet, we can’t forget that God has called us to be a light in the darkness.

“Darkness” will be defined differently by every Christian.
• For some people, watching TV is darkness.
• Some people could never walk into a bar or a casino and share their faith.
• Some people need to stay away from all you can eat buffets.
• Some people should never dance….(they can’t) or the temptation may be too great.
• Some people have to be really careful who the hang out with.
• Yet, in the midst of being careful not to be too influenced by the world, we also have to ask ourselves, who do I have regular contact with that needs to hear about the hope Jesus offers?
• And that’s the tricky balance we are talking about this morning…
• We’ve got to remember that God is a jealous God…V. 5
• If we can just humble ourselves before God, we will please him.

So what’s the answer to worldly behavior? Drawing near to God. vs. 7-10
• Submission and humility…to God.
• Pride makes us self-centered. It leads us to believe that we deserve all we can see, touch or imagine. (advertising)
• Pride creates greedy appetites for far more than we need.
• What we really need is God’s approval, not the worlds.
• When we are filled with godly desires, we quickly find out that the seductive attractions of the world are shallow and cheap substitutes for what God has to offer.

Take action. 5 steps
• Resist the devil, evil, temptations, especially the subtle.
• Come near to God….and he will come near to you.
• Wash your “hands” (hearts, minds) purify your hearts (lead a pure life)
• Grieve, mourn and wail….recognizing the gravity of sin
• Enter God’s presence (church) with a mindset of humility and repentance.
• “Lord, I need to be changed today, show me the details.”

Conclusion:
baptism video…coming out of the “world” What a great example of rising above the world and its influences.

God is calling us to be a difference in this world…

“Let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. “
The Message INVITATION