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| JAMES LESSON #60 Read James 3:15-18 In verse 18 the Greek literally translated reads, �The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.� Read verse 16 and verse 18 one after the other. I want you to see the contrast between them. If you�re finding peace, what do you have? Righteousness. If you�re finding disorder, what do you have? Unrighteousness. You�ve got a wisdom that�s from �beneath� and not from above � or, you�re walking with an impure heart. What�s he saying? Do you want to produce peace? To you want to be a �reconciler?� Then what do you need to sow? Righteousness � because �righteousness� produces peace. Big word � how in the world do you �sow righteousness?� You may not produce peace in the sense that if you have another person that is just hell bent, coming against you, you�ll stop them- that�s not what this is saying. I have talked to so many who are living in nearly intolerable situations in terms of hatred, division, animosity � the big �D� for �dysfunctional family� � it�s not that you�re going to resolve all the issues in the lives of those who surround you � that�s not what this is saying. What this is saying is that if you do the following in highly volatile situations: If you: 1) control your mouth (by shutting it instead of using it � both on the scene and behind the scene) 2) pray for the person who�s attacking you (guarding your heart so that it remains right toward them) 3) treat them as you would want someone to treat you when you�re really upset, hurt, resentful, angry etc. 4) count it all joy � (remaining in gratitude over the faithfulness of God and HIS ability to handle all the dynamics you�re up against) 5) resist your own desire to �hit back� � you�ll remove the wood from the fire. They may continually toss matches at you � but if you offer no wood..eventually, they will run out of matches and nothing will burn. Many times, when you respond as we�ve just outlined, you�ll so remove fuel, that you�ll bring peace and a �safe harbor� into place, where �issues� can be worked through, and �people� can be restored. Remember, when you�re in the thick of it with someone, there�s a distinct difference between the �issues� and the �person.� Look at James 4:1-2 When you become a child of God, although you live in the world, the world no longer becomes the source of your pleasures. The flesh, your desires, no longer are the source of your pleasures. There is a new �director� conducting the orchestra in your life. The Holy Spirit constantly offers the �joint effort opportunity.� You now have access to the throne of God. Whatever is on your heart, you are to come to Him and ASK. You don�t get it through conflict down here with men. You go to your Father and ASK � taking full advantage of the �joint effort opportunity� that�s been offered to you. I can hear you now- �But I HAVE gone to God and asked and He hasn�t given it to me. Something�s �off middle� in this picture. God says � �Ask � and I will give-� you �ASK � and don�t get.� Something�s wrong. James says the reason you don�t have is because you�re asking �amis.� How? When you ask, you�re asking to gratify your own desires � you�re not asking within the context of the �joint effort opportunity� � taking into consideration, God�s will, God�s purpose, God�s plan, God�s motive, God�s desire not only for you, but for all involved in the situation. Some of you are really in the thick of it. Some of you are tremendously sick. Some of you are up to your neck�s in agony over your kids � some of you are over your heads in pain concerning your spouse � some of you are feeling useless, purposeless, direction-less- and you go to God asking for a way out and hear nothing. When you hear nothing you do several things - you forget who you are (His) � you forget who He is (God) � and you begin to ACT according to what? Emotion �desire. Ok � if God�s not going to fix this�I am. Uh oh � who just assumed the wrong role? The greatest temptation when you can�t hear God and you can�t see Him and you can�t sense His presence..is to �become God.� When you can�t see Him, and you can�t hear Him, and you can�t sense His presence the LAST thing you�re supposed to do is �ACT.� In Psalm 37 and Psalm 46 you see over and over and over � �cease striving� � �wait.� Your response � I HAVE WAITED! God�s response? I don�t want to remove you from this � I want to refine you in it and reveal more of who I am to your heart. STAND STILL. I�ve studied long on �healing� and the �hands of God� only to discover that our bodies wear out like old clothes � but inwardly, as God leaves us in the fire, we grow strong, resilient, and brilliant in all that we encounter of Him. The battle rests in allowing Him to do the work within us � granting open permission to open wounds and cleanse so that we can be whole. A close friend of mine was discussing the issue of pain with me and her words answer the questions we all raise: Why does God allow some to die � and some to get well? Why does God allow some to suffer � and others to prosper? Why did I lose my child � and they didn�t? With the tragedy in New York that we�ve recently watched � those questions are heavy on the hearts of many. The answer is this: I don�t know � but I do know that Jesus loves me so deeply that He gave His life for mine � and because of that, I�ll trust Him, no matter what. He doesn�t have to convince me in any other way that I can rely on Him. That..is the kind of trust the Jesus died for. �I can�t explain why your child is dying- I know that Satan is a murderer- I can�t explain why your husband just beat you and walked out the door �I know that Satan destroys- I can�t explain why you�ve just been diagnosed with a terminal illness �I know that Satan brings death- I can�t explain why you�re in a hospital bed and I�m not �I know that Satan seeks to destroy- I can�t explain why several thousand were taken out in New York, and I�m still here �I know that Satan is a thief and a robber - I know one thing for sure: Jesus knows � and He died so I could live : that being the case, regardless of what happens or doesn�t happen, regardless of what I see or can�t see, regardless of how bad it hurts or doesn�t hurt � I will trust Him. Regardless of what it looks like, sounds like and feels like, I KNOW that Jesus is FOR ME not against me- and I KNOW that He is my friend. THAT, is what will hold you in the fire. Many many times God leaves us in the fire to reveal what we�re not � and to reveal who He is. Look at James 4:4 He� saying � yes, I left you in the world. It�s not going to be easy. You�re not to be a �friend� of the world � meaning, you don�t live the same kind of life. READ verse 5-7 You�re in the thick of it �what are you to do? Submit � and draw near. We live in a society that doesn�t even recognize �authority� let alone �submit� to it. Why? Because we�ve learned that �authority� is �power� � and that �power� betrays. Power and Authority are two different things. One is issued in love on your behalf � the other is issued in selfishness, with intent to dominate. One asks permission � one demands. God doesn�t �demand� � He offers a �joint effort opportunity.� When the fire�s so hot you can barely stand in it � and you can�t see His hands- and you can�t hear His heart � and you don�t sense His presence � you do the following: 1) Stop (don�t act) 2) Remember (who you are- and who He is) 3) Submit (even though you do not understand �that does not mean �don�t feel� � you will, immensely) 4) Draw Near � how? by relying on what you �know� � not on what you �feel� � your feelings will bang off the walls � 5) Resist the Devil �and he will flee: What�s the plan of attack in the fire? To convince you that the Word of God is not true- To convince you that God is a liar � and to get you to believe that you can assume the role of God in your own life ---same plan that was thrown in Adam�s face..he bought it, and lost. 6) In verse 8 � purify your hearts � if there�s ever a time you�ll see the evidence of contamination in your heart, it will be in the heat of the fire: and usually, the evidence will declare itself through your mouth. Go back to God � yes- you blew it- you shot your mouth off one more time � but don�t stay there and get stuck. Go back to God, confess it and purify your heart. Don�t ride the fence with sin � it will take you out. How does James pull all of this stuff together � from chapter 3:13-4:8? Here�s his message in a nutshell. Are you frustrated? Overwhelmed? Angry? Out of straws? Without hope? Floundering? Drowning? Want to shut off the pain? Stop. Don�t act. Remember � don�t move. Listen to your mouth � (is it critical, complaining grumbling, gossiping, lying, swearing, hostile, full of resentment, angry, negative ) -Then close it. Examine your heart. Don�t play with sin � confess it and kill it. In your circumstance, are you willing to allow God to be God and submit yourself to His authority � even if what He�s choosing for you doesn�t make sense and it hurts? Resist the enemy by holding on to what God has �said� � regardless of what you see and hear. The end result? The flames will rise around you, intensified in heat�and you will have peace. Loving you, Robin �copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman |
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