JAMES HE GIVETH MORE GRACE: James 4
INTRO: We are living in a time of violence and civic upheaval. Jesus, in speaking of the Last Days, said, “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:37) Q = What were the “days of Noah” like?… Cf. Genesis 6:5, 11-13 - “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ... The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” - Terrorist shootings in Orlando, San Bernardino, Paris, Istanbul, etc. - Wednesday night - A woman, her boyfriend, and their child in the backseat, were pulled over by the police, and they asked for his I.D., and as he went for it, the officer shot him and the girlfriend started streaming live on Facebook as her boyfriend bled out and died. - Thursday night - During a Black Lives Matter protest, a sniper shot 12 officers in Dallas, of whom 5 died, and was the most law enforcement killed at one time since 9/11.
I. A Humble Attitude Before God. (v. 1-3) A. (v. 1) 1. “From whence come wars and fightings among you?…” a. “wars” - Gr. polemos - “battles; warfare; fights” b. “fightings” - Gr. “combats; conflicts; disputes; contentions" c. “among you” 1) NOTE: James is writing to these Jewish believers that have scattered and suffering, but they are fighting each other. a) It is often in those times of trials that we fight with those we love the most.