Love Those for Who You Pray

Paul begins the book of Philippians by praying that God would give the leaders and believers at Philippi grace and peace from the Father and the Son.

Paul uses three thoughts in Philippians 1:1-11 that describe true Christian fellowship.

Philippians 1:3-6

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

I Have You in My Mind

Paul has them in his mind because they share as a partner in his work of spreading the gospel.

These believers are a joy to Paul because of their faith in Jesus and their willingness to share with him in the work of gospel.

God has begun a good work in them and in us and He will carry it out or complete it. God does not ever begin something that He does not finish.

These verses can be applied to salvation. Salvation is the first good work that Jesus does in our lives.

Salvation is a threefold work:

The work Jesus does for us – salvation.

The work Jesus does in us – sanctification.

The work Jesus does through us – service.

This work will continue until we see Jesus, and then it will be fulfilled.

This is the real basis for joyful Christian fellowship, to have Jesus at work in our lives day by day.

Paul remembered or had the Philippian believers in his mind.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is keeping our brothers and sisters in our minds.

Philippians 1:7-8

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Keeping other believers in our minds then leads to the second thought.

I Have You in My Heart

Paul loves these Philippian believers and thus has them in his heart.

Love is the “tie that binds.”

Love is the evidence of salvation.

1 John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brothers.”

The evidence that we love others is:

(1)  We are willing to suffer for others.

In Jesus, love is a verb.

In Jesus, love is not something we work up to but something He does through us.

(2)  We are concerned and care for others.

1John 3:18 says, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

(3)  We are willing to forgive others.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Christians who love others, holding them in their hearts, will experience joy.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is holding others in our hearts: suffering for them, serving them, and forgiving them.

Holding others in our minds and in our hearts should move us to the third thought.

Philippians 1:9-11

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise God.

I Have You in My Prayers

There are three aspects of intercession in this prayer.

(1)  A Prayer for Maturity

He prays they will know love.

He prays their love will abound.

He prays they will have spiritual knowledge.

He prays they will have spiritual discernment.

A sure mark of maturity is discerning love.

(2)  A Prayer for Character

The first characteristic that Paul prays for is sincerity.

The word sincerity here means to be tested by sunlight.

The idea is that we as followers of Jesus will be authentic, open, and transparent.

We are to be clear display cases of God’s glory.

(3)  A Prayer for Service

We are to be filled and fruitful.

God wants us filled with His Spirit so we can produce fruit.

What fruit is this passage referring to?

Fruit of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23.

New believers as Jesus tells us in Luke 10:2 that the harvest is ripe and we are to pray for labors.

Good works as described in Colossians 1:10 where we are told to bear fruit in every good work.

Praise as we are told in Hebrews 13:5 is the fruit of our lips.

It is God’s desire that we produce fruit and we can only do that as we stay connected to Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is praying and interceding for others.

Christian fellowship is having you in my mind, having you in my heart, and having you in my prayers. When we have that kind of fellowship we will experience joy.

With Mind, Heart, and Prayer Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                                  Joe

There is Joy!

Joy what is it? It is something that we all desire. It is something that many go to great lengths to find and experience.

The world defines joy as happiness. Happiness is based on happenings. We can be happy one moment and then something happens and we become sad or mad or depressed. It all depends on the circumstances.

Joy as defined by Scripture is a state of being brought about by the presence and filling of the Holy Spirit. It is not based on happenings or circumstances. It is based on the truth of God and the confirmation of that truth by the Holy Spirit.

In Luke 2:10 when the angel appeared to the shepherds he said, “Fear not, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Again in Matthew 2:10, when the wise men saw the star, it says they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

When Jesus came into the world His coming was received with great joy.

When Jesus came into the world His coming was announced with great joy.

According to Galatians 5:22, joy is produced by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The reality of life is that it has a way of beating us down. Life has a way of draining joy from us.

What are the things that can encourage us and renew the joy of the Spirit in us?

The Bible mentions several things that renew and even increase joy in us.

Luke 15:7

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

1. Joy comes when a person repents and enters the Kingdom of God.

For a believer there is no greater joy than to see a person experience salvation, forgiveness, and enter into a relationship with the Father through Jesus.

Luke 24:52

Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

2. Joy comes when we worship Jesus.

Worship means to bow down and honor the king.

Worship is praising Jesus.

Worship is extoling Jesus.

Worship is thanking Jesus.

Worship is adoring Jesus.

Worship is telling Jesus that we love Him.

All of these bring joy to the follower of Jesus.

John 16:24

Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.

3. Joy comes when we pray and Jesus hears and Jesus answers.

Prayer is an awesome privilege based in the relationship we enjoy with the Father through Jesus.

Knowing that when we pray God hears us and that when He hears us, He will answer brings great joy to the heart of the believer.

Romans 15:32

So that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.

4. Joy comes when we are refreshed by other believers.

The encouragement and support of fellow believers bring joy to us.

Not only has Jesus brought us into relationship with God, He has also given us a relationship with a family, the church. The church brings joy to the believer.

Philippians 1:25

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for the progress and joy in the faith.

5. Joy comes from our faith in Jesus.

Living a life of trusting Jesus is joyful. When I live life based on my resources, I live based on the finite. When I live life based on Jesus, I live based on the infinite. Living based on trust in the Infinite One produces joy.

Philippians 2:2

Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

6. Joy comes from our unity with other believers.

The marks of being disciples of Jesus, according to Jesus, are love and unity.

Experiencing oneness with other believers and working in unity with them produces joy.

Colossians 1:11

Being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy

7. Joy comes as we experience the presence of Jesus.

Jesus is our joy. When we experience the presence of Jesus we are experiencing pure joy. That joy is not a temporary joy, but an eternal joy.

Philemon 1:7

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

8. Joy comes as we experience the love of fellow believers.

The greatest fear that we humans face is the fear that no one will love us.

We as followers of Jesus know that He loves us. He proved it on the cross. But God as our creator knows that we were created to need the love of other human beings. God thus gave us each other as fellow believers, fellow disciples. Joy is produced when we know the love of other believers in our daily life.

James 1:2

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

9. Joy comes when our faith is tested and we pass the test.

Our faith is like the muscles of our body. To grow strong, it has to be tested or exercised.

Joy comes when our faith is exercised and we come through and grow stronger in our trust in Jesus.

2 John 1:4

It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.

10. Joy comes when we see others walking in obedience to Jesus.

I Corinthians 13 says that agape love rejoices with the truth. When we see others obeying Jesus and walking in His truth, it produces joy in us.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing joy daily because of our relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior.

In Joy Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                      Joe

Prayer, Praise, and Patience

James concludes the book of James by dealing with three things: prayer, praise, and helping others who are struggling spiritually.

James 5:13a

Is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray.

Trouble should move us to seek God in prayer.

Trouble is not caused by God, but it is used by Him.

God is not evil and does not tempt anyone with evil.

According to Romans 8:28, God uses everything we turn over to Him for our benefit.

God is loving enough and powerful enough to take all the “bad” stuff in our lives and, yes, even the bad stuff that is our fault, for our good and His glory.

Trouble should not lead us to worry, panic, or hopelessness. It should lead us to prayer.

James 5:14-15

Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

When we are sick, we are to pray. We are to call for reinforcements. We are to call the leaders of the church and they are to pray over the person.

We are to acknowledge the presence and role of the Holy Spirit in healing. The elders are to anoint with oil the one who is sick. Oil is not a magical potion. The oil represents the Holy Spirit. Healing, all healing, comes from the Holy Spirit.

When we have sinned, we are to pray.

We are to confess our sins. Confession means to agree with God. We are to agree with God that what we did or didn’t do is sin and then ask Him to forgive us. When we ask for forgiveness, God forgives. We don’t have to beg for it or convince God to forgive us. We just have to ask.

When we pray in faith, really believing God, He will answer. Again we don’t have to beg. God wants to answer our prayers.

James 5:16

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Followers of Jesus are to be authentic. We are to be honest, not gross, about our sin. When we are honest about our sin it allows others to be honest also. When we pretend we don’t sin we make God a liar, we don’t have fellowship with God, and we hinder others from being honest with God about their sin.

When righteous people, those who have been declared right with God, pray, God powerfully works through their prayers.

No, I don’t totally understand how God uses our prayers. I do know that God has given us tremendous power in prayer.

James 5:17-18

Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

James uses the example of Elijah that God has given us regarding prayer.

Elijah, we are told, was an ordinary person just like you and me. He prayed at God’s command and it didn’t rain. He prayed a second time at the command of God and it rained.

The reason it rained is not because of Elijah, but because of God. Elijah was simply obeying God and God did the rest.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about seeking God in prayer.

James 5:13b

Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.

Praise is:

Celebrating God

Giving Honor to God

Showing Gratitude to God

We praise God for who He is.

God is:

Love

Grace

Mercy

Joy

Peace

Hope

Righteousness

Holiness

Just

Faithful

Sovereign

We are to praise God for all these and the many more things that God is.

We praise God when things are going great.

We praise God when things are going ok.

We praise God when things are bad.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is praising God in every and all circumstances.

James 5:19-20

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

We are to love each other so much that we are willing to risk to help those who are struggling spiritually.

We are not to do that with an attitude of pride, condemnation, or with a judgmental spirit. We are to do it in love.

We are to do it with the same spirit Jesus had when He dealt with the woman who was brought to Him caught in adultery. He could have condemned her because she was guilty of what they were accusing her of. He didn’t! He told her to leave her life of sin after not condemning her.

We are to restore those who have wandered from the truth.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is in love restoring those who have moved away from God’s truth.

Some of the marks of being a follower of Jesus are seeking the Father in prayer, praising God in all circumstances, and loving others enough to risk reaching out to them.

In Prayer and Praise Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                                 Joe

Being Patient

One of the characteristics that most people say they don’t have or need more of is patience.

The meaning of patience is being able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.

We all know that patience is a great virtue and that we want more patience in our own makeup.

In James 5:7-12 James deals with the virtue of patience.

James 5:7-12

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other brothers, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

James gives two examples of patience.

Example #1: Farmers

Farmers have to wait.

They wait for:

The rain to come

The crops to grow

The harvest to come

The farmer as he waits trusts God.

He trusts:

That the rain will come

That the crops will grow

That the harvest will come

The farmer stands firm even when the rain doesn’t come when it should.

The farmer stands firm even when the crops don’t grow as they should.

The farmer stands firm even when the harvest isn’t as plentiful as he wants.

Example #2: The Prophets

The prophets had patience as they faced suffering.

The prophets had patience as they faced persecution.

The prophets had patience as they shared the message God gave them and no one paid any attention.

James mentions Job’s suffering as an example of a prophet of God suffering great hardships and suffering but, through perseverance, experiencing God’s restoration.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing God, waiting patiently in faith trusting that God is good and will come through for us.

James mentions in this passage what patience is not.

Patience is not grumbling against others.

Grumble means to sigh or groan in vigorous and loud complaint against someone or something.

We are told that the people of Israel murmured or grumbled against Moses several times during their wandering in the wilderness. They complained loud and long against him.

Patience is not swearing.

Swearing means to threaten another by an oath.

It is saying things like:

I promise you will pay for that.

As I live I will get you for that.

I swear that I will get you back for you did.

If it’s the last thing I do I will get revenge on you.

The idea is that a person who is exhibiting patience will not be seeking revenge against someone who has wronged them.

In Romans 12:19 Paul tells us not to seek revenge, but leave room for God to defend you.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about trusting God and not complaining or seeking revenge.

James shares three reasons for us to be patient.

First, Jesus is coming back.

When Jesus comes back, everything, I mean everything, will be made completely right. We as God’s people, until then, need to wait, trust and obey.

Second, Jesus is the Judge.

We are not judges. We don’t have the knowledge or wisdom to judge justly. When Jesus tells us not to judge He does it because we don’t have the complete knowledge and thus our judgments will not always be just. We also don’t have the wisdom to judge justly. Jesus also tells us not to judge because it frees us. It frees us to let God take care of passing judgements on others.

If you have ever judged someone, you know it is hard work. It causes us to expend time and a lot of emotional energy. That is time and energy that we could spend serving God.

Let Jesus be the Judge.

Third, the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Jesus is compassionate. We see it as He dealt with the woman at the well and the woman taken in adultery.

Jesus is full of mercy. We see it as He dealt with Zacchaeus and Peter.

We are followers of Jesus so we are to show to the world who Jesus is. When we show patience, compassion, and mercy we show the world Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is showing the real Jesus.

Patience is not easy and for most of us it is not natural. I pray that you will join me in asking God to develop in us a supernatural patience that will be seen in our having a joy, a compassion, and a mercy that is from Him.

Patiently Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                   Joe

Warning for the Rich

In James 5:1-6 James gives warnings to rich people. I read these and I realized that these warnings to the “rich” apply to me and to the people that I know. Rich is a relative term. What we consider average or middle class in America is wealthy in many other countries. Who James addresses as the wealthy of his day are the middle class of our day in America. What are the things that the “rich” are warned about?

James 5:1-6

Now listen, you rich, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.

Warning #1: Don’t base your life on material wealth and possessions.

In Luke 12:15 Jesus tells us to watch out and to be on our guard against all kinds of greed. He says that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

In Matthew 6:19-20 Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth because moth and rust destroy those treasures and that thieves can break in and steal them. We are to store up treasures in heaven because those treasures will not be destroyed or stolen. Jesus tells us that where our treasure is, there our heart will also be.

When we build our lives based on and in material wealth, it will cause us to be:

Insecure

Greedy

Self-Centered

Unloving

Jesus wants to free us from dependence on things that will leave us unsatisfied and anxious.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is basing our lives on Jesus and not material things.

Warning #2: Don’t be dishonest people.

In John 14:6 Jesus says that He is the way and the truth and the life. Jesus is the truth.

Everything that Jesus says and does is truth.

All truth leads to Jesus.

If we are dishonest people, then we don’t reflect the truth that Jesus is the truth.

In Ephesians 4:15 the church is commanded to speak the truth in love.

In Ephesians 4:25 we as followers of Jesus are told to speak the truth to our neighbor.

In Matthew 22:16 Jesus is described as honest.

In 1 Peter 2:22 Jesus is described as not having any deceit in His mouth.

When we are honest and truthful we correctly display the character of Jesus.

When we are dishonest and untruthful we distort the character of Jesus.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is speaking the truth and displaying honesty.

Warning #3: Don’t live for pleasure and in luxury.

In Ecclesiastes 2:1 we are told that living for personal pleasure is vanity or useless.

In Ecclesiastes 2:11 we are told that living for personal pleasure is like chasing after the wind.

Pleasure is fleeting and to try to base your life on pleasure means you will continually be chasing it. It means that your desire and focus will always be on what brings you pleasure.

Hebrews 11:25 tells us that even sin can bring temporary pleasure. Pleasure can thus lead you into sin.

God wants us to experience joy and pleasure but with our joy and pleasure centered in Him. We experience real pleasure when, by the way we live, we bring God pleasure. Our calling is to do the desires of God and that makes God smile. God’s smile is what we desire and what brings the real pleasure we are seeking.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is finding our pleasure in bringing pleasure to God.

Warning #4: Don’t condemn others.

John 3:17 tells us that Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world.

In Luke 6:37 we are told not to judge or condemn others.

In John 8 Jesus has every reason to condemn the woman taken in adultery but He does not.

Condemnation is emotionally killing a person.

Condemnation is telling the other person they are of no value.

Condemnation is telling the other person they are beyond hope.

In Romans 2:4 Paul says that it is God’s loving kindness that brings people to repentance. It is not our condemnation that changes people. It is God’s love flowing from us to others that changes people.

When people condemn me, it causes me to put up my defenses.

When people come in love to help me, it allows me to respond by listening.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acting and responding in love, not condemnation.

We as people who possess material wealth and who have influence with others are to:

Live based on spiritual wealth

Be honest and open

Live for God’s pleasure

Love, not condemn

These things are possible only as we surrender out lives to Jesus and live in relationship with Him as our Lord.

By God’s Will and Desire, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                                   Joe

Judging and Boasting

James deals with two issues in James 4:11-17.

The first issues that James deals with is judging.

James 4:11-12

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbor?

James tells us we are not to slander one another. Slander is saying something about someone to others so that it harms them. James says that when we do that, we are judging that person.

In Matthew 7:1a Jesus tells us to judge not.

Then in Matthew 7:1b-2 Jesus tells us why. He says, “That you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”

Jesus says we are not to judge because the way we judge others will be the way others judge us.

We need to understand what is meant by judging.

Judging is not calling sin, sin.

Judging is not calling something wrong, wrong.

Judging is not in love expressing concern for another’s actions.

Judging is not separating yourself from others whose behavior tempts you to sin.

Judging is saying or thinking things about another that hurts them.

Gossip is judging.

Condemnation is judging.

Slander is judging.

Trying to control another is judging.

Lying about another is judging.

James then goes on to say that when we judge another, we also judge the law. And when we judge the law we are not keeping it.

In Leviticus 19:18 we are commanded to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

In Mark 12:31 Jesus commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

In John 15:12 Jesus commands us to love each other as He loves us.

When I judge, slander, gossip, or condemn another, I am not loving them and I am not obeying the commands of God. I am judging the law and saying I am above the commands of God.

Another huge problem with judging is that it displacing God out of His position of Lawgiver and Judge.

The reason that this position is reserved for God is that God is the only one who can save and destroy.

In Matthew 10:28 Jesus tells His followers that they are not to fear those who can destroy the body, but fear the one who can destroy both body and soul.

God is the one who gave the commands (Lawgiver) and the only one who can judge if a person is obeying them (Judge).

So who are you or I to judge our neighbor? The answer is we are not the ones to judge; only God is.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about loving our neighbors and not judging them.

The second issue James deals with is boasting.

James 4:13-16

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

James tells us not to boast and brag. He says that boasting is evil.

James gives us two reasons why boasting is wrong.

First, we as humans have limited knowledge.

We don’t know for certainty what will happen tomorrow.

We have finite knowledge – God has infinite knowledge.

We have finite power – God has infinite power.

We have finite authority – God has infinite authority.

Second, we as humans don’t live long.

Our lives are compared to a morning mist that appears for a short time and then goes away.

I remember as a child thinking that people in their 50’s and 60’s were old. Now, in my mid 60’s I look at anybody under 100 as not really old.

When you say 80 or 90 or 100 years it sounds like a long time, but when you live it, it seems like a short time.

I may plan many things for myself, but my lifespan my very well not allow me to accomplish a lot of those plans.

Psalm 90:12 is a prayer of Moses where he asks God to teach us to number our days. We are to live knowing that it is God, not us, that determines the length of our lives.   

If we are going to boast we need to boast about Jesus, not about ourselves or what we are going to do or about what we have accomplished.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about humbling ourselves by boasting about God.

James 4:17

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.

Sin is not just not doing certain things.

Sin is not doing what God wants us to do. Sin doesn’t have to be aggressive; it can be very passive.

Sin can also be very subtle.

Sin can be gossiping about another person.

Sin can be quietly condemning another person.

Sin can be boasting about what we are going to do or what we have done.

Sin can be making plans without consulting God to find what His will is.

These don’t look like sin to most people, but they do to God and that is what matters.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing what God wants and doing it.

With Love and Humility Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls

                                                 Joe

Friendship with the World Brings Fights and Quarrels

We are living in very contentious times. We divide people into groups and divisions and then we vilify them and make them our enemies. We do this so that we can dismiss them as evil and not have to really listen to them or deal with what they are saying or doing. We live in a culture filled with fights and quarrels.

James deals with two issues in the first part of James 4.

The first issue James deals with is what causes fights and quarrels.

James 4:1-3

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

James asks the question, “What causes fights and quarrels among people?”

James gives three reasons why there are fights and quarrels.

First, they come from desires that are battling in us.

When I have a desire but I know that it is not of God, then I feel guilty. When I feel guilty, I am more sensitive to what others may say or do. That sensitivity then leads to fights and quarrels.

In Philippians 2:5 we are told that our mind is to be the same as Jesus.

How am I able to do that?

The answer is found in Romans 12:2. It says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We allow God to renew our minds, and through that renewal, we come to know God’s will. In knowing and accepting God’s will our minds are brought into unity with God’s mind. Then we are no longer at war with our inward desires and we experience the peace of God.

Second, we don’t have what want we want because we don’t ask God.

The most common unanswered prayer is the prayer that is not prayed.

Matthew 7:7-8

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Jesus says:

We get when we ask

We find when we seek

The door will be opened when we knock

If we don’t ask, we won’t get.

If we don’t seek, we won’t find.

If we don’t knock, the door won’t be opened.

We don’t ask, and then we feel frustrated, and that leads to fights and quarrels. 

We just need to ask God for what we need.

Third, we ask with wrong motives.

James says that when we ask for things solely for our pleasure, that is asking with wrong motives.

God wants us as He children to know and experience pleasure.

God puts two stipulations on pleasure.

The pleasure is to be what God wants the pleasure to be and in God’s timing.

The pleasure is not to be our focus but the outcome of obeying God.

Many people have the mistaken belief that God is here to give us pleasure and make us happy. God is here for us to give Him pleasure and for us to make Him happy. Life is about God, not you.

When I try to force God to do things my way, I will always fail. And that failure will cause me to be angry, and that anger leads to fights and quarrels.

The way to avoid that is to desire God’s will and let that be the priority of our lives.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is yielding our lives to God and trusting Him to provide what we need and being at peace with Him.

The second issue James deals with is loving the world rather than loving Jesus.

James 4:4-6

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James says that if you choose to be friends with the world then you have chosen to hate God and be His enemy.

Why does friendship with the world put you at odds with God? James gives two reasons why friendship with the world is not compatible with friendship with Jesus.

First, the Holy Spirit who God has placed in every believer envies intensely.

In Exodus 34:14 we are told that God is a jealous God. God will tolerate no rival. He does not want any competition for your love and loyalty.

When we show love and loyalty to the world and not Jesus, it puts us in opposition to God’s will for our lives.

Second, friendship with the world leads us to take on the characteristics of the world. One of the major characteristics of the world is pride.

God opposes the proud.

Why is God so against pride? God is against pride because pride elevates self over God. Pride says that “I/Me” is more important than God.

God opposes anything in our lives that is more important than Him and that includes ourselves.

You don’t want to be opposed by God because you will lose.

You don’t want to be an enemy of God because you will be defeated.

Instead of being filled with pride and being an enemy of God, you want to humble yourself and be God’s friend. According to John 15:14 we become God’s friend when we obey Him.

Obedience means I humble myself and obey God.

When I humble myself and obey God, He gives me grace.

Pride = God’s Opposition

Humility = God’s Grace

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is choosing to be God’s friend by humbling ourselves before Him and obeying His will.

In Unity and Friendship with God Raising the Roof and Removing Walls,

                                                     Joe