SPIRITUAL
DIARY
Date: 10-17-03
My
Worship Time Focus: We are at war with
God
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: James 4:4-10
1.
Message of the verse: “You
adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards
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.’ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you. Come
near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to
gloom. Humble yourselves before the
Lord, and he will lift you up.” (NIV)
Sin can be
defined as any rebellion with God.
Lucifer rebelled against God as seen in the OT books of Isaiah and Ezekiel. When he said those five “I wills” he was in
rebellion with God for he wanted his way above God’s way, he wanted to be above
God.
“But you said in
your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of
God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the
north. ‘I will ascend above the heights
of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” Isaiah 14:13-14 (NASB)
Believers declare war
against God when they become friendly with the enemies of God, which are the
world, the flesh, and the Devil.
A. The
World (4:4). I think
that we have seen before that the word world can be defined as the society that
is against God, or the world system.
“1 John 2:15 Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. 1 John
2:16 For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of
the Father, but is of the world.
1
John 2:17 And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” This is the apostle John’s definition of the
world and how we as believers should act towards. In Jesus’ prayer to His Father in John 17 He
had much to say about the world. “John
17:6 "I have revealed you to those
whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and
they have obeyed your word. John
17:9 I pray for them. I am not praying
for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. John 17:14
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are
not of the world any more than I am of the world. John 17:15
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you
protect them from the evil one. John
17:16 They are not of the world, even as
I am not of it. John 17:18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent
them into the world. As
believers we can become friends with the world that is spoken of by James in
this 4th verse. The process
can only go downhill from there as believers can be spotted by the world. James 1:27
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit
the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted
from the world.” From there believers can fall
to even loving the world as our passage in 1John 2:17 speaks of. Paul tells us not to be conformed by the
world in Romans 12:2, which is the next step.
We can see the last step in 1Corthians 3:11-15, and that is being
condemned by the world, although we are saved it is by fire. (Read this passage) The Bible tells that the believer is married
to Jesus Christ, for we are the bride of Christ, therefore when we fool around
with the world James calls us adulterers, as seen in this 4th
verse.
2. Spiritual Meaning for my life today: I think that one of the easiest ways that I
fall into the trap of allowing the world to infiltrate my life is by watching
too much TV, and in particular too much sports and movies. I believe that the Lord is putting His finger
on me about this and that I will not be able to go to the next step in my walk
with Him until I cut way down on my watching too much TV.
The Word of God was very insightful and also convicting to my heart as I
read and studied it this morning.
My Steps of Faith Today: If it can
be set up with Pastor Dunn, then I want to have a conversation with him about
telling others about what we spoke of in confidence the other day. I would also seek the Lord’s direction on leading
the Bible study this afternoon, that His purpose for our study will be
accomplished for our good and for His glory.
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