Check Your Heart
Check Your Heart
Where are the desires of your heart? Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." This question cuts to the core of our spiritual lives.
In James 4:1-10, we find a passionate appeal to the church to get back on track and live out their God-given identity. James confronts a sobering reality: the church has allowed the desires of their hearts to drift from God in order to chase the passions of the flesh.
Why Do Christians Fight and Quarrel With Each Other?
James begins by asking a pointed question: "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?" He immediately provides the answer: "Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?"
The root of our conflicts often lies in our misplaced desires. When we walk in earthly wisdom instead of Godly wisdom, the evidence of our lives will be filled with jealousy, selfishness, disorder, and all types of evil practices.
How Do Misplaced Desires Affect Our Relationships?
James explains the progression:
Why Don't We Have What We Want?
James provides two reasons:
Many of us either fail to ask God for what we need, or we ask with selfish motives that have nothing to do with God's Kingdom.
What Does It Mean to Delight Yourself in the Lord?
Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." This doesn't mean God will give us whatever we want. Rather, when we delight ourselves in the Lord, our appetites begin to change. The desires of our heart transform because our heart is being transformed.
When we truly delight in God, we come to realize that He is all we need. As the Psalmist wrote, "The Lord is my shepherd; I want nothing." He satisfies the inmost being of who we are.
Are You Being Spiritually Unfaithful?
James uses strong language, calling his readers "adulterous people." Importantly, he's not addressing the world here—he's addressing the church.
Too often, we get excited about exposing corruption outside the church while ignoring the "demons manifesting in our pews." God doesn't discipline those who aren't His children; He disciplines those who are.
How Does Spiritual Adultery Begin?
Backsliding starts with flirting with the things of the world. These might begin as small compromises that we don't even recognize as sin. But the more friendly we get with the things of the world, the further our heart drifts from God.
One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is: "My faith is strong enough that I can do this and it won't affect my relationship with God." That's deception.
How Does God Respond to Our Divided Loyalties?
James tells us that God "yearns jealously over the Spirit that He has made to dwell in us." This is a righteous jealousy—like a husband would feel if his wife became too friendly with other men.
God is jealous for a relationship with you. He doesn't want anything to separate you from Him. He wants to be in covenant relationship with you.
Is There Hope When We've Been Unfaithful?
The beauty of God is that even when we stumble and fall, He never gives up on us. James reminds us: "But He gives more grace."
It takes humility to repent and receive God's grace. If we have pride in our hearts, we'll never bend our knee to the will of the Father. But if we have humility, we'll recognize our brokenness and our need for Him.
How Do We Return to God?
James provides a clear path back to God:
Why Should We Mourn Our Sin?
James says, "Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom." This isn't about being miserable—it's about having a proper perspective. Like Isaiah who, when encountering God's holiness, cried "Woe is me, for I am lost, and I am a man of unclean lips."
The more we have a revelation of who God is, the more we see His perfection and our imperfection. Just as a perfect white strip reveals that what we thought was white is actually cream-colored, God's perfection reveals our flaws.
What Happens When We Humble Ourselves?
James concludes with this promise: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you." We often want to be exalted by others, so we exalt ourselves. But that glory is temporary. Being exalted in the presence of God is eternal.
Remember Jesus' first beatitude: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Blessed are those who know they can never measure up on their own, who understand they are spiritually bankrupt without God.
Life Application
This week, take time to examine the desires of your heart. Are they rooted in pride and selfishness, or are they aligned with God's will? Here are some questions to reflect on:
Where are the desires of your heart? Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, "Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." This question cuts to the core of our spiritual lives.
In James 4:1-10, we find a passionate appeal to the church to get back on track and live out their God-given identity. James confronts a sobering reality: the church has allowed the desires of their hearts to drift from God in order to chase the passions of the flesh.
Why Do Christians Fight and Quarrel With Each Other?
James begins by asking a pointed question: "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?" He immediately provides the answer: "Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?"
The root of our conflicts often lies in our misplaced desires. When we walk in earthly wisdom instead of Godly wisdom, the evidence of our lives will be filled with jealousy, selfishness, disorder, and all types of evil practices.
How Do Misplaced Desires Affect Our Relationships?
James explains the progression:
- Passions fed by earthly wisdom stir up jealousy
- Jealousy awakens the heart to crave what it does not have
- These cravings manifest as coveting what belongs to others
- This leads to fighting, quarreling, and even hatred (which Jesus equated with murder in the heart)
Why Don't We Have What We Want?
James provides two reasons:
- "You do not have because you do not ask"
- "You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions"
Many of us either fail to ask God for what we need, or we ask with selfish motives that have nothing to do with God's Kingdom.
What Does It Mean to Delight Yourself in the Lord?
Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." This doesn't mean God will give us whatever we want. Rather, when we delight ourselves in the Lord, our appetites begin to change. The desires of our heart transform because our heart is being transformed.
When we truly delight in God, we come to realize that He is all we need. As the Psalmist wrote, "The Lord is my shepherd; I want nothing." He satisfies the inmost being of who we are.
Are You Being Spiritually Unfaithful?
James uses strong language, calling his readers "adulterous people." Importantly, he's not addressing the world here—he's addressing the church.
Too often, we get excited about exposing corruption outside the church while ignoring the "demons manifesting in our pews." God doesn't discipline those who aren't His children; He disciplines those who are.
How Does Spiritual Adultery Begin?
Backsliding starts with flirting with the things of the world. These might begin as small compromises that we don't even recognize as sin. But the more friendly we get with the things of the world, the further our heart drifts from God.
One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is: "My faith is strong enough that I can do this and it won't affect my relationship with God." That's deception.
How Does God Respond to Our Divided Loyalties?
James tells us that God "yearns jealously over the Spirit that He has made to dwell in us." This is a righteous jealousy—like a husband would feel if his wife became too friendly with other men.
God is jealous for a relationship with you. He doesn't want anything to separate you from Him. He wants to be in covenant relationship with you.
Is There Hope When We've Been Unfaithful?
The beauty of God is that even when we stumble and fall, He never gives up on us. James reminds us: "But He gives more grace."
It takes humility to repent and receive God's grace. If we have pride in our hearts, we'll never bend our knee to the will of the Father. But if we have humility, we'll recognize our brokenness and our need for Him.
How Do We Return to God?
James provides a clear path back to God:
- "Submit yourselves therefore to God" - Surrender your heart fully to God
- "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" - Resist the world's value system
- "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" - You don't have to fix your life before approaching God
- "Cleanse your hands... purify your hearts" - As you draw near to God, He will clean the areas that need cleaning
Why Should We Mourn Our Sin?
James says, "Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom." This isn't about being miserable—it's about having a proper perspective. Like Isaiah who, when encountering God's holiness, cried "Woe is me, for I am lost, and I am a man of unclean lips."
The more we have a revelation of who God is, the more we see His perfection and our imperfection. Just as a perfect white strip reveals that what we thought was white is actually cream-colored, God's perfection reveals our flaws.
What Happens When We Humble Ourselves?
James concludes with this promise: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you." We often want to be exalted by others, so we exalt ourselves. But that glory is temporary. Being exalted in the presence of God is eternal.
Remember Jesus' first beatitude: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Blessed are those who know they can never measure up on their own, who understand they are spiritually bankrupt without God.
Life Application
This week, take time to examine the desires of your heart. Are they rooted in pride and selfishness, or are they aligned with God's will? Here are some questions to reflect on:
- What causes most of the conflicts in my relationships? Are my own desires at the root?
- In what areas of my life have I been "flirting" with the world's values?
- Am I approaching God with humility, or am I trying to fix myself before drawing near to Him?
- What would it look like for me to fully surrender a specific area of my life to God this week?
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