Introduction

James 4:1-3 ESV  What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  (2)  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.  (3)  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

• What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not that your passions are at war with in you?
  • When the book of James was written there were a ton of factions of Jews who would gather little armies together and try to war against Rome.
    • They would mount insurrections and rebel against the government.
    • They would kill Roman soldiers and politicians.
      • Barabas, who was released instead of Jesus, was an insurrectionist and a murderer, amongst other things. He was likely a leader of one of these factions.
    • If you remember, the book of James was written to the Jews in the dispersion.
      • Christian Jews who were scattered all over the Roman empire and beyond.
    • So here when James says “What causes quarrels and fights among you” some translations go even harder saying “What causes war amongst you”?
      • When James says this he means it! Litteral wars and fights and quarrels.

James 4:2 ESV  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

• SO YOU MURDER.Literally, the Jews would murder Romans to get their way.So you fight and quarrel.We are not talking about bickering in the streets, we are talking about taking up arms.
  • Literally, the Jews of this time… because they wanted power and wealth and influence… they would fight, and war, and murder… Trying to get all they wanted through violence and force… but there is a better way. Today we are going to talk about the better way…

• Receiving Everything You Want From God.

• Receiving Everything You want from God. That’s what I want to talk about today. How to get everything you want from God.
  • Because clearly war and murder is not the answer.
    • And I think James knows that we know this…
      • But remember, James just got done talking about Godly wisdom vs demonic wisdom.
      • And it is now as if he is giving an example… “Look how demonic wisdom works… it says “Let’s create divisions and factions… let’s draw party lines… let’s war against each other… let’s war against our enemies…”
        • If you remember last weeks sermon it should be easy to see the comparison here… demonic wisdom draws party lines, it is violent and boastful…
          • Godly wisdom is peaceful and even MAKES peace…
          • Demonic wisdom makes war.
    • So James is continuing this thought and now giving us practical application.
• And I think that the Jewish Christians who James was writing to would have understood this, and understood the word picture that James is drawing here.
  • The Jewish Christians were not the ones making these wars and insurrections… but still they have issues.
    • Issues we face today. Issues of greed, and envy, and covetousness.
      • Wanting to have what is not theirs to take.
      • Wanting to keep up with the Jones.
      • Wanting God to give them the things of this world.
        • By the way, the next verse, which we will preach on next week, but the next verse is “friendship with the world is enmity with God”.
      • So the context here is that these Jewish Christians wanted the things of the world… and in doing so made themselves friends of the world and enemies of God.
• They want to receive… THEY SO WANT TO RECEIVE FROM GOD… but it didn’t work… so they turn to evil wisdom… and the reap the fruits of evil wisdom… But friends… there is a better way.
  • THERE IS A BETTER WAY.
    • WE CAN RECEIVE EVERYTHING WE WANT FROM GOD.
      • YOU CAN RECEIVE EVERYTHING YOU WANT FROM GOD. And this morning I am going to tell you how.
• But listen… please, please, please! There are three points this morning… and you need to know ALL three points.
  • Far too many false theologies have come from just understanding one or two of these points…
    • You have to have ALL three to get what you want from God. So stick with me church…
• Let’s start with point one “God takes Care of His friends. Be a Friend of God”.

Point One – God Takes Care of His Friends. Be A Friend of God.

• Friend of God. Friends give each other gifts. The Lord says “I take care of my friends!”

James 4:1-3 ESV  What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  (2)  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.  (3)  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

• When I prepare my sermon I tend to play instrumental worship.
  • And as I read these verses in preparation for this message, I had instrumental Jazz Gospel music playing.
    • So while I was reading these verses and praying and seeking what God would have me preach on this morning… the song came on “I am a friend of God”.
      • And that’s one of those tunes that you just instinctively start singing the words even when all you hear is the instrumental.
        • “I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, He calls me friend!”.
  • So I am singing this as I am reading James 4… talking about quarreling and murder and why you don’t have…
• And God just whispers to me… Christian, I give good gifts to my friends. I take care of my friends.
  • And so the first secret this morning… well it’s not really a secret… but the first step to receiving everything you want from God is simple. GOD NEEDS TO BE YOUR FRIEND.
    • Because God Takes Care of His Friends.
      • That is my first point this morning… very simple… God takes Care of His friends!
        • GOD TAKES CARE OF HIS FRIENDS.
• If you are not receiving everything you want from God, then maybe it is because you are not a friend of God.
  • “Well pastor, how can you say that?! That is so rude!”
    • Listen, if you are a friend of God, then some Pastor preaching at you from the pulpit is not going to rock your faith.
    • If you are a friend of God, YOU KNOW IT, it doesn’t matter what some pastor says. Because you have a true active relationship with God, your friend, and it doesn’t matter what ANYONE SAYS.
      • You are your Beloved’s and your Beloved is yours!
        • And if that is you, praise God, this point is not for you… wait for point two and three…
        • But maybe you think you are a friend of God, but you are not…
• Because God takes care of His friends… but if you are not His friend… well then God doesn’t want to hear it.

John 9:31 ESV  We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.

• If you are not a friend of God, then the only prayer that God want’s to hear are prayers of repentance and salvation… that much is clear… but God listens to His friends…
  • “If anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, God listens to him.”
    • ‘But Paaassstooorrr… isn’t Jesus a friend of sinners?”
      • NO!
      • This is the only thing Casting Crowns has ever gotten wrong… singing that Jesus is a friend of sinners… ok, they probably have gotten other things wrong to… but that Casting Crowns song was huge… Jesus friend of sinners… it comes from this Bible Verse:

Luke 7:34 ESV  The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

• Now let me ask you something… is Jesus a glutton?
  • Is Jesus a Drunk?
    • NO! Of course not…
      • So why then do we take a third of this verse and say “that third is true” but then we reject the rest of the verse?
  • Y’all, this verse is about how Jesus’ enemies mocked Him. They were slandering Him… making fun of Him… attacking His character.
• But Jesus never calls Himself a friend of sinners… in fact the Bible says that sinners are the ENEMY of God.

Romans 5:10 ESV  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

• Look, the very next verse in James says that friendship with the WORLD makes you an enemy of God:

James 4:4 ESV  You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

• Listen church, God Takes Care of His friends… that is my first point this morning.
  • To receive everything you want from God you must be a friend of God.
  • To be a friend of God you must be Saved, redeemed, born again, made right with God through the blood of Jesus Christ.
    • And if you haven’t been saved, if you have not made it right with God, there will be an opportunity at the end of this service to be saved, to be born again, to become a friend of God.

John 15:15-16 ESV  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.  (16)  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

• There it is right there… no longer do I call you servants… Jesus says to His disciples… but I call you friends… So that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you.
  • There you have it church… step one to receiving everything you want from God, be God’s friend… be born again…
    • But that is not the only step… remember there are three points this morning… and you need all three points, you need all three steeps… so let’s move onto point two: YOU HAVE TO ASK.
      • Point one: God Takes Care of His friends. Be A Friend of God… Point Two: You have to ask.

Point Two – You Have To Ask

James 4:2 ESV  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

• YOU DO NOT HAVE BECAUSE YOU DO NOT ASK.
  • Now remember, you can’t take this step alone, you need the rest of the context, you need the rest of the steps, but you also need this.
    • YOU HAVE TO ASK. That is point two this morning. YOU HAVE TO ASK.

Matthew 21:22 – And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.

John 14:13 – Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 16:24 – Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Philippians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

• Man I don’t know how to make this clearer… but there are too many Christians not asking, but wanting to receive.
  • I wonder, saints… how does your prayer life look?
    • Can you honestly say that you are anxious about nothing?
    • Can you honestly say that IN EVERYTHING you are letting your requests be made known to God.
      • 1 Thessalonians 5:17… The second shortest Bible Verse… memorize this verse… just three words…
        • Just THREE WORDS… you can memorize that right… but do these three words describe your prayer life?

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV  pray without ceasing,

• PRAY. WITHOUT. CEASING.
  • Does this describe how you pray… or do you pray in the morning and sometimes in the evening, and most of the time before you eat except when you are really hungry and forget?
    • And don’t get me wrong, in the morning, and in the evening, and when you eat… that’s a great start.
      • But remember 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing”.
• I don’t think I have ever said of anyone “You know that person just prays to much”.
  • If you ask me to pray for you, don’t be surprised if I pray for you right then and there.
    • I will pray with you over the phone.
    • I will pray with you in line at Aldi.
    • I will pray with you while we are driving… while I am preaching… while we are working…
      • And if I will pray for you like that… out loud and in public… shouldn’t I be able to pray in private, like always?
• Pray without ceasing… YOU HAVE NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT.
• With everything with prayer and thanksgiving, make you requests known to the Lord.
  • YOU HAVE NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT.
• Do what I do church, let me encourage you and be practical… print out prayer lists and post them on your computer screen.
  • Or on your bathroom mirror… and as you see those prayers PRAY, ASK, SEEK, FIND.

Matthew 7:7-8 ESV  “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  (8)  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

• For many Christians the problem is not that you are not a friend of God… you are saved, you are born again, you are sanctified and made righteous… Sure you have room to grow, but the blood of Jesus has cleansed you. NOW YOU ARE A FRIEND OF GOD… yet still you don’t find, you don’t receive, you are left in the dark empty handed… why?
  • Because you don’t ask.
    • Because you don’t seek.
      • Because you don’t knock.
• Have you prayed about that new job?
  • I mean REALLY PRAYED… REALLY ASKED.
• Have you asked about that new opportunity?
  • Asked if it is God’s will… asked if God would give it to you… I MEAN REALLY ASKED.
• Have you been seeking the will of God… or have you just been waiting passively.
  • Yes you are waiting for God to open a door… but my question saints is this: ARE YOU KNOCKING?
• Whatever is going on in your life… I hope you are asking, and praying, and seeking and knocking…
  • Using Godly wisdom, not worldly wisdom.
    • But I can make so much money if I do this, or take this job, or do this opportunity…
      • MAN I HAVE SEEN THAT DESTROY SO MANY PEOPLE’S LIVES.
      • Because they are doing things without asking, they are doing things without seeking, they are doing things without knocking.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV  pray without ceasing,

• Listen, you want things from God, I get it, so do I.
  • Here is step two to receiving everything you want from God: YOU HAVE TO ASK.
• But you can’t Just ask… You have to ask CORRECTLY
  • You can’t just ask according to your desires, but according to God’s Desires.
    • YOU HAVE TO ASK CORRECTLY.
      • And  to do that you might just have to change what you want.
        • That is my third point this morning. The third step to receiving everything you want from God.
          • Step One: God Takes Care of His Friends. Be a Friend of God.
          • Step Two: You Have to Ask.
          • And now the final point, the final step: You Might Have to Change What You Want.

Point Three – You Might Have To Change What You Want

James 4:3 ESV  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

• You know I have heard it said, more than once, that when it comes to children the way to get them to make good choices is to give them good options.
  • CLEARLY WHOEVER CAME UP WITH THAT ADVICE DID NOT HAVE CHILDREN AND HAS NEVER SEEN A CHILD BEFORE.
    • Maybe it is just me and my children… specifically my stubborn little grace from God…
      • I give her options “Hanna would you like carrots or apples for snack?”
      • “I want candy!”
      • “Hannah you can’t have Ice Cream, you can have apples or you can have carrots.”
      • “I WANT CANDY!”
      • “Hannah you can have apples or carrots love, the choice is yours… but you can’t have candy.”
      • “YOU NEVER GIVE ME WHAT I WANT! YOU NEVER GIVE ME WHAT I ASK FOR!”
        • That is because what you ask for is going to end up killing you one day. I want you to be healthy. You ask, but you ask WRONGLY.”
          • If you asked for carrots I would give you carrots, if you asked for apples I would give you apples… goodness, you could ask for bananas, or oranges, or hummus, or Greek Yogurt, or Raisins, or Nuts… or so many other things…
          • If you would ask for any of those things, I would happily give it to you daughter… but as it is, you ask but do not receive because you ask wrongly.
• The final step, and this is so important, to receiving everything you want from God, is to make sure you want the right things.
  • You might just have to change what you want.

John 14:13 ESV  Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

• Well I asked God for a new wife and He never gave it to me.
  • Well that is because you didn’t ask in Jesus’ name.
    • You might have said the words “In Jesus Name I Pray” sure enough.
    • But prayer is not a magic spell where you have to say the right words…
      • Because simply saying “in Jesus’ name” does not mean you are praying in Jesus’ name…
  • You asked God for a new wife because you don’t like your current one… that is a prayer you are praying in YOUR NAME according to your character and your will.
    • To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray according to Jesus character and Jesus’ will. Because Jesus name carries His authority, His power, His will, and His character… not yours.
  • No, to pray in Jesus’ name would be to pray in His character… and His character is to redeem… and to pray in Jesus name is to pray according to His will… and He is not willing for any to perish but all to come to repentance.
  • See you need to change what you want… what you ought to be praying is “Lord, let my wife be saved… let our relationship be redeemed… let us be reconciled and have a Godly and holy marriage…”
    • NOW YOU ARE PRAYING A PRAYER THAT GOD CAN ANSWER!
      • But when you are praying according to your own will, don’t be surprised when you don’t get what God want’s to give.
      • Because He want’s to give you a healthy snack but all you want is candy!
• But some will say Psalm 37:4 says that “God will give you the desires of YOUR HEART”.
  • And I would say “Yes that is true… but you can’t have the second half of that verse without the first half.”
  • Here is the full verse:

Psalms 37:4 ESV  Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

• Yes God will give you the desires of your heart… when you delight yourself in the LORD.
  • In other words… when your heart desires the things of God and God Himself… when your heart’s delight and desire is the Lord… then God will give you the desires of your heart… He will give you more of Him, victory in Him, victory in evangelism, victory in spiritual warfare, victory in worship, victory over the enemy and persecution, victory in glorifying Him.
    • God will give you the desires of your heart when the desires of your heart is God!
      • God will give you the desires of your heart is the will of God.
        • I want to serve a church that gets everything they desire!
        • And I want to serve a church where everything we desire is the will of God.

1 John 5:14-15 ESV  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  (15)  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

• Todays sermon is titled “Receiving Everything You Want From God”
  • And you can receive everything you want from God when everything you want is God’s will.
    • If you are not receiving what you want from God… it might be because you want the wrong things.
• Now listen, I know this is a very spiritual sermon… I mean we are a spiritual place… this is a church after all…
  • But I think there is an argument that this can be material too…
  • That God can give you physical things that you want according to His will.
    • Now I am not talking about air-conditioned Dog houses or Lamborghinis or private jets…
      • But I mean Jesus teaches us to ask for our daily bread… that’s material.
      • We are told God will take care of  our food and our clothing… that’s material.
      • We are told that when we are faithful with our tithes and offerings that God will make our harvest overflow… that’s material.
    • Many material things in my house have huge testamonies… the baby grand piano has a huge testimony.
    • Our vehicles have a huge testimony.
    • Even some of our furniture. GOD TAKES CARE OF HIS PEOPLE.
• When you live according to the will of God your heart may still desire some material things.
  • My wife wanted a grand piano for our home to worship Him with songs…
  • This was the desire of Amanda’s heart… and God provided.
    • We needed vehichles to do the work of the ministry… and I have ALWAYS wanted a Subaru… but could never afford one.
    • BUT GOD PROVIDED. Thank God for my mother who listens to Him and helped be a part of that testimony.
    • God will GRANT the desires of your heart when you delight yourself in him.

Conclusion

• I want to conclude with this. CHURCH YOU CAN HAVE EVERYTHING YOU WANT.
  • If you are God’s Friend.
  • If you ask.
  • And if want you want is what God wants.
    • And the only way to know what God wants is to be in His word, to read it and obey it, to be discipled and to make disciples… and that all starts with being saved… So we are going to conclude with that… then I am going to pray God’s will over your life.
• Gospel Call
• Now for those of you who are God’s friends… I need to address something…
  • Sometimes we pray and we pray and we pray… and it seems like God is not answering…
    • And any true Christian knows that God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts…

Isaiah 55:9 ESV  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

• I realize that there are some of you who love the Lord, who pray according to His Word… who ask and seek and knock… but still nothing…
  • I don’t know why God allows mental illness in the world.
  • I don’t know why God allows sickness in some and rebukes it out of others.
  • I don’t know why God does what God does or doesn’t do what He doesn’t do some of the time.
    • His thoughts are higher, His ways are higher.
  • But I know this… I can be and will be content in all things through Christ who strengthens me…
    • And I pray that you would be too…
  • And further… there is only one place I know of where we are told NOT to pray… and that is in regards to the unforgivable sin…
    • In all other things… don’t give up praying… be the persistent widow… continue to ask.
    • Either God will answer those prayers one day, or you will get to heaven and He will show you why He didn’t… either way, be content.

Aaronic Blessing