Conflict Resolved

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org. Good morning. Hey, it's good to be here at Thrive this morning. And boy, James has been a good series. I don't know, when you're studying the scriptures to get ready to share on it, I think you learn more because you have to. I don't know, teachers probably know that, right? When you do the lesson planning and you have to teach someone else the material, you have to learn it twice as good, right? So I probably get more out of it than anyone. Today's lesson, I think, is going to be really good as well. He's very practical, pithy, blunt. I think these are pretty harsh words, actually, that we're going to look at today. So before we do, I want to pray, okay? Lord God, thank you so much for your grace that does give us the framework for all of our lives, the foundation on which we build. We thank you, Lord God, that you give us the ability to be peacemakers, those who bring peace into conflicted situations. We pray for our world right now, a world that is in the midst of so many conflicts, Lord, but they're not just overseas, Lord, they're right here in our midst, and it's been a difficult summer for us all, I think. Lord, we pray, we grieve, we mourn, and we ask that you make us, as St. Francis prayed many, many years ago, instruments of your peace. So bless this study today. We pray that you'd be with all the churches in our area, that we would be peacemakers here. Thank you for ministries like Summit, and Gulf Coast Presbyterian, and Estera United Methodist, and you name it, Lord. There's so many churches in our midst and around our area that we are so thankful for, that you've made one church in many expressions, and we're a part of it. We pray for a movement in this area, Lord, that your kingdom would grow, not necessarily our church, but your kingdom would grow, and your kingdom would expand in such a way, and that we would be a part of it, that we would see your goodness now and be able to witness to more people that you are the Prince of Peace. All this we pray, Lord Jesus, in your name. Amen. So you can look at bible.com, the You version, and find this whole series on there, I believe. And today we're going to be looking at how conflicts are resolved. And the passages from James chapter 4, verses 1 through 12, pretty harsh words, like I said. He's very blunt about it. Last week, the text said, who is wise among you, is the way it started out, and that was a good question for our day and age and our time. And this week, it's what causes quarrels and fights among you. So he's kind of taken it a step further and kind of been blunt, that in the Christian church at his day and age, he could even see it going on. So let's read. What causes quarrels and causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 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 ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. 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. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the scripture says, he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us, but he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Okay. These are pretty harsh words. Like I said, it would be nice if we could just say, can't we all just get along and everybody just get a little more information. And maybe this sermon kind of falls into that. I'm going to kind of give you four G's to resolving conflict. It might be just considered as information, but I don't expect it to just solve every issue. And I don't think James does either. It's not so simple as to just have the right information or to be taught. Education is not going to solve this one. Psychology isn't going to solve this one. Politics definitely aren't going to solve this one. Military might isn't going to solve it. Laws aren't going to solve it. I can go down the list of every ism and ideology and thought. It...