Chandler Heights Community Church
Good Friday, 3 April 2026
  • James 4:1–12
    1 What is the source of conflicts and from where comes disputes among you?  Is it not from this – the desires for pleasure that wage war among your members?  2 You desire and do not have so you commit murder, you are filled with envy and are not able to 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 wickedly, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.  4  Adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?  Therefore, if anyone wants to be friends with the world, he makes himself an enemy with God.  5 Or do you think that the scripture says in vain, “The Spirit He caused to dwell in us longs jealously”.  6 But He gives greater grace, therefore He says,
                ‘God is opposed to the proud,
                but to the humble [humbled] he gives grace.
    7 Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and He will come near to you.  Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  9 Feel miserable and mourn and weep.  Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into gloom.  10 Be humble before the Lord and He will exalt you.
    11 Do not speak evil of one another brethren.  The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.  But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.  12 Only One is lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy.  But who are you to judge your neighbor?
    James does not ease into this passage. He opens with a blunt diagnostic question:
    Introduction: A Hard Question We’d Rather Avoid
    “What is the source of conflicts and from where comes disputes among you?” (James 4:1)
    He is writing to believers—brothers and sisters in Christ—and yet he addresses:
    conflicts
    disputes
    fighting
    envy
    judgment
    This is family conflict, not outsider persecution.
    Reality Check
    No church has ever been exempt from conflict.
    Every generation of Christians has had to wrestle with this.
    And James refuses to let us blame:
    personalities
    circumstances
    stress
    culture
    Instead, he takes us inside the heart.
    Jesus said:
    “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” (John 15:12–13, NASB 95)
    Yet when love breaks down, James asks why.
    The Enemy Within: Disordered Desires
    “Is it not from this – the desires for pleasure that wage war among your members?”
    The word James uses for “desires for pleasure” is ἡδονή (hēdonē)—where we get the word hedonism:
    A life organized around the pursuit of personal pleasure.
    Important Clarification
    James is not saying pleasure itself is evil.
    Scripture celebrates godly pleasure:
    Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the LORD…”
    Psalm 34:8 – “O taste and see that the LORD is good…”
    Psalm 16:11 – “In Your presence is fullness of joy…”
    The problem is when pleasure replaces God instead of flowing from God.
    The Progression James Describes
    James traces a downward spiral:
    Unfulfilled desire
    Envy
    Conflict
    Quarreling
    Violence (even murder)
    “You desire and do not have… you are filled with envy… so you fight and quarrel.”
    This is not theoretical. Scripture shows us this pattern repeatedly:
    Cain wanted acceptance on his terms → resentment → murder.
    David wanted pleasure apart from obedience → adultery → murder.
    When he speaks of murder, James likely refers to real violence within the early church—not metaphor alone. That’s how destructive unchecked desire can become.
    Today, this looks like:
    resentment when others have what we want
    bitterness in marriages
    competition in churches
    silent grudges masked as “discernment”
    social media envy fueling anger and comparison
    Prayer That Doesn’t Work (James 4:2–3)
    James adds something surprising:
    “You do not have because you do not ask… you ask and do not receive because you ask wickedly.”
    Why doesn’t this kind of prayer work?
    Because God will not subsidize idolatry.
    When prayer is driven by:
    comfort
    status
    control
    indulgence
    God lovingly says no.
    God is not cruel—He is protective.
    When pleasure becomes the goal, prayer shrinks—or disappears entirely.
    Spiritual Adultery: Friendship with the World (James 4:4)
    “Adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?”
    This is covenant language
    God’s people are the bride, and divided affection is spiritual adultery.
    1 John 2:15–17 (NASB 95)
    “Do not love the world nor the things in the world…”
    The issue isn’t enjoying life—it’s aligning your heart with a system that:
    ignores God
    resists holiness
    glorifies self
    James is clear:
    Friendship with the world is not neutral—it is hostile toward God.
    The Jealous Love of God & Greater Grace (James 4:5–6)
    “The Spirit He caused to dwell in us longs jealously.”
    God’s jealousy is not insecurity—it is covenant love.
    Healthy jealousy:
    protects the relationship
    refuses to share what is sacred
    pursues restoration, not domination
    God has invested everything in us:
    Christ’s blood
    the indwelling Spirit
    ongoing grace
    But there is hope:
    “But He gives greater grace.”
    Even for:
    the divided
    the proud
    the pleasure-driven
    God’s grace is greater than your failure.
    Hebrews 4:15–16 (NASB 95)
    Hebrews 4:15–16 ESV
    15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
    “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace…”
    The Call to Repentance and Restoration (James 4:7–10)
    James gives several commands in rapid fire—urgent, pastoral, necessary.
    Key movements:
    Submit to God
    Resist the devil
    Draw near
    Cleanse yourself
    Humble yourself
    Real repentance is what is needed.
    God’s grace does not ignore sin; it transforms sinners.  But we need to submit, resist the world, draw near to God, cleanse our hands from evil, and come to him with humility.
    And the promise stands:
    “He will exalt you.”
    The Fruit of Disordered Desire: Judgmental Speech (James 4:11–12)
    11 Do not speak evil of one another brethren.  The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.  But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.  12 Only One is lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy.  But who are you to judge your neighbor?
    James ends where many church conflicts live—the tongue.
    When we speak evil:
    we place ourselves above the law
    we assume God’s role
    we damage the body of Christ
    Only One is lawgiver and judge.
    When desire rules the heart, judgment fills the mouth.
    Conclusion: A Loving Diagnostic
    James is not condemning—he is diagnosing.
    If your life is marked by:
    constant conflict
    relational tension
    bitterness
    judgment
    Then James invites us to ask:
    What am I really living for?
    Pleasure promised by the world always overpromises and underdelivers.
    But God offers:
    joy that endures
    grace that restores
    peace that reconciles
    “Be humble before the Lord—and He will exalt you.”
    Closing Prayer:
    “Lord, show us where desire has displaced devotion. Teach us to delight in You again. Restore peace among us by restoring our hearts to You.”
  • Crown Him With Many Crowns (Diademata)
  • What A Beautiful Name
  • The Old Rugged Cross
  • James 4:1–12
    1 What is the source of conflicts and from where comes disputes among you?  Is it not from this – the desires for pleasure that wage war among your members?  2 You desire and do not have so you commit murder, you are filled with envy and are not able to 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 wickedly, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.  4  Adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?  Therefore, if anyone wants to be friends with the world, he makes himself an enemy with God.  5 Or do you think that the scripture says in vain, “The Spirit He caused to dwell in us longs jealously”.  6 But He gives greater grace, therefore He says,
                ‘God is opposed to the proud,
                but to the humble [humbled] he gives grace.
    7 Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and He will come near to you.  Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  9 Feel miserable and mourn and weep.  Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into gloom.  10 Be humble before the Lord and He will exalt you.
    11 Do not speak evil of one another brethren.  The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.  But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.  12 Only One is lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy.  But who are you to judge your neighbor?
    James does not ease into this passage. He opens with a blunt diagnostic question:
    Introduction: A Hard Question We’d Rather Avoid
    “What is the source of conflicts and from where comes disputes among you?” (James 4:1)
    He is writing to believers—brothers and sisters in Christ—and yet he addresses:
    conflicts
    disputes
    fighting
    envy
    judgment
    This is family conflict, not outsider persecution.
    Reality Check
    No church has ever been exempt from conflict.
    Every generation of Christians has had to wrestle with this.
    And James refuses to let us blame:
    personalities
    circumstances
    stress
    culture
    Instead, he takes us inside the heart.
    Jesus said:
    “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” (John 15:12–13, NASB 95)
    Yet when love breaks down, James asks why.
    The Enemy Within: Disordered Desires
    “Is it not from this – the desires for pleasure that wage war among your members?”
    The word James uses for “desires for pleasure” is ἡδονή (hēdonē)—where we get the word hedonism:
    A life organized around the pursuit of personal pleasure.
    Important Clarification
    James is not saying pleasure itself is evil.
    Scripture celebrates godly pleasure:
    Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the LORD…”
    Psalm 34:8 – “O taste and see that the LORD is good…”
    Psalm 16:11 – “In Your presence is fullness of joy…”
    The problem is when pleasure replaces God instead of flowing from God.
    The Progression James Describes
    James traces a downward spiral:
    Unfulfilled desire
    Envy
    Conflict
    Quarreling
    Violence (even murder)
    “You desire and do not have… you are filled with envy… so you fight and quarrel.”
    This is not theoretical. Scripture shows us this pattern repeatedly:
    Cain wanted acceptance on his terms → resentment → murder.
    David wanted pleasure apart from obedience → adultery → murder.
    When he speaks of murder, James likely refers to real violence within the early church—not metaphor alone. That’s how destructive unchecked desire can become.
    Today, this looks like:
    resentment when others have what we want
    bitterness in marriages
    competition in churches
    silent grudges masked as “discernment”
    social media envy fueling anger and comparison
    Prayer That Doesn’t Work (James 4:2–3)
    James adds something surprising:
    “You do not have because you do not ask… you ask and do not receive because you ask wickedly.”
    Why doesn’t this kind of prayer work?
    Because God will not subsidize idolatry.
    When prayer is driven by:
    comfort
    status
    control
    indulgence
    God lovingly says no.
    God is not cruel—He is protective.
    When pleasure becomes the goal, prayer shrinks—or disappears entirely.
    Spiritual Adultery: Friendship with the World (James 4:4)
    “Adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?”
    This is covenant language
    God’s people are the bride, and divided affection is spiritual adultery.
    1 John 2:15–17 (NASB 95)
    “Do not love the world nor the things in the world…”
    The issue isn’t enjoying life—it’s aligning your heart with a system that:
    ignores God
    resists holiness
    glorifies self
    James is clear:
    Friendship with the world is not neutral—it is hostile toward God.
    The Jealous Love of God & Greater Grace (James 4:5–6)
    “The Spirit He caused to dwell in us longs jealously.”
    God’s jealousy is not insecurity—it is covenant love.
    Healthy jealousy:
    protects the relationship
    refuses to share what is sacred
    pursues restoration, not domination
    God has invested everything in us:
    Christ’s blood
    the indwelling Spirit
    ongoing grace
    But there is hope:
    “But He gives greater grace.”
    Even for:
    the divided
    the proud
    the pleasure-driven
    God’s grace is greater than your failure.
    Hebrews 4:15–16 (NASB 95)
    Hebrews 4:15–16 ESV
    15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
    “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace…”
    The Call to Repentance and Restoration (James 4:7–10)
    James gives several commands in rapid fire—urgent, pastoral, necessary.
    Key movements:
    Submit to God
    Resist the devil
    Draw near
    Cleanse yourself
    Humble yourself
    Real repentance is what is needed.
    God’s grace does not ignore sin; it transforms sinners.  But we need to submit, resist the world, draw near to God, cleanse our hands from evil, and come to him with humility.
    And the promise stands:
    “He will exalt you.”
    The Fruit of Disordered Desire: Judgmental Speech (James 4:11–12)
    11 Do not speak evil of one another brethren.  The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.  But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.  12 Only One is lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy.  But who are you to judge your neighbor?
    James ends where many church conflicts live—the tongue.
    When we speak evil:
    we place ourselves above the law
    we assume God’s role
    we damage the body of Christ
    Only One is lawgiver and judge.
    When desire rules the heart, judgment fills the mouth.
    Conclusion: A Loving Diagnostic
    James is not condemning—he is diagnosing.
    If your life is marked by:
    constant conflict
    relational tension
    bitterness
    judgment
    Then James invites us to ask:
    What am I really living for?
    Pleasure promised by the world always overpromises and underdelivers.
    But God offers:
    joy that endures
    grace that restores
    peace that reconciles
    “Be humble before the Lord—and He will exalt you.”
    Closing Prayer:
    “Lord, show us where desire has displaced devotion. Teach us to delight in You again. Restore peace among us by restoring our hearts to You.”

      • Acts 2:17ESV

      • Romans 3:23ESV

      • Romans 6:23ESV

      • Habakkuk 1:13ESV

      • Matthew 26:39ESV

      • Isaiah 53:4–6ESV

      • Psalm 22:16–18ESV

      • John 1:29ESV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:21ESV

      • Romans 5:8ESV

      • John 14:6ESV

      • Isaiah 53:6ESV

      • Luke 23:40–42ESV

      • Luke 23:43ESV

      • Luke 23:44–45ESV

      • Ephesians 2:8–9ESV

      • Matthew 27:50–51ESV

      • Hebrews 10:19–20ESV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:21ESV

      • Luke 23:34ESV

      • Romans 10:9ESV

Chandler Heights Community Church
3 members