The Book of James addresses fence travelers, people who want to have it both ways.

People who want to love God and pursue what the world has to offer.

James makes it clear that loving the world isn't simply a minor slight to God.

He thinks of it as spiritual adultery.

And today on Truth for Life, we'll learn how we break the bonds of earthly passions.

Alistair Begg is teaching from the opening verses in James chapter 4.

Now, what I'd like to do is simply suggest to you that we can look at verses 1 to 3 under the heading the problem of conflicting passions.

You desire and do not have and so you kill, you want stuff and you cannot obtain, so you quarrel and fight.

It's very painful, isn't it?

I mean, surely was a prophetic word when we began James 1.1 and I said this is probably going to be one of the more painful journeys that we've taken as a church family.

Every Sunday after Sunday is the most uncomfortable experience to turn again and again to the Bible.

And here we find that a dissatisfied heart is never at peace with God with itself or with its fellow man.

A dissatisfied heart is never at peace with God or with itself.

And it won't be at peace with his spouse.

And if you have somebody who is constantly disruptive and detrimental, divisive, who flies off a handle at the slightest provocation,

then you can safely assume that there is something that is going on in private and that is unseen, that is produced what is now obvious and reveals itself in the community experience.

And that is exactly what James is saying. The issue is not circumstantial. The issue is the desire of my heart.

When the desire of my heart is wrong, then that which flows from my heart will be equally wrong and will produce this kind of animosity.

Well, somebody, I can answer that. I think all you have to do is pray. Surely prayer is the answer.

And James is pointing out that unless prayer is a genuine expression of submission to God, then it frankly is irrelevant.

Because God hears prayers, Psalm 145, He hears the prayers of those who call upon Him in truth.

God will do what God does according to His revealed will and purposes.

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