Introduction – Everybody Fights

[02:34] Today in James, Chapter Four verses one to 10, we're going to look at what happens when church people fight because everybody fights, isn't it?

Children Fight
When you're born into the world as a little child, you will learn to fight. In fact, nobody needs to teach you how to fight. You will know that you want a toy from another kid and you grab it, and you say, “It's mine”. And as you get older you still fight in school, I read about how students in a particular secondary school were found to be fighting. But fights do not happen only when you're young, it happens only when… also when you get older.

Adults Fight
I read about seniors fighting in Chinatown because one group wants to dance, the other group wants to use the space to sing and they cannot stand each other. We read about people fighting in an MRT train. It can be very serious and we can hear about or read about people fighting in families and in businesses. And in one family, it's combined together and it’s a… it's a publicised kind of a field, but not just people fight, even animals fight.

Animals Fight
I'm not sure if you recognize one of the pandas here, he is Le Le and I'm told Singapore-born Le Le gets into brawl with another panda in China. He's been sent back and so this is… Is it he or she? He, all right. Okay, so Panda-monium back in China. So, people fight, pandas fight and church people also fight.

When Church People Fight

In our church, we have not really seen those physical altercations but I know that there are plenty of incidents where people can be unhappy and can get into some confrontation. For example, downstairs… Where?... Carpark, number one place, I hear there are many problems and sometimes it may even spill over to Block 128. And so, yeah, we do get into some kind of confrontation. Also downstairs at level one where people queue up for food, or in a lift when it is very crowded, or when it is in meetings when we can get heated, or in care group sessions where there are disagreements.
The reality is when we get closer there are more possibilities or occasions where people will fight. When church people fight, what do we understand? What do we do? What does it show? Well, James [Chapter] Four is going to teach us this scenario. First of all, there are three things I'd like us to consider in James [Chapter] Four.

1. The Cause

James 4:1-2
The first thing I'd like us to see from James is the cause of such strife and fights, and quarrels because that's how James starts, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?” And he answers that immediately, “Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” The cause of fights and quarrels in the church is this word “passions”. The word “passions” is the word “Hedone” [heh-doh-neh in Greek] from which we get the English word “Hedonism”. The word “Hedone” means pleasure or the desire for pleasure. So what causes fight is that desire for pleasure, I suggest to you is the desire that is more in mind here because James goes on to say that “…you do not have…” so they are longing or lasting or desiring something that they do not have as yet. That desire for pleasure is what causes the fights and quarrels within the church. Now, the word “Hedone” is a very unique word in that it occurs only five times in the entire New Testament, two times here in James, three other times elsewhere. But every time it occurs in the Bible, the five times altogether, they always occur in a negative or a sinful context. So, the word “Hedone” I would suggest to you refers to wrongful desires.

Luke 8:14
For example, we see in Luke [Chapter] Eight Verse 14, it refers to the story or the parable of the Sower sowing seed and the seed which fell among the thorns. They represent people who hear God's word but they go on their way and they are choked by the cares and riches, and pleasures of life. So, this speaks about people who hears the gospel but as they go along in life, there are many cares and affairs, lures and lusts, and it chokes out their life. And these pleasures, these “hedone” are part of what it means or what it has taken to choke their life away. So, it's used in a negative sense here.

Titus 3:3
We see again in Titus [Chapter] Three, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, …” Again, the word “Hedone” is used in a negative context.

2 Peter 2:13
The third and last passage is in Second Peter Chapter Two, “suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime”. Again, in the negative text with regards to false teachers.

The Role of Passions I Church Conflicts
So, James also as you can clearly see is writing about “hedone” in a negative context. So, James is saying what causes fights and quarrels amongst you? He says the answer is passions. It's wrongful desire for pleasure that is causing you to fight amongst one another. Now, if I may add further just filling up the riches of an understanding of this word “passion”, I would add the word “worldly” as well, because later on in Verse Four, you will read about friendship with the world or being friends of the world.

So, in summary, James asks this question, what causes fights and quarrels? His answer “is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” [James 4:1] and the answer for or the understanding of passions is wrongful desires for worldly pleasures, that's why we fight. These “hedone” are at war within you. The word “war” means to fight or battle. It's a military word that means to conduct a military expedition. So, these “hedone” are at war within you. The word within you may not be very, I think, representative of what it is in the Greek because in the Greek, the original language with which the Bible text here is written actually means within your members, the members here refer to the body parts. So, what causes Christians to or church goers to fight? James is saying, it's because of the wrongful desires for worldly pleasures in your body.

The Impact of Worldly Pleasures on Church Unity
So, put it in simple terms, let's just clarify things, what causes fights and quarrels? It's wrongful desires for worldly pleasure within you individually that has resulted in strife among you corporately as a people. It is so bad, James says that you actually murder, “You desire and you do not have, …” so you have these lusts and lures, and loves for worldly pleasure. It's so bad that you murder. Wow! We are not sure, I don't think you and I can be sure, is he talking about real literal murder of someone like killing someone or is it a figurative hatred or murder in the heart? We can’t be sure but it is bad enough and there's a parallel again in the next line, “You covet and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel”.

James 4:3
So, because of these internal “hadone”, it results in a strife and battle, and fighting on the outside, “You do not have, because you do not ask”. These are things you… you do not want God to fulfil; you do not even want to ask God. You know probably this is wrong and you do not ask therefore you do not have, but even if you are so desperate as to ask, you do not receive. Why? Because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your “hedone”, your passions. So, James is writing to the church and it is quite apparent that they are fighting and quarrelling amongst one another, and the reason James is saying is because you love the world. You love the things in the world and because you do not have, you start to strive and fight, and quarrel one with another. So, what is the cause? Wrongful desires for worldly pleasure within you have resulted in strife among you.

The Concept of Enjoyment vs Engrossment
Now with this, we have kind of understood the first three verses but I take a step back and I want to ask you two questions. Number one, “Is it wrong to enjoy things in this world?” or “Is it wrong to seek enjoyment in things in this world?” Is it wrong for you to look forward to a nice meal? Is it wrong for you to enjoy or to look forward to a trip overseas? Is [12:38] it wrong?

Wow, you-all so sure. We just went through three solid verses of James saying, you know why you fight because you have these wrongful desires for worldly pleasures and you say, no. Let me ask you again, “Is it wrong to enjoy things in the world?” The “No” not so loud already… I try one more time, “Is it wrong to enjoy things in this world?” [Shout of “NO” from the audience] Wow, this guy really knows how to enjoy. Now we kind of say no even though we are confronted with a passage like James [Chapter] Four, that is quite clear about “hedone”.

1 Timothy 6:17
I think it's in no small part because some of you remember a verse like First Timothy 6:17, it says, “As for the rich in this present age, …” Who are the rich? Actually, I think most of us here, if not all of us here can be considered rich. I was reading the Bible in the Old Testament and I realized a lot of things that they value like some spices and fruit, and produce, any one of us can get it easily today. We are living in a very wealthy era. Okay, so this is for you that's my point, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” [1 Timothy 6:17]. So, the Bible does say God as a very gracious God gives us all things to enjoy. The many things that you have today are gifts from God. And so, I don't quite see that it is wrong to enjoy but I think it is very wrong that when you have these things to enjoy that you become haughty, arrogant, proud, and you set your hopes on these things so they become your dependents. In effect, they become your god. So, there is a problem if you value these things or esteem these things above God, but if you recognize that they are gracious gifts from God, I think there's nothing wrong to enjoy them.

1 Timothy 6:18
But there's something else in Verse 18 that says, “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, …” [1 Timothy 6:18]. So, another thing about good things that God has given to us, we must be willing to share. We must not recognize these things only for our enjoyment but that they are given so that we may be stewards to give to those who are in need as well. So, I think it is therefore not wrong to enjoy the things of the world, but there is a difference from being engrossed or enslaved by the things of the world. When you start to value these things above God, when you start to depend on these things above God then what has happened is idolatry has taken place and that is wrong. So, we are not to use God to get these things as if these things are the ultimate gods, but we are to use these things that God has given to us to serve God, to share, to distribute, to be generous. So, nothing wrong with enjoyment, everything wrong with engrossment and enslavement. And I think we all know the line is sometimes quite hard to draw but I think this is the biblical balance we need to strike.

What has happened in the audience that James is writing to is likely they have definitely crossed the line. They have been engrossed. They have been enslaved by these things to the degree that they care not about their brothers and sisters in Christ and they fight, and they squabble, and they sin against one another. And so, we learn in Chapter Three, Verse 16, there is disorder and vile practice even as they strive amongst one another, clearly, they have crossed the line.

Let me give you an example like sex. It's a sensitive word because in our culture we look at sex as a dirty thing. When kids grow up, parents tell them, Eeee… Right? When you talk about sex… Eeee…Aiyo… we give such impressions to children because somehow, we think sex is dirty but biblically sex is not dirty. Sex is what God has blessed mankind with before the fall. Just like work, work is not bad, work is not dirty, work is not sinful, it's a blessing from God. We are created for work. So, sex is something that God has given to be enjoyed in the right context. But when you seek it independent of God, apart from God, disobedient to God then it becomes wrong. When you seek sex outside of marital confines, it's wrong whether it's prostitution or whatever adultery. It is sinful. It is wrong. But sex given in the right context is for your enjoyment and so you use sex to serve God, as well for your spouse. We've actually had a whole sermon on sex in the Bible and you can check it out in our Home Fix Series or Focus on the Family Series. I believe we have covered those things but I just want to use this as an illustration that God has given humanity many things to enjoy, food, sex and so on and so forth. Be careful not to be engrossed or to be enslaved and to seek it independent of God or in disobedience to God.

Scarcity vs Hedonism as Causes of Strife
A second question I want to ask is this, “Is scarcity the cause of strife [fights]?” Why do people fight? Oh, because not enough la… Why are nations today fighting? Because rare earth minerals not enough…rare la, so we fight. Is scarcity the cause?

Well, a story is told of Abraham Lincoln. He was walking the streets with his two kids and his two kids were fighting and crying and quarrelling. A passerby came to him and said, Mr. President, what's wrong with your two kids? And Abraham Lincoln said, the same thing as in the world, I have three walnuts and each one of them wants two. If you do your math, three not enough for four basically. So, his point is the reason why people fight is because there's scarcity, not enough.

I'd like you to think about it. Is scarcity the cause of fights? Har? No ah? What? One of the cause[s] but not the cause, okay. Well, I would suggest to you, scarcity may present the opportunity or the occasion for fights to occur but the real cause is not scarcity. The real cause is always the heart issue. The real cause is always the “hadone” that is in us because that's what James has been telling us.

So, we in the Chinese have this saying, “Sēng Duō Zhōu Shǎo [僧多粥少]”, heard before? It means a lot of… no, no, … a lot of monks but not enough porridge. Sēng Duō Zhōu Shǎo [僧多粥少]; not enough food to go around. So, we think that's why people fight but according to James, I think that's not quite the case, the problem is the “hadone” within. You see, if I think in a very ideal situation, if there is a scarcity of something but men and women are filled with the wisdom from above, men and women are filled with God, remember what wisdom from above looks like, it will be pure. It will be peaceable. It will be productive. In other words, it will not bring along with it, sin. It will not bring along with it, strife and it will not bring along with it, selfishness. So, if you are in a situation of scarcity and all are super godly people then what happens is everybody may struggle because not enough of something, everybody may starve because not enough of something but you will not strife, you strife because of the “hedone” which is in you. So, I hope that brings clarity to the situation that James is talking about, the cause for fights and quarrels in the church is not because there's not enough carpark. The cause for fights and quarrels in the church is not because there's not enough food. The cause for fights and quarrels in our church is not because there's not enough lifts. The fight is because of the “hedone” within.

2. The Caution

James 4:4
[22:10] Let's move on because James now gives us the caution. Now we know the problem is within us then he raises the sticks. He warns his readers. He says, the reason you sin is because of the “hedone” and the reflection of it is that you are an adulterous people. The tone of the letter suddenly changes, prior to this he calls them brothers, my dear brothers. Now he calls them “You adulterous people! …” Now I can't say it forcefully enough in English, somehow English doesn't communicate it so much. So, I tried to read it in Chinese and in Chinese if you read of this, it will be “Nǐ Zhè… Jiān Fū Yín Fù [你这…奸夫淫妇], somehow Chinese comes across more strongly, right? You adulterers! Wow, why is James using such strong language? I think it's intentional. He's trying to jolt them to an awakening that they have loved the world and that has displaced their love for God.

The Warning of Adultery in Relation to the World
Imagine a woman, a married woman somehow, she has stopped loving her husband because she has taken an interest in a new guy in the neighbourhood. She thinks about him all the time. She wants to get his attention all the time and she even fights with the other women in the neighbourhood to get his attention. So, you can imagine them… [action and sound of cats fighting], cat fight ah. They fight amongst all the ladies just to get his attention. Now say whatever you want, she may be legally married but she's an adulterous woman, isn't it? She doesn't love her husband. She loves this new man, and imagine this man is an enemy of the husband. Well, that's exactly the situation here, “Do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? [Therefore] whoever wish[es] to be a friend of the world…” whoever is fond of the world, “…makes himself an enemy of God.” [James 4:4]. God and the world are opposites. But when you desire the things of the world above God and apart from God, and in disobedience to God, you are an adulterous person because you obviously do not love God.

1 John 2:15
Just as John would say, “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” [1 John 2:15]. You can't love both. You can't do a juggling act. There are many, many in the church today who think they can. So on Monday to Friday, they give their life to their corporation. They give their life to UOB or to OCBC or to IBM. They work like a dog because they love the money that comes from the world. And on Sunday, they say, I love God. So, Monday to Friday, they are with their lover. On Sunday they come back to their husband. You all laugh because it's true, right? It's very real. A lot of people do that, Monday to Friday I love the world. I want to get the attention of the world so I fight with my colleagues, I fight for promotion, I fight for business deals. I want the world to be my lover. But on Sunday, you know you're supposed to be good boys, good girls so you come to church, I love God. Hallelujah. Lord, I love you. But the Bible says you can't do that, “…If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Jesus makes it categorically clear, “No man can serve two masters…” [Matthew 6:24]. You cannot love God and riches. It's not that you…, it's not that you shouldn't, it's not that you wouldn't but you can't. It's an impossibility. So, James is not something… saying something weird. He's saying something very clear. The reason why you fight is because of your “hadone” and the way you fight for the world shows that you do not love God. You are adulterous. You are an enemy of God. You… you may not be God's child, that's what he is saying.

James 1:12
He's talking about love and when I think about love, I think about what he said earlier in Chapter One, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.” [James 1:12]. Now, James writes in very interesting ways because he wrote about true religion and empty religion, two kinds, right? Then he talks about real faith and the fake faith, the kind of faith that even demons possess. Then he talks about spiritual wisdom, wisdom from above and earthly wisdom, wisdom that is unspiritual and devilish. Now, I think he talks about love for God and no love for God. Love for God is seen here, “…those who love Him” will be “steadfast under trial,” They will not blame God. They will not doubt God. They will not be angry with God but they will endure in that they keep obeying God. Such people even when they go through trials are evidence or they evidence that they truly love God, and they will receive the “crown of life”.

So let me draw a simple diagram, Love God. These people who love God, how do you know they love God? Because they say so?... No, they love God when you see them steadfast under trial, catastrophes come, pains come, sufferings come but they still do not blame God, doubt God, be angry with God, but they obey God and at the end of life they will receive the crown of life. And when you come to James [Chapter] Four, James is saying, those who love God will not love the world. You will not be adulterous and you will receive the crown of life. But on the flip side, how do I know, in spite of what you say, you do not really love God. I know you do not really love God if you are not steadfast under trial. I know that you do not really love God when you love the world and the pleasures of the world, and what you get for those who do not love God is not the crown of life but death. So, what James is saying here is really serious, “You adulterous people!”. He is not mincing his words. He is giving it as it should be given because when you love the world, you show that you do not love God. If I may say, “Your strife for worldly pleasures shows that you love the world and not God”, and therefore you may not be truly God's people, and this is a scary thing.

I've been in this church for 30 years now, I've seen many people grow up, many people come to church and at the same time many people leave. Not leave for good reasons but leave because they just fade away. It's a very common story in churches where when they are young, teenagers, secondary school, JC, Uni[versity], they get on fire. They are passionate. They study the Bible. They join in a youth group. They serve and you look at them and say, “Wow, this is a promising young man, promising young woman” but later on they go to university, they get a girlfriend, they get married and slowly you don't see them as much. Then they have children and then you totally don't see them. I've seen that over and over again in this church. Or even if you do see them, they are a pale shadow of what they used to be. Now, sometimes life catches up on us but I'm saying that I have literally faces in my head as I say these things, my dear friends who are no more in the church, not in this church, not in any church. And when you talk to them about Christianity, they don't want to talk about it at all. Could they be backsliding? Maybe, but could it also be that they never loved God? Could be, and that is so sad and scary at the same time.

So, James is not talking about someone who is a good Christian versus someone who is not so good a Christian. He's talking about a true Christian and a fake one, true religion and empty religion, real love for God and no love for God, real faith in God and fake faith in God, that's what James is talking about. You see, “Salvation is received in a moment but it's revealed in a lifetime”. Salvation is not… Oh, 10 years ago I said a sinner’s prayer, I definitely got my ticket to heaven? No. [32:02] Those who are truly saved will endure unto the end. I'm not saying they live a perfect life. I'm not saying they will never sin but I'm saying, overall, like we always say here in this church, it's like a blue-chip stock, up and down there will be but overall, it goes up. It has the right trend. It has the right direction, not sinless perfection but certainly sincere progression. So, James is saying, “Wrongful desires for worldly pleasures may reveal empty or false religion” and that is that warning we must listen to today. Has the love for the world so gripped you and enslaved you that it would not be wrong to say you have been adulterous. I hope that stirs you to think about your life because while covetousness, love for the world is something we are very good at hiding but you can't hide from God.

3. The Comeback

James 4:5-10
And if God is speaking to you then maybe it's encouraging to come now finally to the third portion in this scripture which talks about the comeback. Is there a way back to God? Is there a possibility that I can be genuinely saved and I may repent? Well, I think the answer is an affirmative “Yes” from God in verses five to six. But at the same time if you want to come back to God, it must also require your “Yes” to him in verses seven to 10.

James 4:5-6
So, let's first look at verses five and six which is about God's “Yes”. Verse five is one of the most difficult verses to interpret in all of Scripture. First of all, the Greek is very hard to be certain in the sentence construction but I think most would agree that the ESV is not wrong to lay it out as such. It's also difficult because in the verse that is quoted here or mentioned here, “He yearns jealously…” and so on, there is no exact verse like this in the Old Testament. So, it's hard to understand the Greek and it's also hard to know which exact passage James is referring to. So, we are left with trying to figure out what this sentence means first of all and then reverse engineer, and try to find a verse in the Old Testament that may speak of it. But to make things easy because otherwise we will have to stay here until the third service timeslot. I think what verse five is simply saying is that God wants you or God desires you, “He yearns jealously over your spirit…” the heart, the inner you. He yearns for you. I think that is the most direct way of understanding this, which means this is a message of hope and maybe some of the verses that you may refer to are verses like Exodus 34 [Exodus 34:14] which is what commentators generally refer to. But like I said, Verse Five is God saying there is hope for you. I want you to come back to me. I desire you and I'm not going to put you away or put you off at an arm's length. If Verse Five is about the message of hope, then Verse Six is a message of help. For it says, “…he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” This is a lot easier because most would understand this is taken from Proverbs [Chapter] Three and [Verse] 34 so God is saying, if you only are willing to humble yourself, I will give you grace, I will help you. So, this is a message of help. So, Verse Five, Verse Six, added together is saying, God is saying, I will help you and I will receive you, basic idea.

James 4:7-10
But verse[s] seven to 10 is about what you then need to do in order to come back to God. Me saying “Yes” and in these four verses you have a series of commands, and they are given in machine gun like staccato style…thud, thud, thud, thud… Let me give you the thud, thud, thud…
First one, submit yourselves to God.
Number two, resist the devil.
Number three, draw near to God.
Number four, cleanse your hands.
Number five, purify your hearts.
Number six, be wretched.
Number seven, mourn.
Number eight, weep.
Number nine, turn your laughter to mourning.
And number 10, humble yourselves.

The Path to Repentance and Return to God
In the Greek, this is written in the imperative form so there are 10 imperatives, 10 commands, 10 things you are to do. Now he listed as that and I think it's very hard to try to simplify it further but I'll try.

Number one, I think we could look at all these 10 as one package because Verse Seven submit and Verse 10 humble are very similar ideas, and they are written in the background of someone who is an enemy of God, and written in the context of someone… context of someone who is proud. So, a proud enemy in order to come back to God needs to submit and humble, so that is the first thing I'd like you to notice. The word “submit” is a military word, to rank yourself under another. So, prior to this I was an enemy of God because I love the world and I will disobey God. But if you want to come back to God then you say, I'm going to kowtow to God. I'm going to submit myself to God. I'm going to do His will not what I used to want to do. So, submission and humbling, I think similar ideas. And so, within these two you have the other eight.

The first two, I think are related, resist the devil and he will flee from you. And so, this is the idea here that the reason why you will go after the things of the world is somehow you have fallen into the temptation and the lies of the devil. See through his wiles, resist him. And now with this verse, we have the trio that we read off in Chapter Three about wisdom that is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. You remember the three? Earth, I think it's in [James] 3:16 [correction – James 3:15], earthly, unspiritual, demonic. And now in Chapter Four which is the flip side, we have learned about the “hedone” in your members, the flesh. We have looked at the world, friendship with the world. And now we have the devil, the demons again. So, the trio occurs right here. So, we know that these two passages in Chapter Three, [verses] 13 to 16 and Chapter Four, [verses] one to 10 are kind of mirror images. They deal with the same subject. So, resist the devil and he will flee from you.

And number three, draw near to God and He will draw near to you. The idea here is, I think, not very far from the prodigal son. I think about the prodigal son and how when he realized that he has sinned against God. He turns his head and the moment he turns; the amazing thing is not that he turns and runs to the father but the moment he turns, the father runs to him. And so, when we turn to God, God draws near to you. Amazing, such is the generosity, the magnanimity and the grace of God. So, I say these two are related.

The next two are also related to each other, cleanse your hands, purify your hearts. These are taken, I think for sure from the Old Testament, washing rituals. And you also have this little info[rmation] of double-minded. And for those who have been following the double mindedness reminds us of Chapter One, do not be doubting, wavering. And so, James has been talking about this kind of people, doubting God, blaming God, being angry with God, loving the world, having bad speech, being selfish. So, these two pairs, I think you can see.

The Importance of Mourning and Repentance
The last category is all about the weeping, mourning, being sad part. So, I think this is the way I will understand these 10 commands. First two brackets, draw near, resist, cleanse, purify, and then you have to weep, the mourn, be wretched. Now the Bible actually wants people to be mournful. Do you know that? Not to be mournful over our circumstances but to be mournful over our sins.

There is a well-known preacher today in Singapore, who has the largest local congregation, who says to you, Christians should never mourn over their sins. Christians should never admit or confess their sins. Why? Because when you think about Jesus, you should think positive and you should never mourn. But the Bible tells me to, James [Chapter] Four tells me to, Second Corinthians [Chapter] Seven tells me to, it says godly sorrow works repentance, Chapter Seven, Verse one. Jesus Himself tells me to, blessed are they who mourn. It's a good thing to mourn, to mourn over your sin, to be broken over your sin, to be sorry for your sin, that's what it means to come back to God. So don't let people deceive you to say, don't face up to your sin, don't confess your sin, don't mourn over your sin, don't be broken over your sin, I think those are lies.

[42:01] So as we do so, as we fulfil the 10, as we try to take these steps, the Bible ends off here by saying, “…he will exalt you”. I think this “exalting” is not about God giving you the lusts you wanted. But I think this refers to eternal life. I think this is what James [Chapter] One speaks about the poor, poor brother, remember?... will be exalted. It's the same idea and it refers to the crown of life, one is to receive. So, the exaltation from James is, you know why you guys are fighting? Because of your sinful desires and you know what this shows? You don't really love God. So, what must you do? Do these 10 things so that you may come back to God and receive eternal life because if you don't, you will receive death, that's what James is saying.

The Analogy of the MRT Train
Last week, I was in a train station. I was heading towards some place, actually, I was heading home after church. And of course, I need to take a train to where I live and I actually almost got on the wrong train. So let me give you this example as I thought about it. Suppose today you are in Orchard Road and you want to go to… you want to go upwards, you want to go north, you want to go Yishun. So, you tap in the gantry, you get on to the platform and then you step right into the train. After a few minutes, you look out of the window of the MRT train and you see from Orchard, you now see Somerset, then you see Dhoby Ghaut, then you see City Hall. What should you do? You should get out of the train because you know you siao liao [a Singlish expression used to describe a bad situation]. I'm supposed to go Yishun but how come I'm going south. Why am I heading the wrong direction? Would anyone of you say, “Oh, wrong train but never mind la, you'll still end up in Yishun.”. The further south you go, you will not get to Yishun, no way, the only way is that you have to step out and change. And the good thing about Singapore, MRT stations or our train system is that even if you horlan [mispronunciation of “Holland” denote finding oneself in a far-off place] a bit, you get lost a bit, you don't have to pay extra within a very generous amount of time, correct? As long as you don't tap out, they will not give you extra charge. So, you can change anytime as long as you're willing to change.

I think about the MRT of life, people come to church they tap in, oh, I attend church service. You get onto the platform. You get into the train. You think you are going to Yishun. You think you are going to heaven. But as you look out of the window of your life, you see Somerset, Dhoby Ghaut, City Hall. You see selfishness, cursing and strife. What do you do? Never mind lah, I'm still going to heaven lah. Is that what you will do? Well, if you see Somerset, Dhoby Ghaut and City Hall, you better siam [a Singlish expression means to get out of the way]. You better get out; you better turn around and change because this will not lead you to God. What you need to do is to change. How do I change? You say, how do I change platform? Singapore, very easy to change one. Just take escalator or actually just cross over the other side, you can. Well, to change your life is not so difficult, I know it looks difficult here. But if you look at this, it just takes submission and humbling. Just to be clear, it means you stop listening to the devil. You want to draw near to God, you want to live a clean life and you are broken over your sin, that's all there is.

And the great thing about the MRT of life is that God will still receive you. You don't have to pay extra; there's nothing more you need to do. You just need to change and when you get on the right train, you will start to see City Hall, Dhoby Ghaut, Somerset, Orchard, Newton, Novena… Don't test me, I think Toa Payoh…Toa Payoh, Braddell, Bishan, I think so lah ah. And then finally you arrive at Yishun. Okay, I'm not saying Yishun is like heaven. I know, I know, I know here in Singapore, it does not always give the right connotation but some of you stay at Yishun. I'm sure you think it's a great place. I'm just using it as an analogy. But folks, you can get out and get on the right train. Being in church alone is not going to get you to heaven. Being in Christ is what gets you to Heaven, gets you to God. And being in Christ means he will lead you from City Hall to Yishun and not the other way around. So, James is writing strong language but I know it's from the right heart. He loves his people. He loves the people and he doesn't want any one of them to continue as enemies of God. He wishes that they would come to God and that's my desire for you as well.

Closing Prayer

Let's close in a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for Your Word. Thank you that there is always this fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel veins where sinners, whether church goers or not church goers, where sinners can plunge beneath and lose all our guilty stains. May people truly come to Christ and have that life changing relationship with Him indeed. Thank you. We pray all this in Jesus’ name, Amen.