Friday, 25th February 2022
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-5 The Life of Selfish Desires
V1 ‘Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?’ Desires can be lustful and can also be entertaining. When we get together, it’s easy to create conflicts, to spread gossip, and to bring riots. In unity, we must deny ourselves, and ask ourselves, as a team, the family in Christ, can we walk together and have the same heart of God, not following our own desires? We like to use our emotion to control other people, in family, in work, in community… workers put on strike and try to control the Government. What are the real intentions behind our actions? Selfish desires!
V2 ‘You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.’ Matthew 5:28 says, ‘But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’ This desire is something we are not supposed to have, but somehow developed from our hearts. When this desire is not fulfilled, we will develop new desires, then gradually we will be addicted to it, and we cannot be truly satisfied. We become a controlling person that nothing and no one will be able to satisfy us. How can we get rid of it?
V3 ‘You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.’ We don’t receive what we desire because we ask amiss. What we desire determines if we ask amiss or not. If we desire worldly gains, such as power, fame, authority, money… then we will never be satisfied because they are all selfish desires, which do not have God in the center. We must know that God first, people next, then the earth. V4 ‘Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.’ Let us quiet down our hearts and think, is what we want or what we do pleasing to God? Every teaching we receive should be based on the teaching of the Bible, it’s never the teaching of men.
V5 ‘Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?’ We must have God amongst our lives, because if we don’t have God then we will easily blame on one another, we will walk in the way of the world, and we will see ourselves more than we see God!
Section Two V6-10 Humility and Obedience brings Life
V7-8 ‘Therefore submit 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.’ We are double-minded, be honest to face our weaknesses, clean our hands and our hearts, don’t let ourselves fall into the temptation of this world. We have already overcome the world, with the strength of Jesus Christ!
V9-10 ‘Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.’ Train our body and let it submit to us. Why do we fast and pray? To humble ourselves, not just always trying to solve the problems, but to deal with our small dramas inside our hearts. Humble ourselves, come before God, ask God to help us to overcome our weaknesses.
Section Three V11-17 Pride brings Sin
Criticism and judgement come from pride; victim-perspectives come from pride; and boast about tomorrow also come from pride. No one knows what will happen tomorrow, so today can we humble and admit our pride? We are not willing to deny ourselves and fully submit to God. Let us ask God for this humility and obedience, to always walk in His righteous path.
雅各书 4 – 骄傲带来死，谦卑顺服得生
2022年2月25日 星期五
潘锡安牧师
每天早上我们先来打开神的话语，在神的殿中点灯，神的话语指引我们去面对一天中各种突发的状况。如今我们每天都从媒体上听到各种天灾人祸的负面信息，不知道将来究竟如何。当我们有神而来的智慧，我们就会看见，这世上的事发生就是要让我们失去对神的信心，失去对神的信心所带来的是骄傲。耶和华向我们所怀的是赐平安的意念，然而属世的魔鬼带来的是骄傲，这也是撒旦的生命。当我们看到世上的事情后，会有两种反应：一个是恐惧害怕，一个是更努力的靠自己出人头地，想要制造一个更安全的地方。这些反应都是不需要神的骄傲。我们是否倚靠人多过倚靠神？当我们知道世上的事会让我们产生骄傲，我们就要警醒。雅各书第4章可以帮助我们在这个大环境下知道真相，并回转归向神。
一、v.1-5 私欲的生活
V1 本章的开头是连接于第三章的末尾。“争战”指的是冲突，“斗殴”指的是争吵，“你们中间”说明雅各讲的不是外邦人，而是“散住十二个支派”（1:1) 蒙召的人，是我们这些信主的人。为什么我们中间有冲突、争论、争吵呢？因为我们没有活在生命树的气息下。我们在与人沟通的过程中，不要放纵我们里面的情欲去争对错，而要跳出问题本身，以谦卑的态度来回应人。唯有在生命树之下 – 谦卑顺服、舍己利他 – 我们才有生命。”百体”指的是肢体、成员，“战斗”指的是不和，这些人里面没有合一。在合一的婚姻里，夫妻双方都能舍己，放下自我，同心同行，从天父的眼光来看人和事。我们希望别人来满足我们的这个想法是从我们里面的私欲或外在的宴乐而来。当时的人在“宴乐”中就喜欢聚集讲是非、起哄，正如现在的社会或教会中一小群人起哄为自己争权利，而大家为了息事宁人就满足他们的要求。我们渐渐学会了用自己的情绪来操控别人。圣经说这些都是从“私欲来的”。
V2 “贪恋”指的是我们的情欲 – 马太福音5:28说到我们里面的欲望：“只是我告诉你们，凡看见妇女就动淫念的，这人心里已经与她犯奸淫了”，这里的“淫念”指的是我们想要本来不属于我们的那一份。我们不要以为用自己的方法会得到自己想要的东西，因为我们永远无法满足我们里面的欲念。忧郁症的人常会买很多的东西但不使用，因为他们想用这些买来的东西满足自己当下的欲望。雅各在这里说，我们这样做，是“得不着”，因为这些东西本不属于我们。我们真正要得的就是先神后人再大地。
V3 “妄求”指的是不应该求的我们却去求，要浪费在我们的情欲里面，将我们的满足放在人或事情上，比如我们想要老板或配偶一定要听我们的、或一定要买名牌，但我们这样是“求也得不着”。
V4 “淫乱”与马太福音12:39里“淫乱的世代” 一样，指的是随从自己的私欲，没有以神为中心，没有先神后人再大地。我们要安静思想，我们现在所要的，是否是神想我们要的？我们学的是神的话，不是世界的教导。
V5 “恋爱”在原文指的是“渴望”。我们被造时就渴望与神有关系（fellowship），这份跟神和人连接的渴望本是好的，但是当我们放纵里面的情欲，我们就会与世界上的人事物连接。在一段婚姻中，夫妻都各有责任，我们不能将自己的魂放在对方身上，这是迷恋而不是爱情。夫妻间一定要有神连接，丈夫对妻子要像耶稣爱教会一样，妻子对丈夫要像教会顺服耶稣一样。
我们是走在世界的观念里，与神为敌吗？罪就是我们所做的没有达标，因为我们过于看重“我”，不愿意在生命树下谦卑顺服、舍己利他。
二、v.6-10 谦卑顺服得生
V7 魔鬼就是在我们里面的情欲。
V8 犯罪的人“要洁净你们的手”，不要想着操控别人或者满足自己的私欲，想要打电动或玩手机的手反要用我们的手来翻圣经。我们有罪，是因为我们“心怀二意”- 又想要有神，又想要世界，所以要“清洁你们的心”。
V9-10 我们要克制己身，叫身服我。禁食当中，我们身体软弱，所以当有很多事情发生、我们里面的情绪如穷凶猛兽都出来的时候，不要想着马上解决事情，而是要谦卑来到神面前求神帮助。
三、v.11-17 骄傲带来罪
V11-12 论断别人、看别人不顺眼、看自己是受害者，这就是骄傲。
V13-16 为明天夸口也是骄傲。不要拜玛门，整天只想着赚钱，因为“明天如何，你们还不知道”。我们愿意谦卑下来承认自己骄傲吗？骄傲带来的是死，唯有谦卑顺服使我们得生。