Tony Evans' Sermons - Audio - The Predicament of Worldliness

0:00The root cause of conflict with God is worldliness. Dr. Tony Evans explains that worldliness is basically any attitude or action that excludes God. Does it mean you can't go out and have fun in a ballgame? No! It means you can't go out and have fun in a ballgame without him. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. How can we expect to have an intimate relationship with God when we're carrying on an affair with the world? Today Dr. Evans talks about that dilemma and what we need to do about it. Let's join him in James 4. Worldliness reflects itself in conflict with others. A Christian who lives in perpetual conflict is reflecting their worldliness. He says in verse 1, what is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?

1:01They were battling one another as Christians. That action of conflict reflected something deeper that was wrong. And that is a spirit of worldliness. And the reason why we can't fix it is because we're fast to wrath rather than being slow to wrath and we're secular in our thinking rather than biblical in our approach. Our conflict among Christians can be balled down to worldliness when it is uncontrolled conflict, not a reaction to sin. At least to a second point, worldliness stems from conflict within ourselves. Look at what he says in the second part of verse 1. It's not the source, your pleasures that wage war in your members. You lust and do not have, you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain so you fight and quarrel. They have an all kind of conflict, all kind of battles between people,

2:05between parents, children, husbands and wives, men and women. And James says you're looking in the wrong place. He says, outward conflict is caused by inward carnality. And the inward carnality is what he calls the source of your pleasures. That's very important. The word pleasure here is where we get our English word, heatemism from. The concept of pleasure means to be gratified. So when we are hedonistic, we live for our own self-satisfaction. That is to be a hedonist. He says outward conflicts with others are designed to produce a pleasure in you. You want to get this off of your chest. You want to let them know how you feel.

3:08I'm not going to have anybody talking to me like that. He doesn't know who I am. What he says is when you want to lash out to somebody else, be slow to do that because what you're just revealing is something that is wrong in you. Now we don't normally think that way, do we? We say something is wrong with you. And I'm going to help you find out what it is. James says when you want to lash out an uncontrolled anger, conflict is revealing something in you that you want to satisfy. So you must be slow to anger to find out whether what you are trying to satisfy in you is something that ought to be satisfied. And let me explain something because this gets deep. The proliferation of psychologists, psychiatrist, counselors, clinics,

4:09therapist, drug addiction, domestic violence and abuse can all be traced to something wrong on the inside of the person who has the problem. Most of the murders that take place are people who are related to somebody else who are in conflict. I'm not going to have him talking to me that way. It can all be related, James says, illegitimate conflict can all be related to worldliness within. And until we've identified the conflict within, we'll never fix the crisis without. I'll tell that husband and wife sit down and say, hey, maybe both of us are being worldly and we need to reassess how we even approach in this thing. Why did Eve sin? It says in verse 6 of Genesis 3, when she saw that the tree was good for food. And when she saw that it was desirous to make one wise, she ate.

5:14Eve committed the first sin because of her pleasure. That was a feel good tree. I'm going to feel better if I bite this apple, pear, orange or whatever it was. I'm going to feel better having had it. I'm going to be better. So I want to satisfy me. And he says it comes from a war within. That concept of war refers to soldiers who are set up inside of you. You have an army set up inside of you and you are battling with you even though you're taking it out on the world. When a person just cusses to make their point and have no control over their tongue, that taking out what is messed up in them. And until you see it's a mess in you, it'll never get fixed because as long as you can play the blame game. I hope you know we live in a culture that way where the problem is always with somebody else.

6:17And nobody is saying, oh, how many of you want to say, let me check and see what's wrong with me. Because he says if you truly understood worldliness, you would understand that that's where it grows from. It comes from uncontrolled desires, heatedism. The Bible uses those kind of phrases to describe the nature of the unregion of the world. Look at the second Timothy, we're coming right back here, but look at second Timothy, chapter three, which kind of graphically displays and describes this kind of mentality, second Timothy, chapter three. But realize this that in the last days, difficult times will come. Men will be lovers of self. Lovers of money. Bows for arrogant, revile of disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips. Hello. Without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceded.

7:17And here it is, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Now, will they be religious? Absolutely, verse five. Holding a form of godliness, they still go to church. Although they have denied its power. Avoid such men as these. How many people do we have here? We have a form of godliness, but you have no power to control what you say out of your mouth when you get in your car right outside of this door. Oh, but you got a form of godliness because everybody in here looks godly. You got godly ties on. Ladies, you got godly makeup on. Just look godly. Praise the Lord. How did you? But there is no power. Why is there no power? Because you haven't started in the right, if you know Jesus Christ, you haven't started in the right place. You started with everybody out there. Men, as we talk about being men in the kingdom, if our homes are not where ought to be, we got to start with ourselves.

8:18And say, now, where have my illegitimate desires caused me to respond to my family in a wrong way? It says it comes from selfish desires. And he says in verse two, it says you lost. That word, lost has to do with coveting. Walk something and do not have it so you commit murder. They were destroying each other. They were crucifying each other. Innocent cannot obtain. And the reason why you fight is because you can't get what you want. That's why that wife won't bow to you. So you fight. That husband won't bow to you. So you fight. It is your way of venting the fact that I want something I can get. And what we do is throw spiritual temper tantrums. Anybody in here ever had kids throw a temper tantrum? God is saying we throw temper tantrums when we don't get what we want. We throw these temper tantrums.

9:19And then look at what he says. You have not because you did not ask. That's deep. God said if it's something legitimate and you want it, if you had asked me how to give it it. But since you wanted it on your own terms, you went to take it. He says you don't ask. And here's the principle. The level of your prayer life will always determine in the level of your spiritual success. The level of your prayer life will determine the level of your spiritual success. You spend three hours human that things didn't go your way. And thirty seconds praying that God may do something. This is backwards. Spend thirty seconds human. Spend three hours praying. And you might have a solution to your problem. You have not because you asked not the worst the conflict gets the more that's wrong on the inside. And the more that's wrong on the inside or that drives you before the presence of God to say God, you fix it.

10:22I can't. I'm asking. You have not because you asked not. God says I've made this easy. James one five. If a man likes wisdom, let him ask of God. Dr. Evans will have more on the predicament of worldliness when he continues our message in just a moment. First though, I want to tell you about a resource package that can help you stay focused on God when the world is pulling you in other directions. James time to grow up is Tony's 16 message to volume series that takes the practical truths from the book of James and shows us what genuine spiritual maturity looks like in everyday life. And for limited time, if you request the James audio series, we'll also send you Dr. Evans 30-day devotional book, Trust in God in turbulent times. These resources offer biblical teaching and daily encouragement to help you strengthen your trust in God as he sees you through both good times and bad.

11:26We'd like to send you the package as our thank you gift when you make a contribution to support the alternative. Request this featured package today at TonyEvans.org. All the details are right on the homepage. Or give us a phone call at 1-800-832-22, where one of our friendly team members is ready to help with your request. That's TonyEvans.org or call 1-800-803-222. We'll get back to Dr. Evans and part two of today's message right after this. I urge you to take this course. Dr. Craig Evans, renowned expert on the New Testament, serves as the special guest lecturer for the TonyEvans training center course on the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Bible. It covers very important ground, what they are and what they're not. One of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century, the Dead Sea Scrolls provide unparalleled insights into the accuracy of the Bible. These ancient manuscripts offer a treasure trove of historical and spiritual significance.

12:28They preserve for us the Hebrew Bible and shed light on the teaching of Jesus and the major contributors to the New Testament. The scrolls open a vivid window into the life and beliefs of the Jewish people during the time of Jesus. You will understand the Bible and Jesus and Christian origins better than you ever have before. Take your first step as an honorary amateur archaeologist. Dive into the Dead Sea Scrolls with special guest lecturer Dr. Craig Evans. Discover this in other fascinating biblical studies at TonyEvansTraining.org. Explore the kingdom anytime, anywhere. It is amazing the measure people will go through to satisfy their pleasures. You know, Absalom was willing to kill his father to get the pleasure of power so that he can occupy the powerful throne over Israel. Well, I know what somebody is going to say. Somebody is going to say, I'm in a battle with this coworker, I'm in a battle with this brother, I'm in a battle with my family. I have prayed about this thing a lot.

13:29I have not just given a tertiary prayer. I have gone in the God, fasted and prayed about this thing. And this thing is still as bad as ever. Well, James has a verse for you. Verse 3. You ask. Oh yeah, some of you do pray. And you still do not receive. But how come? Because you ask with wrong motives. Now watch this. So that you may spend it on your pleasures. He says you have one of two problems. You either don't ask, your prayer life is non-existent. You ask, but your motivation is wrong because what you're asking God to do is accommodate your sin. In other words, watch motivating you isn't the righteous glory of God. It is your own selfish end. You don't want to come out of this, watch right.

14:30See, if you get on your knees and say, Lord, get me out of this marriage, he will not answer. That's the wrong prayer. Lord, change me so that I'm the right kind of made in this marriage. Now he'll talk to you. See, see, if you pray the wrong prayer, you will not get an answer. You say, how do I know the right prayer from the wrong prayer? Very simple. What glory will God get out of it? Simple as that. Every time you pray, you answer the question, what glory God will get out of it? And I guarantee you, you will see answers to your prayers like you've never dreamt because God has included you and his family for his own glory, not to give you a feel better deity. God says, I hate your prayers, but I don't hear what I'm going to get anything out of what you're asking for. It's all you, you, you, you, you. And I don't mind blessing you. I just want to know that you're not what my blessing and not what me. That my glory is not attached to it. God wants his glory attached to it. He says you, you have a disease prayer life because it's only on your pleasures.

15:35What makes you feel good? What makes you better all? And it's not that I mind doing it. But every parent who helps their child wants to know what's appreciated. Am I right? We don't mind helping our children, but you want to know what's appreciated. God feels very unappreciated. At least to a third point, watch this now. Whirlyness results in conflict with God. When you have this worldly attitude of selfishness, you have a big problem. His name is God. You adulterous. Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. If you've got this other love on the side called the world, God says, how then can you expect him to be intimate with you? The root cause of conflict with God is worldliness, which he calls spiritual infidelity

16:42because it is breaking up a covenant. Adulter in the Bible was always tied to idolatry, worship of another God. God wants to have not only a legal relationship with you, he wants to have a affectionate intimate relationship with you, but he says, I can't be intimate with you, when you're intimate with this other love. Call the world because this world wants to leave me out. I suppose you took your wife and your husband, after dinner, and said, look, I'm going to sit at this table, but you sit over there because I don't want nobody in here to know we together. I'm going to pay for your food. You just sit at that table, and I'll sit at this table. Well, suppose you're riding a car down and you sit in the back seat. I'm going to sit up front because people might think we're together if they see you sitting in the front seat. And on and on and on and on and on, that would not be appreciated. And God does not appreciate it when we are bringing this other entity into our relationship with him

17:44and it produces verse 4, hostility. That is a breakdown in our relationship with God and God. Look at this. Now watch this deep. It becomes our enemy. Now you don't want God as your enemy because if God is your enemy, everything you start, He's going to keep from you, ever getting finished. Every time you try to go two steps forward, He's going to take you three steps back. Every time you try to move ahead, something is going to go wrong because he's your enemy now. And I believe he's clearly talking about Christians now where Christians can place themselves where they are at enmity with God by their compromise in their lifestyle. Jesus says in John 15 verses 13 to 19, Read it when you get a chance, I want to be your friend. I want this intimate association with you. He causes disciples the friendship. He calls us to friendship. He does not want us to leave the world. He does not want us to go out into some foreign place. But he wants us to be like fish in salty water. Fish can swim in salty water but come out not taste in salty.

18:50God expects us to swim in this world without tasting worldly. Second Timothy 4, 10 talks about a friend of Paul who served with him in the ministry. But then Paul says, Demas having loved this present world. And God will repay him. He forsook Paul. We don't know why. But whatever it was, he left God for the world. And Paul says he will be repaid. Friendship with the world leads us to be spotted by the world, resulting in us loving the world so that we are conformed to the world that we might be condemned with the world. Look at verse 5. What do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose? Watch this. Do you think the Scripture does wait for this time? When it teaches, he gelously desires the Spirit which he has made to dwell in us. God is a jealous lover. There is no room for anyone else. He wants you all to himself. He paid for this deal on the life of his son.

19:54And he wants you all to himself. Does that mean you can't go out and enjoy something? No. It means you can't enjoy it without him. Does it mean you can't go out and have fun in a ballgame? No. It means you can't go have fun in a ballgame without him. Does it mean you can't enjoy good music? No. It means you can't enjoy good music without him. God doesn't mind music. He keeps all second music he gives isn't bad. A question is, can God listen to it too? If he popping his fingers as much as I'm popping mine. Now, because I see some of y'all driving down the street. The question is, is God popping his fingers as much as you popping yours? The question is, is he included or is he excluded because he says, I am jealous. The Holy Spirit which I have made to live in you is grieved when I am excluded. And then he closes with the Power Pack verse, verse 6. But, on the other hand, he gives a greater grace. That's sweet.

21:01He gives a greater grace. Do you know what that means? Grace is God's unmarrieded favor. You know what he does? To those people who will make him their only life, he will open up the window that heaven and let you experience his grace. He gives a greater grace. What does that mean? It means he's got more to give than you could ever imagine if he would love him only. Therefore, what's the bottom line? God is opposed to the proud but he gives grace to the humble. That's the bottom line. Now, he introduces the word pride because it's selfishness that's based on pride. Pride is self love. It's like the woodpecker was pecking at a tree, lightning struck knocked the tree over. And the woodpecker said, look what I did. Pride is taking credit for what God does. He is opposed to the proud, the military term. He is setting up an army against you.

22:04Pride ranks among the chief sins that God recognizes. Why? Because it was the first sin of Satan when he rebelled against God. Every time we act independently of God, we remind God of the devil. Isaiah 13, 11 says, I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud but he will give more grace. Satan is the ultimate do it yourself. Many of us as Christians are like a bride who just gets married, who's more in love with the ring than the bridegroom. What do you think about a wife who is more in love with the ring than the bridegroom? And we're more in love with the stuff than the God who gives it. God doesn't give us stuff so that we can love the stuff more than him. And let me tell you, one day you're going to need him and you won't be able to buy out the mess you in. All the money in the bank won't fix it. One day you're going to need him for only what he can do. The question is, will there be something in your heart that can respond to? Dr. Tony Evans, wrapping up today's lesson with a reminder to stay focused on what's most important.

23:11Now, if you'd like to spend more time with the truths we've been learning, you can get Tony's complete two volume 16 message series James Time to Grow Up on CD, USB Flash Drive or Digital Download. The collection includes today's lesson in its full length form, along with additional material we haven't had time to present on the broadcast. As I mentioned earlier, along with the complete James Audio Collection, we'll also include Dr. Evans's 30-day devotional, Trusting God in turbulent times. They're all yours as our thank you gift when you make a contribution to support the ministry. Together these resources will help you deepen your faith, expand your biblical perspective, and keep you anchored in God's truth even when the world around you feels uncertain. Visit TonyEvans.org or call 1-800-832-22 today to make your request. Again, that's TonyEvans.org or by phone at 1-800-803-222.

24:18The Declaration of Independence talks about the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But pursuing something is no guarantee you'll get it. Well, tomorrow Dr. Evans will help us find ways to make our pursuit of God more successful. Be sure to join us for that.