by David J. Stewart | June 2015
James 4:1-4, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?”
Our text passage of Scripture makes the appeal, that the Holy
Spirit Who indwells every believer, does not lust within us for
materialistic and worldly things. Due to the evils of the
Charismatic health, wealth and prosperity movement, many
churchgoers have been foolishly taught to believe that serving God
guarantees materialistic things. It does not. Quite the contrary, the
Bible teaches the virtues of being poor. James 2:5, “Hearken,
my beloved brethren,
Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith,
and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that
love him?”
Rich people don't think they need God, because they already have
everything they need in this temporal world. The possession of
wealth has damned innumerable souls to the Lake of Fire, because
they sought not God because of their riches.
Most people would be shocked to learn how much Hollywood actors get paid. For example: Tom Cruise was paid a staggering $100,000,000 just for his single role in the film “War Of The Worlds.” Bruce Willis was paid $120,000,000 for his role in the movie, “The Sixth Sense.” Unbelievable!!! I read online that it was a difficult and odd part for Bruce. What a joke! Men crawl into sewers and get covered with sewage for $300 a day. The average pastor, policeman and fireman make $50,000 a year salary. Bruce Willis got paid 2400 times that just for his role in The Sixth Sense!!!
Actor Keanu Reeves was paid a whopping $262,000,000 for his starring role in “The Matrix,” parts I, II and III. For his role in “Mission Impossible,” parts I, II, III and IV, Tom Cruise was paid $290,000,000!!! Cruise has a net worth of $480,000,000. Sadly, Tom Cruise is a devout Scientologist (which Time magazine has dubbed, “The Cult of Greed”). Yes, that is very true! Scientology is a Satanic religion of greed, deception, false teaching and eternal damnation. Actor Jack Nicholson was paid $60,000,000 for his role as the Joker in “Batman.” The Devil pays well, at first, but eternal damnation awaits the rich and famous who die in their sins without Christ Jesus.
It is very easy for the average American to look at the staggering figures of Hollywood salaries, and think that we are poor in comparison. But the reality is that most Americans, even those who are considered poor, are far better off than people trying to survive day-by-day in third world countries. I recently watched a documentary about South Africa, which is not even the poorest country in Africa. Teen girls have to miss school during their female time of the month, because they cannot afford feminine products. They use old newspapers in place of feminine products. Can you imagine? We truly don't know what poverty is in America. In the United States, people on welfare are considered poor, while they enjoy plenty of tax-payer-funded government Food Stamps, a color television, a cellphone, free health care, et cetera. Poor? In many places throughout Africa, if you have nothing you die! We are all so blessed! Psalms 145:9, “The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” It is men who are cruel, greedy and exert lordship over other men, treating them as animals.
The reason why so many people hate my website ministry is because they hate God. They have been deceived by the Devil to think love is hate. When you love someone, you tell them the truth! I am preaching the truth in love. Ephesians 4:15, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” The truth is hate to those who hate the truth! If you are worldly, then you are going to hate God and His Word. John 3:20, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” Dr. Jack Hyles recounts the time when a woman approached him and complained about his hollering from the pulpit when he preaches. Brother Hyles told her that she wouldn't like what he is preaching even if he whispered it. So true! The truth offends people. The King James Bible is brutally honest and highly offensive. God meant it to be that way, because it speaks THE TRUTH!!! The new watered-down Bible versions today have all been corrupted, no longer speaking with authority as does the trustworthy King James Bible.
Unrepentant homosexuals today want the churches to accept them as they are, in their unrepentant state, as respectable members in good-standing. Only worldly churches are accepting them. God rejects those churches as frauds! May I say, although I would never deliberately be unkind to a homosexual person, I cannot respect their degenerate state of mind, abnormal lifestyle and woefully wicked choices. I would never hire a homosexual. I won't have a business. It just won't happen. I'd close down my business before I'd cater to sodomites. I would never prepare a cake with a homosexual message for a queer wedding. I would never do anything to support their wickedness. A disturbing fact that the liberal newsmedia won't ever report is that all pederasts (men who sexually like underaged boys) are homosexuals. The Holy Bible teaches that there is no harmony, no fellowship, and no agreement between the just and the wicked. Proverb 29:27, “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” If your church is quiet, tolerant and caters to pro-homosexual groups like AWAB, get out now!!!
I don't care who you are, you either live for God or the world.
There is no middle ground. Whose side are you on? To side with
the world is to side with the Devil, because Satan is the god of this world
(2nd Corinthians 4:4). If you are not a born-again Christian, you can only live for the
world, because you do not have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling
you (1st Corinthians 3:16-17; Romans 8:9; 1st John 3:24). If you are saved, you have a choice, a choice to follow the
Lord Jesus Christ as His disciple, or to live carnally in the
world. Of course, the Holy Bible commands all believers to
depart from a life of sin. 2nd Timothy 2:19, “Nevertheless
the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal,
The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that
nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
The Word of God warns that God will chastise and scourge His children (those who are born-again) when they go astray. Hebrews 12:6-8, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” Anyone who professes to be a Christian, but chooses to live in continuous sin, WILL BE CHASTISED by God the Father, otherwise the Bible says they are illegitimate (meaning they are not truly saved).
As a born-again Christian and a fundamental Baptist preacher, my website ministry takes a stand for the Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently, I am a very hated man (and dearly beloved by many as well). I am on the Lord's side. There is no controversy if you believe the Word of God. The world is God's enemy. James 4:4 teaches that befriending the world makes a person the enemy of God. Are you God's enemy? The abortion industry are God's enemies. The homosexual community are God's enemies. The 20,562 Presbyterian ministers (in 10,083 churches), who in March of 2015 approved of same-sex marriages in their churches, are God's sworn enemies. You cannot embrace sodomy and filth and expect God's blessings. The Old Testament Jews were so wicked that they even claimed it was God's will to commit idolatry, adultery, steal and murder (this is America today)...
Jeremiah 7:8-10, “Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?”
Kindly, and humbly, if my website ministry offends you, it is only because you are worldly and naive concerning spiritual matters. I am 100% against this wicked world who strip their clothes off, murder babies by abortion, start unprovoked wars (Iraq) based upon false witness, steal from tax-payers, and commit all manner of wickedness. Yet those same evil people pray in public, sing “God Bless America” and speak of the “Lord.” Their lord is the Devil. Satan and sin are their masters. They do not honor the God of the Holy Bible. If my preaching makes you uncomfortable, Amen. If the shoe fits, wear it, and get right with God. We all need to continually get right with God. It is in our awful human nature to sin, falter and stumble. No one is above sin. We are all horrible sinners. If you deny that Biblical truth, then you are calling God a liar (1st John 1:8-10). Romans 3:23a says, “For all have sinned...”
Luke 8:14 speaks of the seeds which fell amongst thorns, who are believers that are choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this world. Most believers are worldly, doing absolutely NOTHING for the Kingdom's of Heaven's sake. Life is short and only what we do for Jesus Christ will have any lasting meaning and significance. I am just a voice in the wilderness of cyberspace, who will one day be gone to be with the Lord in Heaven. I am just a mortal man. Your time, and mine, is shorter than we realize. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's son just died in 2015 of brain cancer at age 46.
The beloved evangelist Steven Boyd Curington, who founded the ministry “Reformer's Unanimous” to help addicts find Christ and recovery, died suddenly in 2010 of a heart-attack at age 45. Life is short. I could give you hundreds of examples of young people still in their teens and early twenties, who were suddenly killed or dropped dead.
I am reminded of the young 18-year-old Colorado woman who got pinned between her vehicle and gas pump in 2009, when a woman drinking coffee crashed into her car. She screamed in horrific pain as the fire slowly engulfed and burned her alive until she died. She was only 18! Was she ready to meet her God? I don't know. I do know that I am ready to meet my God. Are you ready? Have you been born-again? Do you realize that you are a guilty sinner in God's holy eyes, for breaking His commandments in the Holy Bible? Do you see your need for the dear Savior? Have you received Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full-payment for your sins, believing that Jesus bodily raised-up the third day from the dead? Just believe my friend and you will be immediately saved forever. John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”
Thankfully, receiving the free gift of eternal life has absolutely nothing to do with forsaking the world. However, loving the world and all that is in the world can hinder a person from WANTING to come to Jesus Christ to be saved, “lest his deeds should be reproved” (John 3:20). God doesn't require ceasing from sin to be saved, because that is a free gift; but He does expect every Christian to depart from a life of sin, which is why many people don't want the gift of eternal life. I have met such men while witnessing the Gospel. They don't want the Holy Spirit indwelling them, because then they'll be living a continual contrary life torn between the Spirit and the flesh.
Many people will go to Hell because they loved the world, which compelled them to avoid the light of the Gospel to be gloriously saved. This is why we are told in 1st John 2:15-17 not to love the world, neither the things that are in the world. All of the lusts of the flesh, and the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life is worldly, not of the Father. This passage of Scripture is not saying that to be saved a person must forsake the world; but rather, the love of the world will hinder a person from coming to the Lord to be saved. This is the role of repentance in salvation. When a person acknowledges their sinfulness and need for Christ, then they believe and are saved. Without repentance, no man would ever come to the Lord by faith to be forgiven and saved. END
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)” —Hebrews 10:23
