James 4:7-10 Sermon #21 October 21, 2012
James 4:6-10KJV
------6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
If God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble,
Why would anyone, who calls themselves a Christian, not totally humble themselves and stay humble before God?
The word, “resist” means--to arrange in battle against
It is used 2 times in our text.
God arranges Himself in battle against the proud.
- If you know and believe anything about the omnipotence of God,
- If you fear falling into the hands of living God,
- If you know nothing can stand against Him, why would you ever have a boastful, arrogant or proud attitude in His presence?
In verse 6 we see we are the recipient of the wrath of God for our pride.
Why,---- because we are bowing to Satan.
Pride is not from you. Pride is the sin nature in you and submitting to that nature is serving Satan.
Pride becomes your idol, it calls out to you saying “me first” or “I believe in God but I need to take care of this problem now, by myself.”
Pride got Satan thrown out of Heaven and he took a third of the angels with him. Now he wants all of mankind to bow to him because he still wants to be greater than God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Arrange yourself in battle against the devil.
How is this to be done?
Please notice the first command is to submit to God.
- It does not say strike out on your own.
- It doesn’t say stand up to the devil by yourself
- You are in God’s army, not your own.
Many people think this is their license to call out Satan and rebuke him and his works that come against them.
But there are 2 parts to verse 7, Submit to God and resist the devil (and he WILL flee from you.)
There are 3 promises in our text and they start with submission to the authority of God.
Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
As a child of God you have the authority to call on your Lord and Savior before, during and after the devil confronts you.
That means we are to pray the Lord for;
Protection –before
Endurance—during
Deliverance---after
No where does the Bible ever tell us to take Satan on by ourselves.
This is why we are studying James after Ephesians.
We have been issued our God given armor to protect us as we walk in God’s army.
And what is that armor made of--- God Himself!
7Therefore—(Having said all of that) submit to God.
Submit to God, not your religious rules and ceremonies.
Submit to God, not your idea of what the Bible says.
Submit to God, not the world and all of its distractions
Submit to God, not to men and to their philosophies.
Submit to God, not your fear or your anger.
Submit is a military term which means to receive your marching orders or to get in line.
Line up with the Word of God. How? OPEN YOUR BIBLE!
Put on the armor of God, How? Believe and practice the truth of the Word.
Your marching orders are to do the will of God.
What is that? Glorify God in His Grace toward you.
Where do you start? Submit to God and resist the devil,
How?8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Report to the commander and He will send in His Angels to surround you.
Safety in this world is through Jesus Christ who has already defeated Satan at the Cross.
Jesus told His disciples at Gethsemane Matthew 26:53
53Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Do you think that those same angels arenot available to you through Christ Jesus?
- When you humble yourself and ask in His name you draw near to God. All that is His, is yours.
- If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you cannot draw near to God. You have nothing.
- If you do not have a personal relationship with your Savior, Godwillnotdraw near to you.His battle array is against you.
Far too many people just want to use the name of Jesus to get what they want or scare off the devil and all his troubling minions.------That’s Pride!
Even the Bible tells us what will happen:
Acts 19:13-1613Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of theLordJesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
I’m going to tell you something that you need to understand.
If you believe you can call on God (who is Spirit) to save you.(Saved here meaning -- to be rescued or protected from evil.)
Then you had better believe that Satanand his spirits will come against you to keep you from submitting to God.
If your life stinks, your family is in turmoil, your debt keeps getting bigger and your rut is looking more like a grave every day, perhaps you need to take a good look at your personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Is He your first love?
- Is He your best friend?
- Is He your Armor?
- Is He your Commanding Officer?
What is your relationship with God the Son?
Do you think it could improve?
If your life stinks, the odor is coming from how rotten you treat the Son of God!
John 14:6
6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
You can’t draw near to God without being in Love with Jesus!
8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
This is such a glorious promise! Please do not miss the word WILL in verse 8.
It’s not should, could or might, it’s WILL!
Now let’s read this as it is implied.
IF YOU draw near to God, HE WILL draw near to you!
WHEN YOUdraw near to God, HE WILL draw near to you!
STAY near to God;HE WILL stay near to you.
Howmust we draw near and stay near to God?
Well what does the scripture tell us to do?
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Cleanse and purify are the words used here as a commanded action.
Sanctify yourselves, cast off all that is not of God in your lives.
Notice the references here to the physical and the spiritual.
Cleanse your hands from your sinful works.
Remember, neglect from doingis as great a sin as doing what is wrong.
If you have promised to do something and just haven’t gotten around to it yet, that’s just as sinful as being able to help and saying no.
As a Pastor I would prefer the no answer. At least you are being honest about your attitude toward God. And I can ask for someone else to help.
The spiritual is what’s in your heart you double-minded.
Do you think you can be shamed into doing what is right and draw near to God.
Well you say, “I did what I was supposed to after all.
It took me over a year to get around to it but I did it.”
If your heart was set on God, nothing would have gotten in the way of serving Him, which includes serving your Church or your brethren in a timely manner. God knows your heart.
Good intentions with no immediate action, is from the heartof the double-minded.Finally getting it done in your time only proves Jesus is not your first love.
John 14:15 15If ye love me, keep my commandments.
What are His commandments in our text?
- Submit to God
- Resist the devil
- Draw near to God
- Cleanse your hands
- Purify your hearts
God first in all things---no exceptions!
9Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Are you not truly filled with sorrow for your self-centered life.
Have you given your time to your wants instead of God?
- Lament overtime ill spent.
Have you turned your face from the needy by providing wastefully for yourselves?
- Mourn for those that have suffered because of your greed.
Have you given your children everything the world demands so you will be classified by the world as agood Parent?
- Weep for your children,because you have failed them as their spiritual leader, teacher and guide for a healthy and holy life.
Your laughter is hollow and your joy is false.
For the outcome of all your pride is destruction,for you and all you have been responsible for.
Satan is real and so is Hell.
If you are not living in the Glory of the Lord, read through our text for today’s sermon again and again and ask the Holy Spirit to open it up so you may see how it applies to you, here and now,--- today!
There will be and should be lamentation and mourning and weeping as the truth that you ask for, fills your heart.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
And then,
10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Once again this is a promise. If You---He Will!
Louis H Evans, once said “A man is never so tall as when he kneels before God—never so great as when he humbles himself before God. And the man who kneels to God can stand up to anything.”
Let’s Pray;
Our most Gracious Heavenly Father, show us where sin remains in our lives. Reveal to us all that we have brought on our own heads by turning our backs on Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.Teach us humility if we dare to refuse it in love for our Savior. It is a fearfulthing to fall into the hands of the livingGod, “The Lord will judge His people.”
Bring us back into Your Glory, guide us into correcting the wrongs that take us from your presence, show Yourself strong in our lives for Your Glory.
Forgive us our sins in the name of Jesus we pray---AMEN!
Thank You
From
Cornerstone Independent Church
If you would like to know more about our ministries and
CSA Farm Project Please contact:
Pastor Steven Freede
304-643-2760
Or
Tithes and offerings may be sent to:
Cornerstone Independent Church
1821 Jesse Cain Run
Harrisville WV. 26362