Scripture:
James 4:7-10 NKJV
[7] Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Observation:
James has always been one of my favorite writers in the bible. I believe it’s because it’s not very hard to understand what he is saying. He just comes right out and says it as simple as possible for people like me to understand. Here in chapter 4, it’s no different. In verse 7, he starts with some very easy-to-understand instructions. “Submit to GOD. Resist the devil, and he will flee. But I have heard it said that any time you see a therefore in the bible, you must find out what it’s there for the people that James was talking to were people who were bound by the world and the things in it. They had a hard time getting along, and sin was just running rampant. Their motives were all wrong, jealousy and fighting had broken out, and when they did break down and ask GOD, it was out of an unclean heart. Being selfishly motivated by the statements made in the verses before the ones selected is eye-opening, and I encourage you to read them. Yes, that is my angel. I want you to read the bible. In verse 4 of chapter 4, we see what has James so hot under the collar. The people whom he was speaking to seemed to hold a lot of stock in the world. Maybe they were the kind of people who had to keep up with the Joneses by having the nicest car or the biggest house. I’m not sure, but he saw them as being friends with the world and then made them an enemy of GOD. So his instructions to submit to the one they were an enemy to were huge and not to be taken lightly. After all, the last thing I want to be is an enemy to GOD. Submission to GOD is the key. But that’s not the end of the instructions. Then, we have to resist the devil, and when we resist what he appeals to. Which is our flesh, he will flee. Continuing in the verses chosen this morning, James doesn’t stop with his guidance. So, at this point, we could see this as a 5 part list. Submit to GOD, resist the devil, draw nearer to GOD, clean yourself from sin, and don’t be double-minded. Verses 9 and 10 get down to the root of the issue. Pride. James wants us to see that we are our problem. “Let your laughter be turned to tears and your joy to gloom. But the key to all of it is verse 10. “Humble yourselves before the Almighty GOD and HE will exalt you.
Application:
Submission to GOD seems easy when we are talking about it, but let’s look at what it really looks like. Do you have to have the next big thing that comes out? The new iPhone, the best car, the newest gaming system, the fastest motorcycle, the best clothing, the biggest house, and so on. What are you submitted to? Do you have to keep up with the Joneses, or are you content with what GOD has given you? For me, it’s like this. I don’t want anything that GOD does not want me to have, and I don’t want to be a part of anything that HE does not want me to be a part of. I do not want to be a friend to this world. I want to be so overcome with GOD that the world just doesn’t make sense to me, and honestly, it’s getting that way to me now. I understand the world because GOD has brought me out of it. But the last thing I want is to be locked into a relationship with it. The closer I draw to GOD, the less sense it makes to be of this world. Envy and strife arguments and fighting, and all over stuff that doesn’t matter. What I want for my life and the lives of my family and your life as far as that goes… is to be 100% fully committed to GOD’S plan for me and for you. I trust HIM with my everything. My life, my family. My everything. I know that HE has never left those who trust in HIM begging for bread. HE has always provided, and HE always will. Being friends with the world is not the place you want to be when Jesus comes back. If you have not submitted your ways to GOD, I would encourage you to do so. Draw near to HIM, and HE will guide your steps. Clean your hands and set down the ways of this world. I will repeat myself so that no one gets confused… salvation is a gift that is given when we have committed our lives to Christ, but sanctification is the process we go through after that. It’s what draws us closer and closer to the one who made us. This means that as we look back over our lives from the day we gave it to the LORD, we should be steadily becoming more and more like HIM and less and less like our old man. My suggestion is that you dive into the bible and find out who GOD says you are and then live like that us ture. It’s rather empowering, and that’s what GOD wants to do is empower you. That’s what the Holy Spirit is for. To empower you to live the way GOD has always intended for you to live. Draw near to HIM, and HE will show you. Submit to HIM, and the enemy will leave. Because GOD has given you authority. The enemies power is useless if you use the authority you have been given. Submit to freedom from sin. Not boundage within it.
Prayer:
Father, show us who we are in you. Let us see who you have made us to be. We know that you have set us free through the blood of your son and who the son sets free is free indeed. This life is about your glory. We want you to shine through the lives that we have given to you. We trust that you will provide all our needs. We do not need to shake hands with the world. We need to cling to you. Your word tells us that no one comes to you lest you draw them. We ask that you draw us like an electromagnet through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We know we have to be in this world, but it is not our home. Help us to draw a very clear line between our relationship with you and our tie to the world. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus I pray amen.