james 4:6-10

James • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

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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.

Today we are going to continue with our verse by

verse Bible study series through the book of James.

And our Bible study today is all about the spiritual battle that we face between good and evil, between God and the devil!

Titled of this sermon is

SLIDE

RESIST THE DEVIL, and DRAW NEAR TO GOD!

But this spiritual battle between God and the devil has always been the HUGE CONFLICT that believers have faced since the beginning of time.

But the truth is that these spiritual battles really happen, and they are difficult to fight!

Each one of you know about spiritual battles, because YOU FACE them in SPIRITUAL WARFARE every day! (TEXT SLIDE #2)

And in our Bible verses today, we are going to receive some reminders from the Lord on HOW TO OVERCOME the temptations and attacks of the devil.

And we are also going to be reminded of the importance of DRAWING NEAR TO GOD!

Open up your Bibles with us to the book of James Chapter 4.

And we will begin by reading verse 6 and the first half of verse 7.

Slide

James 4:6-7a- But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore submit to God.

As we get started here, keep in mind that Jesus’ brother James is writing this letter to Christians in the church.

That means that as a Christian, every word of this letter is written FOR YOU, and it is applicable to your life and to the stuff that you are dealing with today!

James begins this section in verse 6, by reminding us …But he gives us MORE GRACE!

This is one of the most uplifting verses in the entire Bible! more grace?

It means that the greater your need, the greater is God’s supply of grace available to you.

Here’s why, Because God is always willing to GIVE YOU more Grace, more of His unlimited favor and blessing and strength.

So what does this mean

It means that if you get overwhelmed by the world, God gives you MORE GRACE!

It means that when you are faced with challenges and obstacles that feel like they are too much for you to bear, God gives MORE GRACE!

It means that when the painful circumstances of life come crashing in like a flood, God gives MORE GRACE!

Listen to what the writer of Hebrews said about the grace of God and it’s availability to you!

We read this over in…

(SLIDE)-

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

We have bold and total access to God’s throne of Grace at any place and at any time, and when we come God He will give us MORE GRACE!

So who is it that comes to God for grace?

The HUMBLE CHRISTIANS that know that they need it come to God for grace.

And that is why the next thing that James brings up here in these verses is the topic of HUMILITY!

Notice what the Bible says about the humble here in the middle of verse 6…

Slide

James 4:6““God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

We need to know that God opposes or resists the proud!

Proud people don’t come to God for anything, because they don’t think that they need God for anything!

Proud people try and handle all of their problems themselves while leaving God out!

But God STANDS AGAINST those who think that apart from God, they are already good enough, or strong enough, or religious enough.

Those are the ones that God is going to resist, but notice also in our text that God is going to POUR OUT HIS GRACE on the humble.

Who is the humble believer?

(verse 7)

The humble believer is the Christian that submits themselves to God!

The humble believer comes to God and says… I can’t do this, but MY GOD CAN!

His Grace is for those who say

“God, I need you, I need your help, I need more grace”

At F2S

Humility is our #1 Core Value

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CORE 4 #1 Humility #2 Mobility #3 Endurance #4 Love

Proverbs 3:34 Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.

We know that if we show the humility of Christ as a staff, this will take root as part of our culture.

We know that this is the culture that we want so we must embody this each day and crucify the flesh.

I believe it was the most powerful thing that Jesus showed the world and not that He had to.

Let’s continue on by reading verse 7 and the first half of verse 8 together.

(SLIDE)

James 4:7b-8a- Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

As a Christian you need to know that both God and the devil are real, and that they are both actively trying to affect and impact your life.

But James begins here in these verses by talking about the devil.

Every one of us have found out that when we try and humbly submit our lives to God, the devil is right there tempting us and attacking us!

So how should we respond to these attacks and temptations of the devil?

The Bible tells us right here in

verse 7…

Resist the devil!

Don’t listen to the devil, don’t shout at the devil, don’t cry about how strong the devil is, but RESIST him!

#Q2

Why does the Bible tells us that we need to resist the devil?

Because the devil is working overtime behind the scenes to attack you and tempt you and drag you down into sin!

Listen to the warning that Peter gave to Christians about the attacks of the devil over in…

(SLIDE)-

1Peter 5:8-9 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

The devil’s attacks are sneaky and they are often difficult to spot if we aren’t aware that he is at work, but the devil never stops attacking!

Every temptation, every fight and argument, every relationship struggle, Satan stands behind them all!

And if we aren’t aware that demonic attacks are behind these types of things, we won’t be resisting Satan but instead warring against the wrong enemies.

So here is the million dollar question for you this morning…….

How have you been responding to these attacks of the devil?

As the Bible teaches us here, we need to resist the devil, and the best news of all is that YOU CAN DO THAT!

The devil is a DEFEATED FOE, and he has no power over you as a Child of the King so through the power of the Spirit YOU CAN RESIST HIM!

And not only that, but with every attack and temptation by the devil, God has promised to give you a way of escape to help you resist him.

Listen to the promise that God gives us about the attacks and

temptations of the devil found over in…(SLIDE)-

1st Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

So with every attack and temptation by Satan, God has promised to give us a WAY OF ESCAPE!

Our responsibility is to SEARCH QUICKLY for that way out and then take it immediately.

And as we do that we are resisting the devil.

The best example that we find in the Bible of how to resist the devil’s attacks is in the example of our Savior Jesus when he was tempted by the devil in the desert.

(SLIDE)

Matthew 4:1-11 - Jesus’ temptation in the desert

When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert do you remember how he answered the devil’s attacks?

Jesus answered the devil’s attacks

Slide

#1- With the word of God,

but then

#2- JESUS OBEYED the word of God!

And as Jesus did that He resisted the devil!

Every time you resist the devil, he will eventually turn away from you and leave you alone.

Let’s read that promise again here in

SLIDE

James 4:7…resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

That means that every time you resist the devil’s temptations, and his lies, and the fears and doubts that he stirs up, he WILL EVENTUALLY flee from you!

That is God’s promise to you, BUT WE NEED TO RESIST HIM FIRST!

The devil isn’t going to leave us alone just because he is a nice guy and he wants to give you a break, we must RESIST HIM!

STORY: This week I felt the attack of the enemy. I have my wife getting ready to leave on a mission trip and as I am preparing for my message on resisting the devil.

He tries to put me on my back with being sick for a few days this week.

God showed me that this was an attack and He reminded me to draw close to me.

BEGIN

Now it is not good enough to only resist the devil, when we turn our back on the devil, we must also TURN TOWARDS something else!

What should we turn towards when we resist the devil?

SLIDE

VERSE 8 Draw near to God,

When we turn our back to the devil and resist him, we must draw near to, or move towards God!

We must fill up that empty void of turning away with something positive, something healthy, something from God!

And we do that by drawing near to God, through prayer and the word and worship and the fellowship right here at F2S!

Listen to what the Bible says will happen if you draw near to God?

Look again at

SLIDE

Verse 8… draw near to God… AND HE (God) WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU!

That is a promise for every one of us as Christians this morning, as we draw near to God, God will draw near to us, God guarantee’s it!

Maybe you are sitting here this morning feeling like God is a million miles away!

Through the Scriptures, God has promised that every time you draw near to Him, HE WILL draw near to you!

We will finish up this morning by reading verses 8 to 10 together.

(SLIDE)

James 4:8b-10-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.

One of the main ways that you resist the devil and draw near to God is by fighting the good fight AGAINST SIN.

In fact, we are not resisting the devil when we sin, but instead opening up the door for the devil and allowing him to stick around and cause havoc.

In the same way, when we sin we are not drawing near to our loving and holy God, but instead turning our back to Him.

And because of that, James brings up sin here, and he brings it up in kind of a HARSH WAY.

Keep in mind that James is writing these harsh sounding words found in verses 8 and 9 to Christians in the church!

Today, if James were here preaching to us this morning he would tell us this… Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. OUCH!!!!!

Sometimes God has us study these strongly worded passages because they make us come face to face with our faults and sins so we can deal with them!

I know that its not what allot of people want to hear , but this is something that we all need to hear, and that is why it is in our Bible!

The truth is, if we are honest we have to admit that all of us are sinners, and all of us are double minded from time to time.

God knows that even as Christians, while we are living in this world, with our old nature still fighting against our spirit, we are going to sin.

Hopefully we are sinning less and less, hopefully we are moving away from sin and we are moving more and more towards righteousness,

But all of us are sinners.

The devil is sneaky, the world is tempting, and our flesh is weak, and because of all that all of us are going to sin, and when we sin, we need to deal with it.

And that is what James is showing us we must do here.

And what James is basically saying here is that we need to be sorry for our sin and repent of our sin and then receive the forgiveness and cleansing that God offers us.

So would you honestly examine your life right now for a moment?

What sin is in your life right now that God wants you to deal with?

What sin is it in your life that you haven’t dealt with and repented of, a sin that you are still toying with and participating in?

Those sins are allowing Satan to have a destructive influence in your life and they are keeping you from turning completely to God!

When we come to God broken and repentant for our sin, God has promised to not only forgive us of our sin, but to cleanse us.

Listen to how the Bible describes this process over in (SLIDE)-

1st John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ”

The happiest Christian is the holiest Christian.

And that is true because sin always robs us of joy, and life and fellowship with God.

Sin builds a wall between you and God so that His love and His grace and His joy and His revelation and His power can’t flow into your life.

Recognizing our sin brings us to a pretty low place doesn’t it?

And F2S Family, that is THE EXACT PLACE where God wants us to be.

And here’s why, look at verse

SLIDE

James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

As we come to God broken and repentant, we are coming before God HUMBLY,

and when we come to God humbly, HE CAN LIFT US UP!

Because God delights in using humble believers.

When we come to God broken and humble, it gives God the opportunity to build us up again His way, and to LIFT US UP!

Peter brought up this same Biblical truth over in his Epistle, and listen

to what he wrote about this in…

(SLIDE)-

1st Peter 5:6-7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Our Savior Jesus also talked about this same truth, and listen to how

Jesus described it in…

(SLIDE)-

Matthew 23:12“And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Jesus wants to lift you up, Jesus wants to exalt you to a better place!

Jesus has GREAT PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE!

But the path to that place is through humility!

That path to being lifted up by God and to be great in His Kingdom includes fleeing from the devil, and drawing near too and submitting to God!

That is part of the wonderful plan that God has for your life.

And F2S Family, that is today’s good news about Fleeing from the Devil and drawing near to God! Amen?

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